by Kristen Mitchell, Charger Staff
Dr. Michael Martin, Director of Putnam County Schools, remains optimistic.
With all of the budget cuts, school delays, and changes, Director of Schools, Dr. Michael Martin, is facing a tough year with many decisions. The year began with a grueling debate over the school budget, and trying to get enough money to start school on time. Right now in order to help the budget and make sure we come out on top at the end of the year Martin is freezing expenditures. He is not sure if a cut will be necessary in the future.
Dr. Martin is still interested in instituting the International Baccalaureate program. This is a higher level of classes and will offer many new opportunities for students. The obstacle to this project is the cost of getting the program started and training the teachers.
Martin is very pleased with the students' performance this year. He commented that despite all of the difficulties of getting the year started and the budget settled the students have gone on and shown that there are no limits.
New schools have gotten started and Martin is very pleased with how they are running.
The Anthrax scare has also caused many problems for the school system. Now students have to go on Saturdays and this could even affect graduation.
By this false alarm we have created a sort of complacency to these types of situations. The level of safety has somewhat gone down because it costs alot of money to respond to something that may or may not be a real threat.
When Dr. Martin was asked about a future teacher shortage he commented that this could pose a problem in the furture. This is a nationwide problem that could result in lower quality in education. We may have to request for waivers on certification laws to get teachers in the classroom.
"It has been a tough year, but Cookeville High school has been a bright light for all of us," says Martin.