Dr. Lisa Langford, addressing the board of supervisors for the first time since being appointed superintendent of schools, told them she would do all she could to keep the school district “living within our means as far as the budget is concerned.”
“Things are looking pretty good for us this year,” she said. “That’s definitely a positive for us.”
Dr. Langford encouraged the supervisors to call on her any time the school district could be of service to them.
“I am very passionate about this district and love Calhoun County,” Dr. Langford said. “It’s been a busy two months (since she took office) and I just wanted you to know we are here to work with you, not against you.”
Dr. Langford also recently joined the Northwest Community College Board of Directors. The acting superintendent automatically has a seat on that board. Northwest President Dr. Michael Heindl was also in attendance at Monday’s meeting in Pittsboro and thanked both Dr. Langford and Jean Ann Casey, who was appointed by the supervisors to the at large spot on the NWCC board, for their service to the college.
Dr. Heindl informed the supervisors that 77% of the students from Calhoun attending Northwest receive financial aid totaling $561,367.
Dr. Heindl said the retention rate at NWCC for students from Calhoun is 59.8% as opposed to 57.8% for the total student population of 7,676.
“That means it’s going in the right direction,” Dr. Heindl said. “They come to us and then they stay with us until earning a certificate or degree, which is exactly what we want to have happen.”
Dr. Heindl noted the college’s work with the county’s Career and Technical Center is helping to provide classes in computer skills, residential wiring, nurse assistant, and ACT WorkKeys assessments. The college is also involved in the ABE classes offered at the adult education center in Bruce.
“We had 67 participate in that program in Bruce this past year,” he said.
“We see some great opportunities between the college and the county. We want to improve our recruiting here in the county. We have dual enrollment growth here with Bruce, Calhoun City and Vardaman schools. We also see opportunities for growth in our MI-BEST program where students can get college credit and also their high school equivalency at the same time.”
Dr. Heindl said pre-registration for classes at Northwest is ongoing now and open registration for the fall is Aug. 14-17. Classes begin Aug. 20.
“We as a college are also going to engage in a strategic planning process in the next few months and we would love your input,” Dr. Heindl said. “As we move forward as a college, we want the county to be involved in our plan.”
