MACORTS, the federal metropolitan transportation planning organization for Oconee County, is holding an Open House from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday (Aug. 20) at the Oconee Community Center at Oconee Veteran’s Park to give citizens a chance to comment on the proposed 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan.
That plan lists 33 priority transportation projects that will involve federal funding, including seven in Oconee County.
Public Comment dominated the Monday meeting of the Oconee County Board of Education, with 29 people speaking to the Board during the one hour and 40-plus minute session.
Most of those who spoke were concerned with the status of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Oconee County Schools, and the overwhelming majority who spoke want the organization present at elementary through high schools in the system.
The Oconee County Board of Education has agreed to pay Superintendent Jason Branch a base salary of $267,039 for the current year, up $13,968, or 5.5 percent, from his salary of $253,071 last year.
In addition to the base salary, the contract the Board approved on Monday night also includes a long list of other benefits, including dues and membership fees, a $1,000 monthly travel allowance, a cell phone, and his employee share of premiums (family plan) for health insurance, for dental insurance, and for vision insurance.
The Oconee County Board of Education on Monday night, after spending nearly an hour in executive session, voted unanimously in open session to extend the contract of Superintendent Jason Branch until June 30 of 2027.
The Board provided no details of the contract other than the end date, and Board Chair Kim Argo refused to provide a copy of the contract, saying it would be made available only in response to an open records request.
The Oconee County Board of Education would like to keep it a secret, but it is nearly certain to extend Superintendent Jason Branch’s contract another year--until June 30, 2027--following an executive session at either its Aug. 5 or Aug. 12 meeting.
The Board voted on Aug. 14, 2023, to extend Branch’s contract to June 30, 2026, with a base salary of $253,071 and added benefits that were budgeted to bring that amount to $284,810.
The Oconee County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night took a big step toward creating its new park on Rocky Branch Road when it gave initial approval to spending up to $1 million for a design firm contract and related services for the first phase of the project.
The plan is to utilize 50 acres out of the 240-acre site for sports fields, parking, restrooms, and a gymnasium that contains four basketball courts with restroom facilities and staff support areas.
