MOUNT VERNON — On Monday, the Mount Vernon school board approved a 100 percent real estate property tax exemption requested by Rolls-Royce. Superintendent Steve Short said the school district will be “held harmless” and will still receive its equivalent tax amount from Rolls Royce for the duration of the 15-year exemption.
Also on Monday, the board hired Judy Stahl-Reynolds as treasurer, officially effective Jan. 15. Short said she will serve as interim treasurer from Jan. 1 through Jan. 14. Stahl-Reynolds is currently the treasurer and chief financial officer at Lexington City Schools.
Columbia Elementary was the featured school at Monday’s meeting. Sherry Yarger was honored with the Behind the Scenes award. School secretary Brenda Beale said Yarger, a volunteer for the past six years, helps pupils with reading and word recognition. She also assists with making copies, binding books and just does “whatever anyone asks her to do.”
Columbia second-grade teachers Erin Humphrey and Stacey Suarez gave a Power Point presentation about the various community initiatives that take place at the school. They talked about the community/neighborhood garden, the summer reading program, the fifth-grade trip to Public Square on Veterans Day to distribute carnations to the veterans in attendance and the clothing drive. Humphrey said she also talked about the school’s partnership with Mount Vernon Nazarene University and South Vernon United Methodist Church, which also has an after-school program for the pupils.
