Since completing his first full year in office, Leon County Schools Superintendent Jackie Pons says he’s pleased by what’s been accomplished. In fact, he’d give his office an A.

But some say there’s still needed work to be done.

Pons, who took office Nov. 22, 2006, said highlights of the past year include bringing back the seven-period day, which allows students to take more fine-arts classes and boost their GPAs if needed, and incorporating the GED Exit Option at all high schools, which helped 137 students graduate.

He said improving school safety is something he’s proud of, especially now that video cameras are installed at every school and at district offices. That was prompted by a report of a child who was nearly abducted at Ruediger Elementary School the same day he was sworn in.

“We made a commitment right then that we would go ahead and put the video systems in all the schools,” said Pons, who was principal at Deerlake Middle School before he was elected.

Pons and School Board members are now preparing to meet later this month to identify priorities for the upcoming school year.

While Pons has made school safety one of his top priorities, at least one parent says she’s still bothered about school safety, among other concerns.

Bertha Ward, president of the Leon County Council of PTAs, is worried about the access people have to schools, especially after hours when students are on campus for club and sports activities. “To me, that’s a safety issue,” she said.

She’s also concerned about the dwindling enrollment at many south-side schools, such at Belle Vue and Nims middle schools. District figures show they have the lowest enrollment — but the highest cost per child— among the county’s middle schools.

As of October, Nims had 330 students and the district was spending $9,036 per student there in 2006. At Belle Vue, with 510 students, it was $7,400 per student.

Hundreds of students are zoned for some of the district’s struggling schools, but their parents are enrolling them elsewhere, an option they’re allowed.

“The School Board needs to do a lot more to encourage parents to bring their children back to those schools,” Ward said.

Pons said his plan to address plunging enrollment figures began last year when magnet programs were created to attract students back to these schools. He said new principals, Kay Collins at Nims and Kathleen Rodgers at Belle Vue, were appointed to help turn those schools around.

Board member Joy Bowen said Pons has made an extra effort to listen to parents and community leaders who may not have always been “at the table” when it comes to decisions. She said she wants to see more effort put in to increasing the graduation rate, especially among black males.

Jennifer Barnhill, academic coach at Pace School, said she believes Pons has the teachers’ best interest at heart and she respects that.

She admits she was disappointed when talks of giving supplemental pay to ESE teachers.