By Fred Guarino

The Lowndes Signal

HAYNEVILLE — The Lowndes County Board of Education has decided to appeal a case involving the county’s only board certified teacher as a matter of principle.

The board voted Thursday to appeal a ruling in a case involving board certified teacher Paula Westmoreland on the recommendation of its attorney Henry “Hank” Sanders.

Sanders explained that Paula Westmoreland, president of the Lowndes County Education Association, is the only board certified teacher in Lowndes County.

He said the appeal he recommended had to do with the fact the state only provides $5,000 for the position of board certified teacher as a bonus.

However, the way the law reads, the employees’ and the employer’s withholdings must come from the same $5,000.

Sanders said everyone “appreciates the work” that Westmoreland did. He said, “It’s not a whole lot of money, it’s more of a principle dispute.”