April 26, 2022 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  In attendance:  Chair Butch Campbell, Vice Chair David Settles, Wes Ballard, Roseann Barton, Becky Goff, Amanda Moore, and Jimmy Richardson.

Staff:  Dr. Trey Duke, Sheri Arnette, Ralph Ringstaff, Lisa Trail, Greg Lyles, Kim Williams, DeeDee Potter, Joe Marlin, April Zavisa, Beth Prater, Sandy Scheele, Tiffany Strevel, Tori Carr, Natalie Hardiman, and
Sia Phillips

Assistant City Attorney Elizabeth Taylor and City Liaison Bill Shacklett

 

Rationale:  The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Sofia Perez, a 4th grade student at Reeves Rogers Elementary and Marissa King, a 5th grade student at Salem Elementary.

Rationale:  Mitchell-Neilson would like to thank the fine folks at First Baptist Church on Castle Street for continuously blessing us with snacks, school supplies, prayers, and other much needed and greatly appreciated items. They also provided donuts and juice to staff on the Monday before spring break! We are so proud to call them our Community Partners.

Bradley Academy’s Math and Literacy Family Night will be held on Thursday, April 28 from 5-7 p.m. Bradley thanks their community partners for helping to make this night a success - First Baptist Church, World Outreach, University Barber Shop and Wilson Bank.
 
Earth Day:
Congratulations to the Earth Day Poster Contest Elementary division winners:
1st  Place: Victoria Guevara, 1st grade, Bradley Academy
2nd Place: Adrian Lewis, 1st grade, Discovery School
3rd Place: Audrey Johnson, 4th grade, Discovery School
Additional MCS Winners include:
Most Unique Poster Material: Shaylyn Buzille, 4th grade, Scales Elementary
Best Family Bonding: Lucy Jordan, 4th grade, Discovery School
Most Creative: Madelyn Bassham, 4th grade, John Pittard
Most Likely to Make You Smile: Kai Owusu, 1st grade, Discovery School
And a huge shout out to the Scales Steel de Boro students for a fabulous performance at Earth Day.
 
April is Volunteer Appreciation Month - MCS is better because of the numerous faith based, business, parents and community partners who share their time and resources with our students. Thank you to the many who volunteer.
 
The City Schools Foundation has added three members to our Foundation Board.  New board members include Essence Brisco, Kevin Pascoe and Jim Calder. Our Executive Board for the upcoming year will be: David Scott, Chair, Dr. Joe Faiz, Vice Chair, Justin Burriss, Treasurer and Stephanie Roach, Secretary.

Congratulations to Sarah Gooding Bransford (Scales Elementary). She was recently inducted into the 10th Region Girls Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2021. 

Congratulations to Dee Dee Potter, an art teacher at Hobgood, who was chosen to serve on the Cheekwood Advisory Board.
 

Rationale:  There was much discussion regarding these policies.  Mr. Wes Ballard asked if these policies are endorsed by TSBA. Ms. Taylor said yes.

Ms. Barton said that several other systems around us that were being proactive, and she felt that we need to be ready and know what our standards are going to be.

Becky Goff mentioned that she knew that we had to adopt these policies because it was state law, but she had several concerns.  She was concerned with the terminology as far as who qualifies for charter schools.  Also, Board Policy 1.903 states that the board would have one visit per year to the charter school.  Mrs. Goff felt that it should be more than one visit per year.  Ms. Taylor said that the policy could be adjusted.

Chair Campbell asked if this would be a full board visit or just individual board members.  Ms. Taylor said that they may allow individual board members, but the purpose of the visit would be to collect data and make sure that things align with what we expect. 

Chair Campbell asked if the charter school could deny students enrollment.  Ms. Taylor said that the charter school should be open to all MCS students.  Ms. Taylor explained that if the charter school was in Rutherford County, they are a separate LEA and would control that. If the student is dual zoned, they would possibly be able to attend a charter school within the county.

Jimmy Richardson stated that by adopting these policies we will have a baseline of what we expect and can amend or change these policies at any time. He said that if we aren't proactive, then we will have to react when the charter schools arrive in our area.

David Settles asked if we have a group formed that is developing what our standards would be.  Ms. Taylor explained that we have several policies and best practices from the State that we could consult and she is in the process of developing an agreement. 

Dr. Duke said that he and his staff are having conversations regarding the steps that our district would take once we receive an application.  He said that there is alot of legwork that must be done first.  He also added that a committee would be discussed and approved tonight. 

Rationale:  Amanda Moore asked that for the second reading of this policy if Ms. Taylor could clarify the part in line 1 of the policy regarding whether a child can always go to their zoned school.  Ms. Taylor said that she would have a revised version of the policy clarifying that point at the next meeting.

Rationale:  Amanda Moore asked for more clarification on the second reading of this policy to direct parents to a URL of where courses can be found.  Ms. Taylor said that she would revise that portion of the policy for the second reading.

Rationale:  Dr. Duke discussed the members of the proposed charter school review team with the board.  He said that this team would be reviewed each December with the board.

Rationale:  Dr. Duke discussed the members of this committee with the board.  Chair Campbell asked if this is the same number of members as in the past.  He said that with the non-voting members being four, he wondered what would happen in the case of a tie.  Dr. Duke said that he could add someone to the committee if that was the wishes of the board, but we would vote on the side of the family if there was a tie.

Rationale:  Dr. Duke explained that although this was the first time for the budget to be discussed on city tv, he wanted the public to understand that the board had worked 8 hours over two nights to study this budget in depth.

Dr. Duke presented a PowerPoint explaining the budget to the public. 

Roseann Barton said that Dr. Duke and the staff did a fabulous job of explaining each section of the budget.  She said that teachers and principals felt heard, and she appreciated all the hard work that was put into this budget.

Rationale:  Dr. Duke gave the board an update on the capital improvements that were planned for the district.  He explained that the bleachers at Northfield and Black Fox would be first on the list to be done, with the flooring replacement at Mitchell Neilson Primary and Erma Siegel scheduled after that. 

He told the board that the district would be receiving 2 new school buses, which will be presented to city council on May 5.  

He explained that unfortunately the prices are coming in much higher than anticipated due to inflation and supply issues. 

Amanda Moore said that she was pleased to see the flooring being done at Erma Siegel.  She has heard from several parents regarding old flooring. Dr. Duke said that floor replacements for other schools would be addressed over the next five years, but that these were the most critical.

Rationale:  Lisa Trail explained a new program in the district that will launch next fall, the MCS Hall of Fame.  She said that this program would recognize teachers and other staff that have had a major impact on Murfreesboro City Schools over the years.  Mrs. Trail has met with several retired teachers to get things started.  She said that there would be a committee with eligibility standards in place, and she is working on putting that committee together now.  She informed the board that people would be nominated, and they would require two letters of recommendation.  There would be twelve members in the Hall of Fame each year.  There will be three categories: Legacy, Traditional, and Modern. She will work with local media to get this information out to the community.  She will have a selection of inductees in August and recognize them in September. 

Chair Campbell thought this was a wonderful idea. Roseann Barton agreed.

Rationale:  Dr. Duke thanked the board for all the hard work and hours that they put in to the budget process. 

He informed the board that TNReady testing is concluding this week. He said a special thank you to Chris George and Sheri Arnette's team for a smooth testing season. 

Rationale:  The meeting adjourned at 7:32 p.m.