November 12, 2024 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Discussion:  In attendance:  Dr. Trey Duke, Sheri Arnette, Lisa Trail, Sonya Cox, Tiffany Strevel, Ken Rocha, April Zavisa, Warren Frye, Franchesa Graffeo, Angela Fairchild, Adam Bryson, Don Bartch, Daniel Owens, and Maria Johnson

Assistant City Attorney Lauren Bush and City Liaison Bill Shacklett 

Discussion:  The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Ella Frye, a kindergarten student at Mitchell Neilson Elementary, and Mason Johnson, a first grade student and his brother Adrian Johnson, a fourth grade student at Cason Lane Academy.

Discussion:  American Education Week-November 18-November 22

We’re excited this year that River Oaks Church will be providing full Thanksgiving dinners to 55 families from Mitchell-Neilson. Additionally, the Tracy Lawrence Organization is delivering 100 prepared turkey dinners to Cason Lane Academy. This act of kindness guarantees that more of our families can enjoy a special Thanksgiving meal together. 
 
 
The Season of Sharing has begun and will bring so much joy to our students next month. Thanks to the combined efforts of several community partners, including General Mills, Band of Brothers with North Boulevard, and our very own MCS Instructional Team, students will receive gifts and essential items to make the Christmas season a little brighter. These generous organizations and teams have "adopted" students to provide them with gifts and necessities for the Christmas Season. This is such a great example of community spirit that is making a difference in our students lives. We are thankful to our community partners!
 
North Boulevard Church of Christ is hosting their annual "Very Special Christmas Party.   Our students in need and their families are invited to come for a meal, enjoy a performance by the youth group, and celebrate the season with gift-giving. Coats will also be available for anyone in need. This is such a special time for students and their families to enjoy, and we are so grateful for the partnership with North Boulevard.

Murfreesboro City Schools would like to thank the City Schools Foundation for the hours they spent on tennis and pickleball courts this past weekend to help raise money for our district. 

Also, you all received an invitation to participate in the census from Mr. Sam Huddleston.  Please do your part and complete the census for our city. 

Discussion:  Ms. Cynthia Hopkins came forward and presented the highlights of the ESP program.  She shared a PowerPoint of the program with the Board.

Discussion:  Amanda Moore said that she was a little hesitant about approving this policy because of the possibility of communicable diseases. She asked Dr. Duke to clarify this portion of the policy.  Dr. Duke stated that previously the applicant had to have a health statement from a physician verifying that they were physically capable to do the work.  Now, the physician will actually have to certify that the applicant does not have the communicable diseases that will be listed on the form.  It is a little more specific than it was before.  

Discussion:  Mr. Bartch came forward to give details of the building at 910 Ridgely Road.  Mr. Bartch shared pictures of the property and explained where it is located.  He said that it is fenced and gated and includes loading docks for surplus property.  He said that we would be able to buy in bulk and have a storage location for those items.  He shared a layout of the inside of the building.  He explained that there are nine tenants in the building at this point, and only one has signed a lease with the current owner.  He added that there are bays for buses.  He said that our current transportation/maintenance facility is approximately 8000 square feet and this property at 910 Ridgely Road is 47000 square feet. 

Ms. Long asked about renovations.  Mr. Bartch said that they are minimal. He said that if we closed on the property today, we could move in and start to work.  Dr. Duke added that since we don't have to have programs for students, there is alot less that we have to do to be ready. 

Chair Campbell voiced his concern for the tenants in the building.  Mr. Bartch said that the Board would only be approving a letter of intent and the decision regarding the tenants would be negotiated in the next phase of this process.  Mr.  Bartch said that the next step would be to produce a contract to purchase the building.

Ms. Bush added that we would have to change board policy to allow leasing so prior to approving the contract, the Board would have to approve a policy change. 

Mr. Campbell said that as of now, the city can lease property and Ms. Bush clarified that the city can legally lease, but we would be the legal owners and not the city, therefore changes would have to be made to our policies.  Dr. Duke added that we would do all we could to honor the tenants currently in the building.

Karen Dodd said that she is excited about this opportunity, but asked what would become of the current facility?  Mr. Bartch said that we have a city agreement and they are interested in the property that is in agreement with taxpayer money. 

Chair Campbell said that he likes the possibility of a new transportation/maintenance facility. 

David Settles asked about parking buses and Mr. Bartch said that they would still park at the schools as they do now.  Dr. Duke said that it's not a bad thing to have buses spread out across the city to keep drivers from having to drive across town to a bus garage. 

Jimmy Richardson said that opportunities like this are why we keep healthy fund balances. He said let's do this for Wes Ballard!

Dr. Duke said that he would set up a special called meeting soon for the Board to view the facility.  He added that he would be taking the letter of intent to the city council on Thursday pending board approval.  

Discussion:  Mr. Daniel Owens presented the budget preparation calendar to the Board. 

Amanda Moore said that she loves that we map out the budget timeline, but wondered where we build in time to get feedback from parents, faculty, and the community. 

Dr. Duke said that he will receive feedback from the Teacher Advisory Committee in February as well as from Principals at the February principals' meeting.  He added that two zoom meetings with parents are already set for March 27th, one at noon and one at 5:00 p.m. He said that he presents to teachers and principals first and asks them to prioritize their needs, and then at the parent meeting in March, he can preview these things with parents and get their feedback.  He said that there is no parent survey planned, but he could do that if that is the desire of the Board.  Ms. Moore said that something went out on Dojo or Peachjar last year to parents, and she would like to see that happen this year as well.  Dr. Duke said that he will work with Lisa Trail and Daniel Owens to get something out to every family in the district. 



 

Discussion:  Dr. Duke said that he wanted to give a shout out to our behavior team that presented at the TSBA Leadership and Annual Convention. He said that the team represented us well at the conference.

Maria Johnson came forward to update the Board on the collaborative conferencing process.  She told them that the poll would go out to certified staff on November 13th until Friday, November 22.  She said that she would have more information after the poll was closed and could report back to the Board at that time.

Dr. Duke said that the state legislature has introduced a bill bringing back vouchers.  He said that the bill would fund 20,000 vouchers, 10,000 based on income and 10,000 with no income requirement.  He said that the students would have to take a standardized achievement test, but not TCAP.  Teachers would receive a one-time bonus of $2000.00, but the state's definition of teacher may not be the same as the definition of teacher as outlined in the law, and would not include administrators. He said that there was a provision in the law that guarantees that state funding of a district cannot decrease from the previous year as well as a provision that homeschool students are not eligible.  Dr. Duke said that there were alot of similarities to the previous bill as well as new pieces.  He said that he will watch it closely. 

Jimmy Richardson said that the average cost of a private school education is $13,000 a year, and they are offering $7700.  He asked how an impoverished family could come up with the remaining $5300.  He said that he was sick of this legislation and the pony show.  

David Settles asked if this bill is from the same sponsors as the previous.  Dr. Duke said that he did not know about the sponsors, but could find out and send to Mr. Settles. 



 

Discussion:  Bill Shacklett said that he would like to thank the city schools staff for handling the situation that happened at two of our schools last week.

Barbara Long said that she spent time with PreK today.  She said that the special education PreK is mandated by the state but not fully funded.  She would like the Board to draft a resolution to the state to ask for funding of this program through TISA. 

Dr. Duke said that Ms. Bush could draft a resolution around this. He feels that this is very timely as they look at moving money away from education and that is program is clearly working and we are not getting funding for it. 

Amanda Moore added that she, Barbara Long, and David Settles sat on the delegate assembly at the TSBA Conference and this was passed overwhelmingly that everyone would like to see this be a focus.  She said that this touches every district across the state. 

Bill Shacklett reminded everyone to go to the city's website and complete the census.  He said that this will help fund education, parks, and roads.  

 

Discussion:  The meeting adjourned at 6:59 p.m.