March 25, 2025 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Discussion:  In attendance:  Dr. Trey Duke, Lisa Trail, Daniel Owens, Jaci Saunders, April Zavisa, Sheri Arnette, Angela Fairchild, Don Bartch, Maria Johnson, Jeremy Lewis

Assistant City Attorney Lauren Bush and City Liaison Bill Shacklett

Discussion:  The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Board Member, Ms. Jeanette Price.

Discussion:  Ms. Karen Dodd asked who this bonus is for.  Dr. Duke clarified that the group that will receive the bonus are fulltime classroom teachers, librarians, music, art, school counselors whom are staffed to a school and spends a majority of their day in instruction with students.  He said that the State set forth the guidelines and, in April, the State will send a report that we will clean up and send back to make sure that we have the correct information.  The pull of information will be done in June. 

Jimmy Richardson made a motion to amend the previous motion. He wanted all wording removed preceding the statement at the bottom beginning with "Be it resolved."  His motion died because of no second.  He stated that he did not want to be tied to the inappropriate bill.  He agreed that teachers need to be paid, but he would not affix his name to the resolution, especially when he feels that the language at the bottom of the resolution was sufficient.

Amanda Moore said that we are just a pass through as the resolution states so that our teachers receive the money. She felt that the resolution was well written and clear to state that point. 

Karen Dodd asked if every member of the Board had to sign it for it to pass.  Ms. Bush said no, the resolution will go through a roll call vote and as long as that passed, we will send the resolution to the proper people.

After much discussion, a roll call vote was taken and the resolution passed. 

Butch Campbell-absent
Karen Dodd-yes
Barbara Long-yes
Amanda Moore-yes
Jeannette Price-yes
Jimmy Richardson-no
David Settles-absent

4 yes, 1 no-the resolution passes.


 

Discussion:  Karen Dodd asked why the delivery fee was so expensive.  Jaclyn Saunders said that the USDA gives us a set amount.  The government ibis paying for the food and we have to pay to get it from their warehouse to ours.

Barbara Long asked if we use local businesses, and Ms. Saunders said yes, we get our items from Cookeville, TN. 

 

Discussion: 
 

Discussion:  Dr. Duke presented the Enrollment report in Mr. Ken Rocha's absence.  He informed the Board that he received news yesterday that our weighted ADA, the percent of students that we are serving in K-12 in Rutherford County, went up.  He stated that last year we were at 14.5 percent, and this year we are at 14.9 percent.  He said that it is a small increase, but still an increase.  He said that he will go more in depth in April during our budget discussions. 
 

Discussion:  Ms. Arnette presented an update on Summer School.  She said that students will be attending Summer School at six sites Monday through Thursday from June 2-June 27. She added that they would be observing Juneteenth, therefore students will be required to attend on June 20. 

She told the Board that registration was set to close yesterday, but since the numbers were not what she expected, she was extending registration to April 14.  She said that there are 672 students registered as of March 24. She added that around this time last year, we had 800 students registered.  She said that 156 teachers have committed to the 4-week program along with 10 administrators.  Ms. Arnette feels that numbers will go up, especially after TCAP.

Ms. Arnette will be attending a webinar on Thursday to review the summer school application, which we probably won't receive until later in April. 

Dr. Duke said that we are excited about the commitment from 156 teachers.  He also expects the registration numbers to go up.  He added that we will begin working with transpiration so that they can begin planning quickly. 

Barbara Long asked if the State pays for the entire Summer School program and Ms. Arnette said yes.


 

Discussion:  Ms. Trail explained the changes of the City Schools Foundation By Laws to the Board.  She said that there were not alot of changes, but since the by laws were 20 years old, she had to adjust them to make sure the laws match what the Foundation actually does on a daily basis. 


 

Discussion:  Dr. Duke thanked Ms. Long for serving on the CIty Schools Foundation as board member.

Dr. Duke said that spring break is next week. 

Dr. Duke said that he was receiving alot of questions about what the Executive Order dismantling of the Department of Education would mean for us.  He said that he is not sure. He said that he will work through it and see what the impact is.  His concern is federal funding. We received 11.7 million dollars in federal funding this year. He said that Title I and IDEA will continue to be funded at the current levels, but he will continue to watch this and inform the Board of any information he receives. He said that he will go into detail on April 8th.

He reminded the Board that we return on April 7th from spring break, and our first budget session is April 8 from 4:00-8:00 here at central office.  The second budget meeting will be April 8, also from 4:00-8:00 here at central office.  He added that we are in a new place as far as the budget is concerned since we have no ESSER dollars; therefore, no safety net.  He said that he and his team are working hard to make sure that we are really looking at expenses because we will also see a decrease in property tax, which will also be an impact on the budget. 

Barbara Long said that the PreK bill may advance.  Dr. Duke said that the hold up may be in Finance because of the price tag.  He added that we would very much benefit from the funding if it passes because as of now, we have 130 students that we get zero funding for.  He did say that he appreciated Senator White carrying that bill. 

Discussion:  Amanda Moore said that there is a new focus on education in the General Assembly in that districts are given the option of refusing to educate undocumented children.  She added that a school board in Franklin County passed a resolution to not pass these bills. She asked the feeling of the Board on this matter.  The Board agreed.  She asked Ms. Bush to compose a resolution stating our board's disagreement with this bill so that we can vote on it at the next meeting. 

Karen Dodd stated that we need to remember that there are two districts here and if one votes one way and one votes another, things could drastically impact either of the districts.  She told the Board that it was something to think about and she hoped that they don't have to vote on this. 

Jimmy Richardson added that the only thing that matters is the children.  He said that every child matters and needs access to education and food.  He said that there is no reason for a 6-year-old to be punished.  He said that this is board-focused, not political, but is being forced on us.

 

Discussion:  The meeting adjourned at 6:57 p.m.