August 12, 2025 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Discussion:  In attendance:  Dr. Trey Duke, Daniel Owens, Sheri Arnette, Maria Johnson, April Zavisa, Liz Rueby, Angela Fairchild, Jaci Saunders, Adam Bryson, Ken Rocha, Lisa Trail, Hope North, Keith Sneed, and Don Bartch 

Assistant City Attorney Lauren Bush and City Liaison Bill Shacklett 

Discussion:  The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mr. Don Bartch, Assistant Superintendent of School Operations.

Discussion:  We’re off to an amazing start this school year with our Teacher Supply Closet, Backpack Program, and Parent Universities in full swing!
We were excited to have hosted our first MCS Supply Drive at Mitchell-Neilson Primary in partnership with Murfreesboro Muslim Youth, Wellpoint, Read to Succeed, and our MCS Farmers - we provided over 450 children with backpacks, school supplies, books, food, and homegrown veggies! There was also other supply drives held in the community to support our students - we would like to give a big thank you to H3 Church,  HWY 231 Church of Christ, The Experience Community Church, and the Family Worship Center for hosting supply drives on their campuses for our students this summer.
 
We also received an abundance of school supplies from the amazing, annual Stuff the Bus organized by the United Way South Central Tennessee.  We are extremely grateful for their continued support to our students and families.
 
We would also like to thank NHC, Weichart Realty Group,  Chi Omega Sorority, and the TN Comptroller of the Treasury for their generous donations of school supplies made to our Teacher Supply Closet.
Because of these wonderful events we know our students will get the supplies they need to have a confident start to their school year.
 
We are gearing up for our Backpack Program with the first packing day on August 20th. With support again from Second Harvest we will be able to serve 175 students weekly. We would also like to thank Wilson Bank and Trust and First Presbyterian Church for all the food they collected for our Backpack Program this month to make sure our students in need will have plenty of food to start their school year. Thank you to the New Vision 50+ ministry for their continued dedication to pack our Backpack bags on Wednesday mornings and to Fellowship Methodist Church’s FUEL program that serves 4 of our schools in the district with Backpack bags.  We could not run this program alone and are so thankful for the outpour of support from these partners.

We had an exciting kick off for Parent University with our "A Glimpse at Kindergarten" Zoom held on July 31^st- We were thrilled to have over 100 parents join us online!  We also held the Zoom in Spanish to support our ESL families.  It was a successful start for the school year.
We have several great sessions planned for our families in August and September with many more in the works! 
Currently for August and September we have 3 Zooms including: "Let’s Talk About School Anxiety", "Digital Age Education", and "Data Literacy" .  We also have a fun Family Literacy Night planned at the Discovery Center at Murfree Springs on September 16^th where families can come together and experience new ways to have fun learning.   
We are  really excited about our strong start and look forward to connecting with our families this school year to support their child’s learning and development!

Discussion:  School Nutrition Supervisor Jaci Saunders presented information to the Board on the Summer Feeding Program.   She informed the Board that the Chow Bus served 19,890 breakfasts and 28,246 lunches over the summer. Dr. Duke also gave a shout-out to Jennifer Lowe, MCS Community Outreach Coordinator, who took MERV, the family resource bus, and followed the Chow Bus this summer to allow children to receive books and family resources after they received meals from the Chow Bus.  The Board thanked the team for their hard work.  
 

Discussion:  David Settles asked about the recent changes in state law regarding fire drills in schools. 

Dr. Duke explained that the law did change in that it requires that schools have two fire drills in the first 30 school days and then every 30 days after that.  Dr. Duke clarified that we still do monthly fire drills because it's easier to track.  He explained that the second change in the law was that when the fire drill goes off, we do not immediately evacuate.   Teachers are to wait until they hear the second fire drill before they evacuate the building, and we implemented that last year and will continue to implement that this year.   


 

Discussion:  April Zavisa explained this license renewal to the Board. 

Barbara Long asked how many licenses this includes per household.  Ms. Zavisa said that we get a total of 1450 licenses.  She added that students get licenses, but no email.   

Ms. Long also asked when teachers will receive their new computers.  Ms. Zavisa said that orders will be placed by the end of August, once this lease is approved by City Council.  It would then take about three weeks before the computers actually arrive in the district. At that point, the tech team would have to get them imaged.  That will take a couple of weeks.  She said that the computers that teachers currently have are working fine, so there should be no interruptions. 

Dr. Duke added that the Dell lease will go to city council for approval on 8/21 and that will allow us to move forward with purchasing. 

 

Discussion:  Ken Rocha presented the Enrollment Report as of day 4.   Dr. Duke clarified that we have one more half day for kindergarten before they begin full days.  

Mr. Rocha showed a comparison of this time last year with this year's numbers and told the Board that from period nine of last year, we are down 360 students as of today.  He said that he would give a report with more information at the 8/26 workshop.  He said that within the first ten days to two weeks, numbers will change.  He also told the Board that his team, as well as principals, and teachers are calling families and trying to get as much information as possible.  

Mr. Rocha noted that other districts are also experiencing significant declines in kindergarten enrollment. He shared that he is reviewing both state and district trends to better understand the decrease. He also provided the Board with school-by-school enrollment data, highlighting which schools saw increases and which saw declines.

Dr. Duke added that our kindergarten numbers as well as 6th grade numbers are significantly down.  He said that those are the two biggest trends that we are watching right now.  

Amanda Moore asked when we receive requests for records.  Mr. Rocha said that the school that the student moves to will request records and, by the new state law, we have to send them, usually electronically, within five days of the receipt of the request.  Dr. Duke added that is regardless of public, private, or homeschool requests.  Ms. Moore added that should tell us alot about where the students are going.  

Chair Campbell asked if the charter schools have had any influence on this decrease.  He said that he didn't feel that charter schools were a big factor, but as he clarifies numbers, he will have more information about this in the next few days.  

Dr. Duke said that we can't say that charter schools haven't had an impact on our enrollment, but we will continue to monitor these numbers.  Dr. Duke said that he is not concerned at this point.  There are alot of pieces that play into this decrease in enrollment.. 

Mr. Rocha said that he will look at transfer codes when the dust settles.  

Dr, Duke told the Board that he and his team meet every afternoon to look at enrollment numbers, and he will add information regarding enrollment to his Board Update on Friday. 

David Settles asked how buses and transportation have been going.  Mr. Bartch came forward and told the Board that things seem to be running smoothly.  He said that he feels that the new maintenance facility has helped.  He added that we may have to adjust some bus stops, but he is looking into that.   

 

Discussion:  Dr. Duke said that we are in the "get school started" mode at this point.  He said that he was in schools today and teachers were teaching, and he witnessed great instruction already underway.  

He said that tomorrow is another half day for all kindergartners and Thursday will be the first full day for all students.  

Dr. Duke told the Board that federal funding has now been released, and we have gotten our final allocations for FY26.  He said that this amount is determined by the number of at-risk students that we serve.  He added that we received an increase in federal funding with the amount being a little over $800,000.00. He said that he will go into more detail at the board retreat, but it does show the way our demographics have shifted over the past few years and how the percentage of at-risk students is growing.  He said that we will use those funds to maximize educational outcomes for students.  

David Settles asked about the local funding source.  He said that we are good for FY26 but we don't know what will happen next year.  He asked if we are in talks with the City Council about what that looks like.  Dr. Duke said that we have been and will continue to talk with the City Council. He added that the mayor has been a strong advocate for the students of Murfreesboro City Schools to make sure they get what they deserve.  He said that he has been in several meetings and discussed the challenges that we have, and they have been very responsive. 

Karen Dodd asked when teachers would receive their bonus checks.  Dr. Duke said that Dr. Maria Johnson sent an email to staff saying that they would receive their check by August 29th, and we are still on track for that date.  Dr. Duke also added that teachers need to understand that this check will be taxed, so it will not be a check for $2000.00.  He said that we will send out another message to staff the week before the check is direct deposited, explaining that it will be taxed.  

Chair Campbell asked if everything is moved out of the maintenance building.  Dr. Duke said that all offices have been moved.  Don Bartch added that by the end the month, everything will be moved out.  Karen Dodd said that she went by and it looked great.  

 

Discussion:  The meeting ended at 6:45 p.m.