July 28, 2026 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Discussion:  Present:Dr. Trey Duke, Ken Rocha, April Zavisa, Sheri Arnette, Cherie Richardson, Jaclyn Saunders, Angela Fairchild, Sia Phillips, Cathy Pressnell, Maria Johnson, Daniel Owens, Kimberly Hix, Enuel Carraballo, Crystal Landis, Carissa Crismon, Melissa Miffleton, Don Bartch, Jeremy Lewis, Lisa Trail, Caitin Bullard, Jessica Snell, Beth Warren, Jen Hickson, Shea Payne, Niki Stely, Rebecca Haigh, Kim Fischer

Assistant City Attorney Lauren Bush, and City Liaison Bill Shacklett

Discussion:  No Public Comment.

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Discussion:  Dr. Duke recognized Discovery School as a National BETA School of Distinction and National BETA School of Merit. Discovery School Principal, Dr. Caitlin Bullard, introduced her school's national winners at the BETA National Convention and recognized BETA Club sponsors Beth Warren, Jennifer Hickson, Shea Payne, Kelsey McKnight, Jason Page, Kelley Kleppinger and Tiara Vance, as well as all the other staff members who pour into this project.

Board Member Amanda Moore commented that this is just outstanding and thanked Dr. Bullard for representing MCS so well.  Butch Campbell asked how many children our students competed against.  BETA Club sponsor Beth Warren replied that our students compete in several rounds of competition throughout the year before even moving forward to the finals and placing in the nation.  

Discussion:  Mr. Steve Haley, TSBA Mid-Cumberland District Director, awarded the Murfreesboro City School Board with TSBA's Board of Distinction Award, which is one of TSBA's most prestigious awards.  Mr. Haley commended the Board for meeting the requirements in the four key areas focusing on planning, policy, promotion and board development.  

Board Chair, Amanda Moore thanked Mr. Haley and all the board members.  She continued by thanking the MCS administrative staff for helping put together the application. 

Discussion:  Dr. Cathy Presnell and Sheri Arnette presented the board with a brief overview of the various professional development sessions offered to our teachers this summer. 

Dr. Presnell reported that this year MCS hosted two versions of the Summer Literacy Institute. The original version is centered around the knowledge-building modules in our curriculum.  We hosted 23 K-5  teachers and 3 ESL teachers.  Our new version is over 8 hours of pre-work and almost 40 hours of in-person work that is focused on the curriculum's skills blocks, which is the foundational skills part of literacy.  This cohort had 33 teachers in grades K-2, with 14 being kindergarten teachers.  Dr. Presnell is proud to report that teacher feedback continues to be strong from the program, and reports that MCS has had 210 teachers, coaches and leaders have been trained in ELA, with 11 of these teachers having attended both versions of the institutes.  

Assistant Superintendent, Sheri Arnette reported that MCS' New Teacher Orientation was held last week at MTSU in the College of Education building.  We had 62 teachers attending each day with an emphasis on literacy, math and science curriculum, along with classroom management and instructional technology sessions. Ms. Arnette has received positive comments from many teachers which she shared with the Board. Ms. Arnette also reported that today, 65 professional development sessions were held at Erma Siegel Elementary, with various district presenters covering many different topics.  MCS had over 200 of our teachers attend, and so far, feedback for all the professional development offered has been overwhelmingly positive.   

Discussion:  Dr. Trey Duke introduced Jackson Baker, who is seeking approval for his Eagle Scout Project at Black Fox Elementary.  He will be building two buddy benches, which will be decorated colorfully and secured into the ground on the Black Fox campus.  The purpose of these benches is that if a student doesn't have someone to play with, they sit on the bench and other students will notice and invite them to play. The purpose of this project is to prevent children from being left out and alerting other children of someone needing a playing companion. As part of his project, Jackson will also be providing Black Fox's 1st through 4th grade classrooms with a book about buddy benches and will be cleaning up trash around the Black Fox campus.  

Board member Karen Dodd asked if Jackson went to Black Fox as a student.  Jackson stated that, yes, he was a Black Fox student.  Ms. Dodd continued by asking Jackson what grade he's in this year.  Jackson replied that he will be a senior in high school this year.

Board member Jeanette Price thanked Jackson for his effort and hard work.  She also commented that we appreciate him thinking about MCS as he celebrates his tenure with the Boy Scouts in completing his Eagle Scout project.  

Board Member Amanda Moode asked if Jackson would be building the benches himself.  Jackson stated yes, he would build the benches and his friends, family members and troop members would help secure them in the ground.  

Discussion:  Board Member Jeanette Price commented that she noticed Juneteenth wasn't one of MCS' holidays and asked how we could add that day to the list of holidays.  

Dr. Trey Duke stated that days off are at the discretion of the Board, and if they want to add this day to the holiday list, the Board could vote to add it.  

Ms. Price stated that she would like to see this holiday added and proceeded to make a Motion to Amend Policy 5.310 to add Juneteenth as a paid holiday for 12-month employees. 
 

Discussion:  Board Member Jeanette Price asked whether homeschool students would be able to participate in MCS' extracurricular activities along with courses at the elementary level.  Assistant City Attorney Lauren Bush replied that they could not enroll in our courses based on our Board Policy and State statue.  She further explained that an extracurricular activity request depends on and begins with the school principal. The school principal would work with Assistant Superintendent Ken Rocha.  The decision would be based on the activity and the time of day they would need to use the facilities, etc. 

Board Member Karen Dodd asked if this was just our policy. Lauren Bush responded that it's state law now as part of Public Chapter 912.  Ms. Dodd followed up by asking if this test is the same as the test our students take. Dr. Trey Duke responded that this is another pathway for homeschool students, and they have to take a nationally-norm test that doesn't have to necessarily be in our school.  Ms. Dodd confirmed with Dr. Duke that these students get to pick what test they take.  Dr. Duke confirmed this.  

Board Member Amanda Moore asked if the test had to be monitored.  Dr. Duke answered that the assessment has to be proctored by someone who is not a family member, but it does not specify where the assessment has to be taken.

Board Member Barbara Long asked what MCS' responsibility was if a homeschool student was falling behind. Lauren Bush responded that we no longer have a responsibility, and she reported that this used to be monitored by Mr. Rocha's department.  Ms. Bush reiterated that there is now no recourse for a school district to follow if we have concerns about a homeschool student.  Mrs. Long confirmed that MCS is not accountable for their performance.

Board Member Jeanette Price verified that homeschool students would still have to register under us as a homeschool student.  Dr. Duke confirmed this as either an independent homeschool student or under an umbrella school.  Assistant Superintendent Ken Rocha confirmed this.  Ms. Price confirmed that now MCS is only accountable for registration. Mr. Rocha stated that if the student is in 3rd or 5th grade, we're looking at their assessment, but the difference now is that we're not having a follow-up conversation with the parents. 

Board Member Barbara Long confirmed that the parents are responsible for turning in their scores.  Dr. Duke confirmed that we are not responsible and can't take action if they're falling behind. 

Board Member Amanda Moore verified that if a homeschool child isn't doing well, the child has no support from anyone outside the home.  Ms. Bush confirmed that there is now less oversight if a child is falling behind.  She followed up by stating they could still come and test with us, and we would report back on their progress.  

 

Discussion:  Board Member Barbara Long asked what this looks like during the school day with respect to the communication to parents. 

Dr. Trey Duke informed the Board that MCS has always been proactive in alerting families, so this is nothing new; it just formalizes the process.  He further stated that Communications Director, Lisa Trail, has been proactive in reviewing the law and is drafting language that the principals can adapt. Assistant Superintendent Ken Rocha is creating a flow chart so that we follow the law in the event a situation arises that will require us to evacuate a classroom. The school staff are aware of how to alert parents which most likely will be delivered to parents the same day. 

Board Member Barbara Long commented that this is just another layer of a laundry list of things our principals have to do. 

Dr. Trey Duke followed up by stating that we want to make sure the communication is coming from the principal or assistant principal, and we are doing what we can do to help with these communications.

Discussion:  Board Member Barbara Long questioned if this directive was coming from the State.  Assistant City Attorney Lauren Bush confirmed that it is a statutory requirement. Ms. Long continued by commenting that she can see a lot of issues with this.  

Board Member Jeanette Price asked if providers would go through our background and security checks before entering schools. Ms. Bush stated that we are being very intentional with onboarding from specific providers that will include training, safety, security, and background checks. Ms. Bush further stated that we have procedures set up, and the Director of Special Education, Angela Fairchild, will be working closely with the schools.  Ms. Bush also stated that we have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that we require each provider who will be coming into our schools to sign.  Ms. Bush further stated that we are proceeding slowly so we can head off any problems before we start.  She also informed the Board that we have had some requests already.  Ms. Bush noted that the request for these services has to come from the parents, not the provider. 

Board Member Barbara Long asked if the academic block would be protected.  Dr. Trey Duke confirmed that it would be and that we will work it out with the provider to be sure it doesn't interfere with any IEP services we are required to provide.  

Board Member Jeanette Price verified that this cannot replace a student's IEP.  Dr. Duke confirmed that it could not replace a student's IEP and that this is in addition to any IEP services we provide as a district.  Dr. Duke also emphasized that the process starts with the parent, not the provider.  

Board Member Amanda Moore stated that she had a lot of worries reading this law but felt better after reading our policy.  Ms. Bush stated that she has drafted this policy from scratch to make it individualized to MCS and the challenges that we anticipate. 

Discussion:  Board Member Karen Dodd asked if we are already doing this. Dr. Trey Duke confirmed that our school counselors complete a child safety unit every spring with every student. 

Board Member Amanda Moore questioned whether this will eliminate anything we normally do. Dr. Duke stated no, everything we do will stay the same. 

Board Member Barbara Long asked Communications Director Lisa Trail if we plan to offer any child trafficking courses at our Parent University this year. Dr. Duke responded that we will meet with our Family and Community Engagement Coordinator, Jennifer Lowe, in order to get this added to our Parent University and get the date of this session to the Board. 

Discussion:  Board Member Butch Campbell asked if there was any increase to student fees this year.  Dr. Trey Duke responded that these amounts are the same as last school year.  

Board Member Amanda Moore stated that she likes the way we approve these fees up front now versus how they were approved individually in the past. 

Mr. Campbell followed up by asking if every T-shirt for a student would be $15. Dr. Duke responded that any time we charge a student a fee, the Board has to approve; however, this doesn't mean all students will be charged $15. It states that they can be charged up to the amounts mentioned. Anything over these capped amounts would still come to the Board for review.  

Discussion:  Board Member Amanda Moore asked if we had bid out this project.

Assistant City Attorney Lauren Bush stated that we are part of the State's Central Procurement Office (CPO), and they require bids for projects like this.  By being a part of the State's CPO, it allows individual governmental agencies to operate off of it.  
 

Discussion:  Dr. Trey Duke informed the Board that this personnel report includes all the new teachers who start work on Friday.  
 

Discussion:  Dr. Trey Duke informed the Board that on Friday we officially welcome back all of our teachers and 10-month classified employees for the 26-27 school year.  He continued by saying that over the course of the next week, they will be participating in professional development sessions both at the school and district levels and will also have time in their classrooms.  School open houses occur on August 5th, students return on August 7th, and then we begin our kindergarten phase-in the following week.  Dr. Duke also relayed that we are looking forward to everyone being back, and reminded families to be sure to check the website for school-specific information and to get their students registered in Skyward.

Dr. Duke further added that he is so very proud of Amy Jackson for being one of nine top teachers in the State.  He further stated that over the past several years, we've had a lot of our excellent employees recognized at the State level.  Board Member Amanda Moore stated that she and fellow Board Member Jeannette Price visited the New Teacher Luncheon where Amy Jackson spoke, and they were very impressed with her by getting them motivated!

Board Member Barbara Long asked how many positions we still had open.  Dr. Duke informed the Board that all classroom positions are filled.  Director of Human Resources Maria Johnson reported that we still have openings for four CDC teachers, a BEST teacher and a vision teacher.  

Board Member Amanda Moore followed up confirming that we have financial incentives available for some of these positions.  Ms. Johnson confirmed that a $10,000 stipend is available for the BEST position and a $2,000 stipend for the CDC teaching positions.

Board Member Barbara Long asked whether we were through with construction everywhere.  Assistant Superintendent of Operations Don Bartch updated the Board, noting that the Bradley ceiling project wrapped up last night, and the Mitchell-Neilson new doors project should be finalized next week.  Mr. Bartch further commented that the ceiling project was a massive project on a very strict timeline.  Ms. Long further asked if we would be able to get the building cleaned before the teachers return.  Mr. Bartch replied that we are doing that right now, and ABM is there to make sure everything is cleaned. 

Finally, Board Member Butch Campbell commented that there were a massive number of people at Mitchell-Neilson on Saturday.  Communications Director Lisa Trail replied that we had over 1,000 people in attendance at the event put on by our Family Resource Center and our community partners. 

Discussion:  Meeting adjourned at 7:23pm