School Board Holds Second to Last Meeting Before Welcoming New Members

The Jefferson County School Board is winding up business that is currently on its agenda, in preparation of the exit of three sitting Board Members and the swearing in of their replacements. Board Members Cavanah and Rogers will be retiring from their posts at the end of the month and Board Member Lowery made an unsuccessful bid for reelection. Their seats will be held by newcomers Cox and Fair, as well as Solomon who previously served on the Jefferson County School Board and was reelected following a one term hiatus.

Thursday, the current Board met to take up some pending business and hear a request from the Jefferson County Central Office to revisit a previous issue. In a previous, recent, Board Meeting the School Board voted that school breakfast would be served in the cafeteria of the various schools rather than in classrooms, citing time and cleanliness as concerns. According to representatives from the School System’s Central Office, equipment had been purchased to facilitate the Breakfast in Classroom program with a grant and the terms of the grant were not being met. School Board Member Vines stated that he had received several emails from teachers that did not favor eating breakfast in the classroom. Several Board Members, including Vines, stated that the Breakfast in the Classroom put an undue burden on instructional time and did not provide a separation in eating time and work time. The Board noted that there is sufficient time for students to receive breakfast in the cafeteria and that any student that needs breakfast has time to eat. Representatives of the Central Office stated that they had spoken with grant officials and that a Grab and Go option was sufficient to meet the terms of the grant. Board Members stressed that they support students eating breakfast but want whichever option utilized to be in the cafeteria. According to the Central Office Representatives, each Principal was contacted to develop a plan for their school and only a couple included eating in the classrooms. They said that they will tweak those plans to be sure that meals are taken outside the classroom. One parent spoke to the issue and stated that her child has severe food allergies and eating in the classroom could be detrimental to her health, as it is a less controlled environment.

The Board rolled taking a voted on a request from the Jefferson County Commission regarding the disbursement of funds from a pending law suite and monies remaining from the recent building programs until later this month. They were informed that there will be an alternative road established at White Pine School for use during construction so that equipment and regular school traffic are not using the same pathways. The Board voted to move a log cabin that is on the Bush property and place it at Maury Middle School.