School Board Restarts Work Sessions

Jefferson County School Board Members met for a Work Session on Thursday evening, October 13, 2016 in the Patriot Academy. Members of the Board heard pricing estimates on carpet and tile costs but it is likely that there will not be a wide spread project until next fiscal year, as that is where replacement falls on the approved Capital Projects time line. More immediately, the Board may be addressing drainage issues at White Pine School and Piedmont School, which have lead to mold concerns. Director of Business Affairs for Jefferson County School, Michael Phagan, informed the Board that the School’s Maintenance Department may be able to handle the bulk of the drainage repairs but he does not feel comfortable in committing to the project until he knows better what the parameters will be.

Several policy issues were discussed in the Work Session, including accrued sick day pay for teachers and responsibilities of the Director of Schools and the Board. New Board Member Fair requested that the latter be placed on the agenda due to questions regarding an employee discipline issues earlier this year. Fair said that her first order of business as a newly seated Board Member was to field questions regarding an incident of inappropriate behavior. She stated that she did not agree with the actions that the Department of Education took and requested information on what, if any, avenues are open to Board Members who disagree with an administrative call, such as discipline. The Jefferson County School Board Attorney was on hand at the request of Director of Schools Edmonds and informed the Board that they act as a grand jury and Board of Appeals, but the initial judgment is at the discretion of the Director of Schools. Influencing situations such as the recent incident would be via their relationship with Director Edmonds as his employer.

Other items of interest included new board member training, field trips and updates on the baseball stadium and litigation from Building 8. Director Edmonds informed the Board that mitigation had not yielded the desired result and that the Building 8 issue was likely headed to court early in the New Year. Board Member Bradley requested that Edmonds bring the offer extended during mitigation before the Board for vote.