School Board has Called Meeting and Work Session
The Jefferson County School Board met for a called meeting and work session Monday, September 14, 2015 at First Tennessee Bank. Director of Schools Charles Edmonds opened the meeting with the distribution of the Director’s Evaluation for 2014-2015. First on the agenda was the presentation of the newly revised Federal and State mandated achievement goals. The new assessment cannot use “smart goals,” meaning goals based on predictions of an increase in proficiency from year to year. It was explained that goals for the year had to be completely reworked, and that further clarification and refinement would be done over the following two weeks.
It was also revealed that assessments in all subjects will still be given, and all but Science and the first parts of English and Math will be taken online. Part One of English and Math will be taken in February, with the rest of the tests falling in April, as usual. A motion to accept the draft was made by School Board Member Vines, and was seconded by Board Member Cavanah. A brief overview of wellness at the high school was given, with rise in satisfaction with school meals being noted, as well as feeding a rough estimate of 1400 students a day. Cavanah made a motion to accept the Student Nutrition Wellness Form, which was seconded by Vines.
Next on the agenda was discussion surrounding the state of math books in the school system. Central Office Supervisor Sherry Finchum informed the Board that, from grade 3 up, all students have a math book of their own. Since this years’ books no longer match the assessment, and classwork is given to match the assessment, concerns were raised over the availability of additional resources for students, particularly those without home computers. Tncore.org was a resource of note.
The final items to be looked at were the estimated budgets for fixing various windows across the county:
Jefferson Elementary School Gym Windows: $55,000 – $65,000
Maury Middle School Gym Windows: $70,000 – $80,000
Piedmont Elementary Gym Windows: $30,000 – $40,000
Piedmont Elementary Classroom Windows (4): $50,000 – $60,000
Talbott Elementary School Gym Windows: $15,000 – $20,000
Director of Business Affairs and Maintenance for Jefferson County Schools Michael Phagan explained that the current plan is to put all of the window repairs out to bid, though Maury Middle School’s gym and Piedmont Elementary’s gym will have money awarded to them (by motions already in place for Capital and BEP funding, respectively). A request was made by Bradley to have these brought back at the next work meeting for further budget discussion. Phagan went on to explain that the work must be done between Dec. 18, 2015 – Jan. 6, 2016, so as not to disrupt school activities, and that more information on Piedmont’s cases will be ready by the Board’s meeting on the 24th. In other business, the Dandridge Elementary library’s carpet repair did not have a price assessment, though it was estimated by the Board to be around $10,000. A motion to adjourn was made by Board Member Lowery and was appropriately seconded.
A final reminder was given that Jefferson County High School’s Open House will be this Friday, September 18, 2015.
