At the regular January meeting of the Union County Board of Education, Dr. Jimmy Carter announced that the school system is applying to be a distribution site for COVID-19 vaccine in order to vaccinate school employees according to the established age groups.
Nurses at each of the respective schools will administer the vaccine. He also informed the board that the CARES Act, which provided $900,000 in health, safety, and instructional improvements, will bring $3.5 million in this round of support. Carter stated that some of the money would be spent on summer school, the reading program, and most likely to upgrade each school's HVAC to have a higher quality air filtration system to improve health and safety.
On the Basic Education Program (BEP) funding, Carter stated that he was notified by the Tennessee Department of Education that the BEP money for teacher salaries will be increased by 2 percent in January and another 2 percent in July of 2021. But the increase in earned BEP funding does not mean an across the board raise of 2 percent in January or July.
The Union County School System employs approximately 50 more teachers than earned under BEP funding. Since Union County funded a teacher raise during the current year and did not cut the raise as in other counties, the money being sent in January will help fund the current raise already in place while the July increase will go toward a yet-to-be decided amount in 2021-2022 (FY 22 Budget).
For over two years, the Board of Education has been in pending litigation with the Union County Historical Society. Board Attorney Mary Ann Stackhouse reported that the Tennessee Supreme Court was encouraging litigants to settle disputes through mediation.
She recommended that the board agree to mediation with the Union County Historical Society and Mr. Dyer as encouraged by the Tennessee Supreme Court due to COVID causing a backlog in cases. Brad Griffey of District 2 (Luttrell) volunteered to accompany Carter and Stackhouse in the mediation. The board approved the recommendation. According to Stackhouse, the first meeting may be in March.
The board approved school calendars for 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. Next school year will begin on August 4, but a staggered schedule may be necessary due to possible COVID concerns and because a short transition from summer break may be good instructional practice and a way to help address the learning gap caused by the pandemic.
If approved by the state, the first full day with full attendance would be on Friday, August 6. Fall break is scheduled for October 11-15, with spring break from March 28-April 1, and the last day is Friday, May 27, 2022, before Memorial Day. The 2022-2023 calendar will start on August 3 with fall break from October 10-14, spring break from March 27-March 31, and the last day on Friday, May 26, 2023.
Carolyn Murr, president of the Union County Education Association, reported that the copy machines need repairs at most of the schools. Carter responded that the system is in the process of replacing copy machines at all schools but did not state a timeline.
The board approved all budget amendments and transfers. County Finance Director Ann Dyer explained the changes and noted that a cafeteria serving line for Luttrell Elementary and interactive white boards for Paulette Elementary were included in the amendments. Dyer further explained that the contract with Johnson Controls for Paulette Elementary School is in the second year of a five-year agreement.
All Tennessee School Board Association (TSBA) Recommended Changes to Board Policy passed on the second reading. Included were Deletion of 4.203 (Advanced College Placement); 4.205 (Enrollment in College Level Courses); 6.304 (Student Discrimination, Harassment, Bullying, Cyber-Bullying, and Intimidation); New Policy 6.3041 (Title IX & Sexual Harassment, choosing Preponderance of Evidence per Board Attorney Mary Ann Stackhouse’s recommendation); 6.305 (Student Concerns); 6.309 (Zero Tolerance Offenses); 6.309 (Zero Tolerance Offenses); 6.316 (Suspension); 6.317 (Student Disciplinary Hearing Authority); 6.319 (Alternative Education); 6.409 (Reporting Child Abuse). The Board also passed on second reading Policy 3.406 (Commercial Advertising on School Buses choosing “attach by a secure means” in item 5 per recommendation from Transportation Manager Lenny Holt).
The next meeting will be on Thursday, February 11, at Union County High School.