Two grants, mowing bids, and audio recording equipment appeared on the special called meeting of the Union County Board of Education last month.
Spring has arrived, the grass is growing and the former mowing contractor has gone out of business.
The Central Finance Purchasing Agent bid out a new contract that was much the same as the previous one. But the BOE requested that the contract only be for a partial calendar year and asked if a better use of funds would be to add one or two maintenance employees to mow.

January 30 was the first day on the job for Greg Clay, the new Director of Union County Schools. At the regular meeting on January12, the Union County Board of Education approved a motion by Brad Griffey to accept a three-year contract as negotiated with a minor change to delete the word academic and broaden the scope of the four performance goals.

At its December 20, 2022, the Union County Board of Education elected to negotiate a director's contract with Washburn Principal Gregory Clay. Clay had been employed as a teacher and a principal at Horace Maynard Middle School. The announcement brought a round of applause from the audience.

The Union County Board of Education will have a new sound system that will include individual microphones that can be controlled by the member and a central location such as the chairperson. The board's action at its November meeting addresses concerns from board members and parents who had difficulty hearing the discussion at the meetings. Chip Brown offered the board several options but recommended the local vendor known as Avco because of the high quality at less expense.

The Union County Board of Education approved two candidates for consideration for director as recommended by the Tennessee School Board Association in a special called meeting on Monday, December 5, 2022. Ten applicants were considered by TSBA and the two recommended were Angela Messer, a Knox County Supervisor of Music, who will interview on Wednesday, December 14, and Gregory Clay, a Grainger County Principal, who will interview on Monday, December 19.

The Union County Board of Education will be employing a new Director of Schools. A key part of this process is to provide everyone an opportunity to be heard. Dr. Tammy Grissom, Executive Director of the Tennessee School Boards Association, will lead a forum designed to determine views about the issues and challenges facing our school system and Director of Schools.

The Union County Board of Education has decided to meet at various schools for many of the 2022-2023 meetings. In August, the board met at Luttrell Elementary School.
It was a fitting venue to pay tribute to the outgoing board member of Plainview, Gerald Smith. Dr. Jimmy Carter, Director of Schools, thanked Smith for his 20 years of service and acknowledged his effort at Luttrell Elementary where he was also a parent volunteer for many years, especially when his daughter was a student.

The Union County Board of Education placed Dr. Jimmy Carter as the interim director at its called June 23 meeting. The action was the culmination of a series of events that left the district without a director for a short time.
Parents had voiced concerns at the May and June board of education meetings regarding bullying, vaping and other student behaviors. Carter abruptly resigned after the parents spoke on June 9.

A dozen or so parents with concerns about Horace Maynard Middle School attended the Union County Board of Education meeting in May. Jessica Waggoner, the spokesperson, said that her fifth grader was terrified at the thought of being a student in the middle school next year.
Waggoner listed vaping, fights in the bathrooms and punishing everyone for the bad behavior of some as issues to be addressed. Another parent echoed these issues and added that bathrooms need adult monitors. One grandmother suggested that the middle school needs a PTO and better communication with parents.

Director of Schools Dr. Jimmy Carter and Finance Director Missy Brown shared estimates in revenues and expenditures for the FY23 School Budget at the Union County Board of Education Meeting on April 12.
Projected increases in revenue include local sales tax, the virtual school payment, and BEP growth funds. Salaries as well as equipment and supply costs account for most of the expenditure increases.