001call the meeting to order. This is the February 17th, 2026 meeting of the Williamson County Board of Education. Welcome everyone. First order of business is our recording attendance. Board members, please record on your devices. There are 12 members present. Thank you. we'll have our pledge of allegiance led by Dan Cash followed by a moment of silence. Please stand to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. You may be seated. Okay, we'll now move into our next item on the agenda which is items of particular public interest or public comment period. We have seven speakers who signed up for the evening. So that will allow each speaker up to three minutes if you choose.
002I will ask each speaker to pay attention to the monitor that's on the podium that keeps track of your time. So be watching that throughout so you so you can know where you stand with that. I will call two speakers at a time and u if the second person can be ready when the first previous person finishes and just come on up to the podium. Our first two speakers are Brad Davis and Steve Hickey. In the past year and a half, the elementary schools in our district have experienced several dangerous situations that are without a doubt disturbing to everyone involved. Everyone from students to the superintendent. I along with other parents have expressed our concerns at previous board meetings and so I'll not restate them here. But recently I learned of another recurring concern that's
003nearly as troubling as the others and is much more common than I realized. As I've spoken with parents and students across the county, it seems that no matter which school they are from, certain children have a tendency to get upset and at times physically destroy the classroom. I was told they do so in such an explosive and dangerous manner that teachers are forced to evacuate the classroom for student safety. The parents and students tell me it's the same children doing this over and over again. After 18 months into looking at into these safety concerns within our districts, I thought I'd found the solution. Recently, I reached out to a friend who's a principal in a nearby county, and they have behavioral modification classrooms in many of their elementary schools. These are separate classrooms led by
004a licensed teacher where students who continually exhibit level four misbehaviors are placed. They're therapeutic interventional classroom environments. Essentially, a child misbehaves their way in and must behave their way out with the guidance and support of a teacher specifically trained to work with students who have these special needs. And once they're back, if they're violent or disruptive, even on their first day back, they're returned to the behavioral modification classroom for further therapeutic intervention. So, I shared my findings with several board members, one of whom spoke with Mr. Golden about it and needless to say I was shocked to learn that our district already has a similar program in place. So Mr. Golden since we have program like this in place currently what's keeping it from being listed as a disciplinary option in the code of conduct
005under level four misbehaviors? What's preventing teachers and principles in our district from using this educational tool when the situation warrants? If repeated violence, death threats, and attempted assault with what could very well be a deadly weapon, and regularly destroying classrooms don't qualify for this program, what does? But most importantly, what's keeping this valuable educational tool from the troubled children who desperately need it? What more are their misguided actions rather than cries for help? What's standing in the way of us offering these children the best services we have? What's preventing us from strengthening and expanding them if needed? I don't have a crystal ball and I can't predict the future, but these behaviors have little chance of correcting themselves on their own. What's at stake for the future of these children if we fail to adapt
006and act to their needs? Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, members of the school board. I'm Steve Hickeyi from Franklin, Tennessee. I'm here on behalf of the Williamson County Republican Party. What would happen if any of us decided not to show up for work? We certainly wouldn't get paid for that for that absence and we might get fired. We all know there are consequences for abregating our responsibilities. It is therefore puzzling that Williamson County Schools has no policy for students who leave school without proper authorization to protest some matter. School is about book learning, yes, but it's also about learning those intangibles in life, punctuality, responsibility, self-control. I would ask, what message are we sending to these truent students? That so long as you feel justified, you can do whatever you want. That if social
007media endorses something, you are free to do that. What are the long-term ramifications for society if that is the lesson Williamson County Schools is sending its students beyond the obvious negative validation this provides students? What legal jeopardy does Williamson County schools incur and by extension all Williamson County taxpayers? Should something happen to when students leave school without permission? Are we operating our school system to a are we opening our law our school system to a lawsuit for failure to perform in local parent responsibilities? And no, an excuse an excuse note after the fact is not going to cover your butts. I strongly urge you to demand a policy that enforces standards of behavior for Williamson County students and heads off potential legal jeopardy for the county. Understanding First Amendment rights is an important part of
008the education process, but so too is appreciating the responsibilities that come with being a member of civil society. Thank you. Thank you. Our next two speakers are JP Kokulka and Stacy Jagger. Members of the school board and attendees, my name is JP Kakulka and I'm a junior at Ravenwood High School. I'm grateful for the opportunity the board has granted to me to speak with all of you today. Since I was 8 years old, I've always dreamed of being a neurosurgeon. I felt drawn to its prestige, but more importantly, the chance to help others. I structured my high school career around that one goal, and I believed that I had found my purpose. Then two of my friends and future teammates Arnov Khana and Ricky Goo encouraged me to join DECA. DECA's mission is straightforward. DECA
009prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. But this definition falls short of describing the ineffable opportunities presented within this organization. I've learned to analyze complex business problems, present solutions under immense pressure, and think critically. I discovered confidence speaking to industry professionals and judges, learning how to lead a team and turn feedback into growth. But most importantly, I've discovered a new vision for my future. Today, I aspire to become an entrepreneur and eventually a corporate lawyer, someone that will one day develop necessary systems to expand legal access and efficiency. I've built some of my closest friendships through late night DECA calls, early mornings during conferences, and countless shared experiences. These aren't just teammates. They're the future of leaders, attorneys, and innovators. In
010Williamson County alone, hundreds of students are a part of this organization, and across Tennessee, thousands are being equipped with the necessary career readiness skills acquired to be successful. As a district, we have an incredible opportunity. We can do more to highlight the accomplishments of our DECA students and support them. We can continue investing in chapters across our schools so that every student, regardless of their background, has access to these transformative experiences. In a recent survey our team conducted, 78.6% of students said the workload is heavy and over 80% said that they hadn't received a noticeable change in the workload. I don't believe it represents a lack of effort from either end, but a lack of communication between teachers and students where no one is at fault. I believe this is an opportunity to have teachers
011and students work together to redefine what a manageable workload really looks like and how we can better communicate expectations during conference weekends. I don't feel as if students should be punished through extensive stressful workloads for trying to further their career education, but we should still hold learning accountable. As I pursue the endeavor of candidacy for the esteemed title of de of a DECA state officer, I carry not just my own story, but I carry the stories of hundreds of students whose futures have also been shaped by this program. I ask that we continue to champion and elevate CTSOs, especially DECA, within our district and across the state, so that even more students can discover opportunities they never knew existed. Thank you for your time and commitment to supporting students like me. Good evening, members of
012the school board, educators, and parents. I'm Dr. Stacy Jagger. I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist and a registered play therapist supervisor, and I'm the owner of Music City Family Therapy here in William Williamson County. Thank you for taking the time to discuss something that affects every classroom and every household. The role of screens in our children's lives. I work with children and families every day and one theme continues to rise to the surface. Many kids are overwhelmed, not because they're incapable, but because their nervous systems are constantly stimulated without enough time to rest, play, and connect in real life. We are seeing more anxiety, sleep struggles, shortened attention spans, and difficulty with peer relationships. These are not isolated incidents. They are patterns appearing across schools and homes. The good news is this is not
013a hopeless problem. There are practical realistic solutions. When schools intentionally balance technology with handson learning, outdoor play, creative projects, and face-to-face collaboration, we see improvements in focus, mood, and engagement. When families are supported with education about healthy screen boundaries, children feel safer and more regulated. This is not about eliminating technology. It's about teaching children how to live well with it. We can create classrooms where devices are tools, not distractions. We can create cultures where connection is valued as highly as curriculum. Children thrive when adults work together, educators, parents, and community leaders to protect their attention, their curiosity, and their emotional well-being. If we focus on balance instead of extremes, we give our children something far more valuable than access. We give them presence, resilience, and the skills to truly learn. Thank you for your time
014and for caring deeply about the future of our students. Thank you. Our next two speakers are John Aston and Elliot Franklin. Good evening board trustees. My name is John Aston and I'm a junior at Ravenwood High School. I want to start off by saying thank you for this opportunity to speak today. I'm honored to speak and advocate for a program as amazing as DECA. Team building, problem solving, and communication are all vital skills that I believe should heavily be emphasized in Williamson County Schools. They set students up for success postgraduation. Everything from employment to handling that nervous first date. Companies more than ever are seeking out individuals with strong social skills. And I'm afraid to say that these ideals are not nearly being supported enough in the current system. While classroom projects or certain assignments
015may aid in the development of the skills mentioned, they are minuscule compared to the resources and opportunities DECA has to offer. I'm a golfer and one thing my dad has always instilled in me is the value of practice. It would be unreasonable for me to expect a lower score on the course when I haven't put in the hours at the driving range. It's the same analogy that applies to business modeling and pitching. I'll be the first to say speaking in front of a crowd is no easy task when starting out. In fact, if you told me a couple of years ago that I would be in front of you all today, I'd call you crazy. DECA is that practice our students need. The program builds confidence in a field that can be extremely cutthroat. Although
016it is my first year in this club, I've already seen its effects on me. It has opened my eyes to a world of possibilities and ways to make money. It's taught me how to collaborate with friends and truly understand just how the business world works. Something that many aren't able to experience until college. DECA as a whole puts our students ahead. I hope you're able to keep these thoughts in mind when making decisions on how to expand and support student learning. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Elliot Franklin. I want to talk about board policy 6306 talking about disruption of school activities. this isn't about a political issue. It's about taking it's not about taking sides in a national debate and it's not about silencing students. Students have certainly
017have the right to express their views. What this discussion is, it's about timing, safety, and policy. As you know, board policy 6306 states that students shall not engage in conduct that disrupts or interferes with the operation of the school. And when students walk out during instructional time, that is disruption to school operations. It interrupts classrooms. It places teachers and administrators in difficult positions. It affects students who choose to remain in the class for expecting a full instructional day. It also creates legitimate safety and liability concerns. During the school day, students are under the supervision of course of of the district. And if students leave campus or they gather offsite during instructional hours, the question becomes, who is responsible if something happens? These policies exist for a reason. They create clarity and consistency. And if we
018selectively enforce them based on the issue that's being protested, then we're no longer operating under neutral rules. and the solution is certainly not to suppress the student expression. It's just to set clear expectations. Students can certainly organize before school, after school. They can participate in structured forums. They can request designated time and space that doesn't interrupt instruction. Instructional time should remain just that, instructional time. We can and should respect students voices while also protecting the learning environment and applying our policies consistently. The balance is not partisan. It's just responsible governance. So, thank you. Thank you. Our final speaker is Beverly Pervvis. Good evening, school board members. Right now, as the Tennessee General Assembly is in session, decisions are being made that will shape the future of public education across our state. Those decisions will affect
019Tennessee students, educators, and communities, not just in policy, language, or legislative text, but in real and immediate ways. At this moment, the voices of locally elected school boards matter more than ever because you bring credibility, context, and lived experience to conversations happening at the state level, grounding big decisions in the real needs of students and schools. The work you do matters not in the abstract, but in classrooms, cafeterias, bus routes, and living rooms across the across our community. I'm here tonight on behalf of the educators and school staff who serve students in this community, but more importantly in alignment with a belief I know that we share. Strong schools are built when people work together. And that working together is how we make this community the best place in which to live, teach, and learn.
020That belief sits at the center of a simple truth. Working together works. It works when school boards, educators, parents, and communities are aligned around what students need to thrive. Not politics or sound bites, but stability, trust, and opportunity. It works when decisions are made close to students by people who know them rather than far away by systems that don't. Our legislative priorities reflect that same belief. Respecting educators as professionals, fully funding public schools so that every student, regardless of their zip code, has access to highquality learning environments, protecting local decision-making and transparency, and ensuring that public dollars strengthen the public schools that welcome every child and anchor our communities. These priorities do not stand alone. They rise or fall together, and they are most effective when collaboration replaces conflict. School boards play a critical role
021in that collaboration. You are the bridge between policy and practice, between community expectations and classroom realities. When educators are included early, when their experiences expertise is valued rather than managed, outcomes improve. Morale improves and retention improves. Students feel the difference. Working together works because it replaces suspicion with trust and division with shared responsibility. So tonight, our ask is simple. Stand with us as partners. Partner with educators. Partner with families. And partner with your community. Use your voice during this legislative session to advocate for policies that strengthen, not fragment, public education. And when we do that, we don't just protect public schools. We build a community where people can live, teach, and learn together. Thank you for your time tonight. Thank you. Thank you to all of our speakers, in particular JP and John. Thank you.
022our students. Thank you for being here. we will, I also want to thank our sheriff's deputies, Mitchell Britain and Matt Smith. Thank you both for being here tonight as well. All right, we will go now to item three, which is approval of the agenda. We'll do this by voice vote. Can I get a motion in a second? All right. Any discussion? All in favor say I. Any opposed? Okay, the agenda is approved. We will now move to item four, which is the approval of the consent agenda. I'll also do a motion in a second on that. We'll do a voice vote. I think we think we have it. All right. Any discussion? All in favor say I. Any opposed? Okay. The consent agenda is approved. With that vote, we approve the January 20th, 2026 school
023board meeting minutes and recommendation for field trip requests. All right. Item five is communications to the board. Superintendent report, Mr. Golden. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you board members for being here. On paper, this is a very short agenda. you've actually voted for half of the items already. we'll I'm sure we'll have a little bit more deep little deeper discussion on those other two items rather than simply just the agenda. but I did want to thank our public speakers just as you did, Mr. Chair, especially the students. DECA distributive education clubs of America is a is one of our one of our school clubs that focuses on business and business related opportunities, business related skills. And it's a it's a really great program. And you reminded me sir of when you mentioned public speaking
024that you know over the years there might be these these surveys over what's the greatest fear of adults and public speaking is usually in the top two or three of of those fears. and it's it's it's great to see those examples of our students developing and even eliminating or or at least managing those fears even before they finish high school. So that was great to hear. Mr. Chair, we also had some some public comments related to to student walkouts and demonstrations. I did want to mention to you all some detail. We actually published a some some detail for families in our in focus article that came out just a few hours ago. I encourage folks to look at it. There's a possibility that might be hidden because it's actually contained in our u I'm trying
025to remember now the thank you the rumor mill in there when you pull up the website it is the first story but when the email came it actually did not have the caption of that story on there so strongly encourage folks to look at that and the questions that we've had related to student walkouts and student demonstrations really run the gamut from a concern that that some school folks might have been involved in coordinating it all the way to just hey tell me what's happening right the whole gamut has has been asked by folks largely what we have heard have been related to the questions you heard the commentary you heard in public comment related to discipline and what kind of discipline so we answer some details in that in that message I will say
026for skipping class the scope of discipline is addressed in our board policy 6.30 and then there are there are potential additional discipline measures depending on the details of what happens the particular student behavior. in the Brentwood example last week this some some of our students walked during lunchtime and and came back at basically at the end of that next period. Mr. Kaidell is in the process of still having interviews with those students determining what where he's going to go for each of those individuals and each one of those deserves that individual touch and that individual look. I will tell you all very clearly and I we tried to make that clear in our statement. We do not condone or coordinate student walkouts. In fact, we try to do the oppos opposite. We try to talk
027students and their parents who are involved into finding another outlet that does not disturb class time. That's very important to us because that is our mission. Making sure class time is there. and but we have seen locally here. We're not immune from anything else that's happening elsewhere. we've the local media has reported some some student demonstrations and walkouts in different parts of Middle Tennessee as well. So, we felt like it was important for us to share that with our parents. I will tell you also one key request our principles have of parents is if you believe your child might be thinking about this let's talk let's talk about it on the front end. We are very concerned about student safety. and when you introduce some of those some of those activities you might introduce some
028variables over which we have less control than we typically do in a school setting. so it's very important for us to talk and find ways to find a a different and better outlet for those. Mr. Chair, I also wanted to mention special education just a bit. the Tennessee School Boards Association, the TSBA had their annual meetings today and actually yesterday. They happen to use the Marriott as an aside. that puts a little bit little bit of income in the county county government to to fund our budget because the Marriott does have a conference center. so we very much appreciate them meeting here. It's interesting that we've been talking about special education discipline and issues related to that because one of the presentations to the school board members who attended that statewide conference talked about that
029and the detail of that was shared. The basic theme from from that speaker is those are federal. now what we know locally is there are some techniques, there are some tools that we can put in place to help serve students with disabilities as we continue to grow and develop them along with their general education peers. individualized education plans, IEPs are are run by teachers, specialists, and parents and school administrators who get together and talk about what is the least restrictive environment for that child. and then those those teams put together that plan for that least restrictive environment. when there are behavioral issues, often those teams get back together and say, is this environment working? Should we make some adjustments? That kind of thing. One of the tools that we have includes particular classroom settings where
030students have have have shown through their disability that they can at that time be they cannot at that time be in a general education classroom setting or perhaps can't be in a general education setting an entire day. so those tools are available. They are largely driven by the IEP team. The individualized education plan puts that in place and then as there are evidences of a student being able to op to operate in a classroom setting with less restrictions than the those teams make those decisions and the opposite is true as well. So we are constantly looking for more tools knowing that those federal parameters are there. Another item related to that was mentioned during that meeting was if there is a substantial if there is to be a substantial change it needs to occur at
031the federal level. And so that was just kind of the conclusion of that discussion. as as you all know, we have had some discussions with some of our representatives about the details of making sure we serve students with disabilities the best we possibly can and those parameters and those tools. The state of Tennessee actually made an adjustment effective January 1 to some of the rules governing what test and and analyses you must do for a student before you get to the point of making a decision that might change their placement. So the details are are comprehensive and myriad, but the core of the work is done with that IEP team with with our support and we will continue to work on that at that individualized level for those students. finally Mr. Mr. Chair there was
032a discussion that triggered me thinking about our screen time screen time committee. We have a committee as you all know that consists of some board members, some parents at at different at all our grade bands, elementary, middle, and high, some administrators where they are discussing student screen time with making some recommendations. They started on those personal devices. They are now discussing WCS screen time. And then the third big piece that they're going to be discussing in the coming months is communications with parents about what happens outside of school. that's a work in progress. Our next expectation for giving you all a product is May which will include some recommendations related to related to district screen time. Finally, Mr. Chair, I mentioned that the agenda is relatively small. The bulk of what was discussed at the
033work session was our was our budget for this coming year. The board will not vote on the budget until next month, but we invited you all to ask us questions related to that to gather additional information related to that. Some of you have already done that. Thank you for that. We'll be working on that in the coming months, well months, coming weeks rather as we prepare for the March agenda. Mr. chair that we do not have this month any staff and student spotlights. Corey Mason tells me that you can expect a large number next month, but this month we do not have any. Certainly open to any questions that you all may have. So what you're saying is as short as this meeting will be, the other one the next one will be just as
034long. Correct. That's it's that balance. Okay. Any Okay. You have some questions or comments, Mr. Bostic? Jason, could you explain like when for these students that have these IEPs, and I know we've talked about this at different times before, but I don't know if we've ever asked this question, but when a student, I guess, regardless of IEP status, does something a violation that would qualify them to go to like let's say the ALC, is are IEP students exempt from that? And if they're not, are we able to accommodate their IEP things that are dictated in there for them to receive like with SLPs, OT's, whatever the different therapies or whatever might be so that they can go to the LLC if it if it's been determined that would be an effective position to take. you
035know or is that something that can stop them from staying there like because they can't fulfill their IEP needs? Thank you for that question and your question actually prompts some of the detail that I mentioned. a student who has an IEP must receive services every day of school except for 10 days throughout the school year. So, I'm going to I'm going to speak to that example. On the flip side, if a student engage if a student with an IEP engages in a behavior that's a violation of a school rule, the maximum amount amount of time schools can remove them from their services, which are defined in the IEP, which might include a general education classroom setting, is 10 days in an entire school year. That's step one, but it takes some permutations. if a student
036engages in behavior that would justify a an assignment to the alternative learning center, the ALC, a fight, a zero tolerance offense, etc. if that behavior is not a manifestation of their disability, they could receive the same discipline that a student without an IEP would receive. and so there's a team the federal structure they would meet and talk about the behavior and discuss parents participate in this process as well. Is this behavior a manifestation of the disability? If it if it is a manifestation, you're you're back to that 10-day rule. no more than than 10 days total throughout the school year. if it if it's not, they would receive that discipline. There's another step beyond that. There were three particular behaviors that go from 10 days to 45 days. and that includes possession of illegal drugs,
037possession of a weapon, or causing substantial bodily injury. If that if if if a particular behavior there, which I think of as federal zero tolerance offenses that parallel with the state law, just the way I process it. If one of those behaviors is a manifestation, then a school can remove that child, that student from from that particular school for up to 45 days, provided they continue to provide services. And in the meantime, the expectation is that they talk and meet, do any any testing they need to determine might we need to make a change in the IEP to address this behavior so that there so that there are appropriate interventions in place. So that's a that's a very much a thumbnail sketch. The short answer to your question is maybe, but it depends on whether
038it's a manifestation of a disability or not. Factors. Yeah. being removed from services. It's a it's an interesting way to to say it. I totally totally get what you're saying there. Now, if they're at the ALC, is it is that automatically they can't receive their services there, or is that something where I'm I'm just wondering like if there was a way through the budget to like staff that with the appropriate people to be able to provide those services, but I understand if one of them is like, you know, that they're in a general education classroom. Obviously, the ALC I don't think would be considered general education, right? Yeah, that's that's correct. We do have from time to time students with disabilities who do spend time at the ALC. Number one, if be if it's not
039a manifestation of the disability, then they do attend the ALC if if if the behaviors if it's within that parameter and we do provide those services to students at the ALC. So, we do have that continued responsibility to provide those services. But to your point, the details of the IEP really drive that because if it is in a general classroom setting or if there's something about a particular course that they must have access to or particular services, we do have to brainstorm that. so the answer is it's individualized. Some students, yes, we can provide all those services at the ALC, but it again it depends on the language of the ALC. I mean the language of the IEP. Yeah. Yeah. Federal federal stuff we have to deal with. some of that. Thanks, Mr. Galbreth. Thank
040you, Mr. Chair. so Jason, talking about the talking about the kind of the mass skipping of school. so I think one of the speakers mentioned that we needed a policy. we may very well, and I believe we're we're going to bring we will bring this up at our at our next policy committee meeting. but like I guess right now I wouldn't I wouldn't say it's accurate that we don't have policies that cover this. We don't we don't speak to anything like this specifically. So we have plenty of policies that cover it. We've got the attendance policy 6.2000. the policy the code of conduct that you mentioned 6.300 6.306 306 was mentioned. I'm not sure that specifically talks about disrupting I mean the alternative or the consequence there was to was to actually remove the child
041the student from the from the classroom or suspend them which I'm we can we can talk about that I guess of whether or not that applies but I guess what I so our my role or our role or the way I see my role on the board is, you know, to to make policy and to and to assess whether the whether the implementation of that policy is adhering to kind of the spirit in the letter of the law. And so, so I guess I' I've got a couple of questions, just in general from a discipline standpoint and it'll require a little bit of, little bit of research. I get that. but I'd like to see the if you are you able to get to pull data on students skipping school like over the last three
042semesters? like I know we I know we code stuff. I just don't know if we code that specifically. So, do you have that kind of data? I think I think we may be able to find that in our database. So, we'll we'll look for that. So, I'd like to I'd like to see that plus the what the the discipline that followed that and just like obviously not not identified just in just in numbers over overall and high school is is adequate to for this purpose but and so my next question in comparison to that would be once the u because it sounds like the discipline is has not has not been completed, if you will, from from the events from a couple of weeks ago or maybe last week, whatever the time period was. And
043maybe, you know, there might be some some more going on, but just want to make sure I want to I'd like to look at the discipline ultimately that comes out of those to see and then compare that back to look and see how how they how it compares to to other similar instances. I guess this is the question would be and as we as we address it in policy is if a is if a mass event like this warrants a particular note because to the to the point and I guess where the disrupting the classroom does that policy 6.306 306. what it does say which is in which is different than than the others is it actually it actually addresses not only the action but encou the encouragement of other students to to take the
044action. And so which involves the same the same or different punishment or at least consideration in the punishment is as if you entice other people to to disrupt the classroom with you or or instead of you potentially. but that's the that's really the data that I'd like to get once these are once this thing like I guess to help us with our to help us with address it in policy when we do. All right. Thank you. We can do that. And ju just to make sure the entire board hears this hears this to make sure it sinks in. We do intend to bring these policies to policy committee to discuss this and in may be a brainstorming session. It may be more specific based on the work that we do. But thank you for mentioning
045that Mr. Galbreth and and I know I think you've had a discussion with Miss Osbrooks about putting putting this on the policy committee agenda as well. Mr. Welch. Thank you. I've got a budgetary question or or I guess more of an anecdote to share and wanted to get your feedback on it. So, yesterday I've talking to a teacher who lives in my neighborhood and she had mentioned to me and it was a very brief conversation. We have time. prompts to come back to it a little later, but her take-home pay, she told me, is actually less than what she pays for her insurance right now. And I was kind of found staggering to be honest. there's some mitigating factor you know it's a larger family and they have some specific needs without giving away too
046much in terms of PI or what have you but even even that this was you know teacher who said you know had worked for the maximum amount of of years so they were maxed out on their pay scale and you the comment was in addition you know if my husband loses his job, we can't pay the mortgage because my salary is paying for health insurance and we sort of have to pick between a roof over our head or or being able to take the children to the doctor. and then the statement was made and I don't know if this is accurate or not which why I want to bring it to to you was sort of comparing to a neighboring county and making the observations you know they're on the state plan. So when they
047retire they maintain you know they get health insurance as a retirement benefit. you know, similar to what my dad did when he retired from the military. in that sense, he's you know, when we retire from Williamson County Schools, it's we just lose our health insurance. A little bit different that way. so I bring it up now just because, you know, to your point, we had talked about the budget the other week and some of the considerations and everything else. And I know health expense is a huge portion of that up there with salary, you know, probably our top two items. And so wanted to drop that anecdote and kind of start that conversation, maybe get a little bit of your feedback on that tonight. thank you for that. The pay range for a bachelor's for
048a full-time teacher ranges from 51,102 to 76,578 from zero experience to 21. and there there are some off the off the chart who might have gotten a pay raise who have gotten a pay raise since then. I will tell you and Miss Hall, I'm gonna double check with you, be thinking about this. I think it's very possible that if someone has some health conditions in a large family with multiple health conditions, it's very possible that the bulk of their income might be consumed with medical bills. from an insurance perspective, I can't see based on the county structure that the insurance premiums themselves would would consume the salary. So my guess is just off the top of my head that there may be some Yeah, there are there probably are some families where a large portion
049if they have if of their income is consumed with medical bills if in fact there are serious medical bills. we are in a self-insured plan with county government. You all have seen those budget numbers as in that is in the multiple tens of millions that we spend annually in returning those funds to the county for them to manage that plan. Years ago, we did have a provision and this was quite common in Tennessee at the time where when somebody retires, they could maintain their insurance, pay the premiums and still have that health insurance benefit. And then I'm speaking generally so I I may not be exactly right on the insurance terminology. Then when they reach Medicare level, that insurance would be a supplement to Medicare. That benefit ended for anyone hired after July 1 of
0502009. So there are still some employees who are who are grandfathered in. At the time, the state plan, which actually serves most school systems in the state, also had that provision where employees could keep that in in essence through the rest of their lives by paying the premiums. I may be wrong in the date, but I think somewhere around 2011 that benefit ended as well. the essence of what I've heard related to that particular benefit is just the cost was just so large that many many providers well many employers determined that they just didn't have the capacity to do that. We're on the county plan. so there are a handful of school districts in the state that are on a self-insured plan that I think there may be one and maybe a few more maybe
051some smaller districts. I know there's one large district that still has that benefit for their for their families. but some of our neighbors have recently actually gone to the state plan in which case they had folks grandfathered in and from that point forward that health benefit was not available that insurance for life. That's a nutshell. Vicki, is there anything else you want to add to that? I think that covered it. And does that address all the all the items you mentioned related to that? the other item I wanted to discuss, but I yeah I'll you know I'll send you an email about that and cover the board. It's it's sort of bit out of the blue. So yeah, I will tell you that generally speaking, our per pupil expenditure is somewhere around the 50th percentile
052statewide and one of our focus points is and needs to continue to be employee pay, teacher pay, staff pay. We are living in one of the most expensive places to live in Tennessee. The cost of living is higher than many of our neighbors. and at in in about 85% of our budget is people. So when you think about us being around the 50th percentile, about 80% of our 85% of our budget is people largely you're going to see a relatively lower income than some of our neighbors. It's one of the reasons we I mentioned to you that we need help from the county commission if we're if we're going to do the raise that they're hoping for. Dr. Driggers. Yes. Superintendent Golden, this is not hypothetical. This is a real family that I know. the
053question kind of has two parts. We have 20 kids in a class. One of the children has an IEP and he has routine outburst. that child stays in the classroom, but the other 19 kids have to go sit in the hallway until that child is calmed down. What do we do to help the other victims in the classroom cuz we have one one little girl, she's psychologically damaged now and she has to get mental health care. So, what do we do for the other children who are in the classroom with the outburst of the IEP child? Thank you, Dr. Driggers. you heard the that presentation at the TSBA, so you heard all the parameters governing that. So, I know that in part answered your question, but let me give you a little bit more. in
054the short term there's no methodology available to us to physically pull and carry that child out of that classroom. I understand. Yeah. that's that's short term. but when in the in the longer term, maybe not in that moment, but if there are behaviors like that indicate that a student is not receiving instruction, cannot receive instruction in that setting, the IEP team talks and they address whether it's appropriate to provide that student a more restrictive environment. so all so the answer to your question is it's all driven by how to best serve that student. So what I'm saying is what do we do for the other students who are disrupted? How do we talk to them, talk to their parents, their education is disrupted and I know we can't touch the IEP student, but what do
055we do to help the other classmates? Yeah, principles can talk to students and do talk to students. Dr. Royer, I'm going to pitch this to you and ask for you to share some details of it. But I I want to emphasize that the IEP process is designed for those teams to determine if in fact this is happening routinely and it's repetitive and there's an indication that student cannot receive instruction then the IEP can change and the student can can can be in a different location, a different different setting, different different services that might best serve that student. Dr. Royer. Yes, sir. Thank you for the question, Dr. Triggers. The we have this conversation a lot as school administrators in in discussing what are the resources that we have at our fingertips to be able to
056help students either immediately following a situation or in a longer term situation if a child is as affected as as you just mentioned. And so we have our school counselors join us. Often our classroom teachers are able to huddle up and do what we think of as a circle or sit on the mat or talk about our feelings sitting in the desks. We really work on helping the students be able to express their own feelings rather than necessarily talking about one of their friends who's having a difficult time, but we're teaching those skills, too. So, that car and compassion of making sure everyone's okay. When they're ready to get back to the learning, we engage in the learning again. And if somebody needs a little bit more time outside of the classroom because of their
057own emotional response or to reregulate, then we again have our school counselors or our school administrators take care in those moments. But we've given our school counselors deescalation techniques and tools that they can use following those types of situations as well as our school administrators who can engage in those conversations with the to use your numbers, the 19 other students that are left in the classroom. So, we're certainly working very hard when that happens to get everyone kind of back to a space of regulation and being ready for learning. If we have one classmate who is severely traumatized and has to get emotional mental health, do we ever put that child in another classroom to get them out of the classroom where the problem is? Excuse me. Yes, sir. We certainly we can't do all
05819, but if somebody's and we have those conversations, our school administrators engage in those conversations with parents sometimes, like I said, rather quickly. So a parent might call immediately and want that change and other times they might be bearing witness to something more that's happening in the home or distractions that the children aren't talking to us at school about and so the school administrators work with that team. Okay. Thank you. Yes sir. The second part who determines if an injury is serious. you fall down, you break a finger because you're on the playground or an IEP student throws you into a wall and you break a finger or stitches. Who determines if an injury is serious? So, you're referring and I'm about to turn to Dana Osbergs to answer this in in part, but but
059I'm going to I'm let me give you this first piece. You're referring to that question of serious bodily injury that would allow a school to remove a student from the setting for 45 days. Exactly. those that has not been well defined as you heard today at the at the federal level. It is largely governed by case law and you in essence Dana you're going to probably figuratively kick me for this. I'm I'm so far you triangulate based on particular based on what what various cases have shown about what constitutes serious bodily injury. Dana, so federal law has determined what is serious bodily injury under the 45day rule. and I am searching for that so that I can tell you exactly what it says. So doesn't have a list of injuries. I don't think it does
060not. But what it does talk about is the regulations don't have specific Here we go. substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty. the case law, so what I might determine to be extreme physical pain, the case law probably would differ. there's cases that it's a 10 out of 10 for multiple days. Well, that is ex I mean that to me is beyond extreme. So to Superintendent Golden's point, it is from case law. That is one thing that we do train on with our administrators, our special education professionals because, that definition is different than what an average person would probably consider a serious bodily injury. Okay, thank you. That's all I had. Thank you. Thank you,
061Miss Clemens. Yes. Thank you. I wonder if I go back to the insurance. I had a quick question. I know that we are on the county plan and that Williamson County Schools, our employees kind of carry the lion share of that plan. and so I am curious. I know recently we learned that the county has a board that determines all the insurance plans and makes decisions on that. And you know, we've learned that we don't have anybody from our school system on that board. Have we moved closer to having a representative from the Williamson County Schools on that? We do attend their meetings. It's actually the purchasing and insurance committee and that consists of of county commissioners and if I'm not mistaken, the administration has a representative as well or maybe not a voting representative
062at that particular meeting. but but it is a county commission meeting. To answer your question, I don't know that we've made any progress towards towards them choosing to do that. They do make decisions on an annual basis on who sits on that committee. I'll give you one example. Mayor Anderson, who is not a commissioner, is a is a member of the budget committee. So that chief executive participates there. Dana and Vicki and Rachel, I know you all attend some of various meetings. Are there any county commission committees that include any non-commissioner representatives? I'm going to look to Attorney Cook to make sure I am correct. but I believe purchasing and insurance is one of the committees that statutoily the county mayor appoints. and it only consists of county commissioners. To my knowledge in the last
06320 years, there's never been a school representative on the committee, but we there are public meetings and we do attend. Other than just adding that the makeup of is actually set by a local rule. Okay. But other than that, the Dana is absolutely correct. a local a local rule that's set by the county commission. Right. Okay. Anything else? No, sir. Mr. Cash. Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Golden, I just have a quick question on the IEP. say in the situation we have a recurring problem with a child, how long is the process to change that IEP? It varies and it's individualized. I'm trying to think about the kind of try to give you a range of it. U Miss Sbrooks, I'm going to turn to you also if you can speak to maybe the
064potential extremes of the range of time it may take. So it will depend Mr. Cash, if the child already has an IEP, then we have adequate notice that we have to give the parents, guardians as well as team members to have a meeting. if the parent requests a meeting, there's also a timeline that it has to occur. those are relatively short timelines, 10ish days to have the meeting where sometimes and if all of the data that is sometimes what is frustrating or appears to be frustrating for those involved because we don't necessarily move quickly. We do make datadriven decisions. So for instance, if this is a new behavior, then there would be data different ways we collect that could be a functional behavior assessment. Those take time could be but with that being said, even
065in the interim, there are things that can be done. The most important step every single time is for the IEP team to come together. So, I would board members encourage you when you hear from parents or guardians who are frustrated, who want some answers, if their child has a IEP, please first ask them to contact the file holder to ask for meeting because that's the team that's got to sit around the table to make any of the of the decisions under federal law. So it could be as quickly as 10 days, Mr. Cash, if there are evaluations that have to happen or data that needs to be taken to get a complete answer, and that's my language. There could be some steps in the interim, but it could be 45 60 days. Just depends. each
066case, as Superintendent Golden said, is individual. depends on what we know at the time the team comes together and what additional data we need to make an informed decision. Those of you who attended the TSBA meeting today also heard that there's something called quote unquote stay put. and that that provision establishes that if there's a disagreement over an IEP then the student stays and keep and maintains those safe same services while that is being u while that is being addressed and typically that's going to involve the court that's right dispute so not I just want to be clear not a dispute around the table if the court is involved stayp put comes into into apply. Well, my question was a recurring student with an IEP. Most of them that do this have an IEP. That's
067right. That's where I think we lack is the time frame it takes to do something with that child to protect the other children. And I and I know I'll, you know, I've spoken with you, Mr. Golden a lot of times about this, but it's it's that time period where this recurs again and again and it may not happen in a classroom. It may happen in the middle of a hallway. that time period to change that IEP to be able to service that child is something's got to shrink on that. Something's got to happen much faster. and in, you know, to protect our students because when we evacuate a class, the kids are all moved, they're disrupted, they go to the library or maybe go to other classrooms or whatever, you know, staff says they need
068to do, but it's it is a disruption. So, they're they're losing out on class time, too. So that time period and I know how bogged down IEPs get. every principal I've talked to, IEPs are, you know, it's just it's ongoing, never ending. But that time period in there when we have a recurring problem, something needs to be done as soon as possible for the sake of staff and everyone else, including the students. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Beasley. Yes. Just really quick on the walk out that we had the other day. I really appreciate the response, Mr. Golden that you had for sure with communicating with us via email letting us know everything that was going on. I believe of course that the walk out was inappropriate and disruptive during instructional time. Okay. But I
069noticed that I believe it was the Brentwood incident. I think there was SRO's that was dispersed maybe to a park. and I didn't know if there was any discussion around with Mr. Fletch on the next time that occurs because I'm an advocate for law enforcement for sure. and so is there a plan for the SRO's leaving the property of the school? Short answer is yes. they've had that discussion. and in that particular example, the students walked the sidewalk around the school. they had actually also let Brentwood Police Department know just for an additional safety measure. we know when a when a when a student is on our campus, that's our responsibility. If we're concerned about something that's headed off campus, we make sure the local law enforcement knows as well. So we coordinate that where
070our SRO's are focused on generally speaking. And Mr. Fletcher can share some detail because there's there there are also some reciprocal relationships between different law enforcement agencies to work together. those those SRO's have that primary responsibility for campus, but if they see an issue, my understanding is they're going to make sure they address it because they do have jurisdiction across the county. Thank you. I just didn't want the schools, the properties to be vulnerable during a time like that. Yeah, they re they remained there proverbally with one foot in, one foot out and they were they were still at that campus. That particular campus also has two schools with multiple SRO's but that's not going to happen everywhere. That's right. Yeah. Thank you. All right. Any other questions? Jason, do you have any details or
071update or I believe Ravenwood had one today and I think there's another one scheduled this week. Maybe it's Centennial or something. I've heard different in reaction. Was there a different approach maybe that the school administration took to kind of head it off or any kind of details with that? Well, from a process to to try to head it off, the same process as I mentioned to you did happen at Ravenwood and Dr. Webb, I know you've had some specific conversations with Dr. vating about that and and so she went through that process of identifying the organizer and having those conversations with parents and students to try to minimize the impact of that. I will turn it to you in just a second, Dr. Webb, to speak to that. We have heard of a of another
072flyer that has gone out that looks to have been prepared by potentially a Centennial student. we have not identified and the cental principal has not identified a particular organizer for that. so that will involve a broader communication to the to the community as a whole to to make sure that we address it as much as we possibly can to your point to head it off to try to redirect and to let students know what the consequences are if they engage in that. Dr. Webb that's exactly right Mr. Golden. So similar process was followed with Ravenwood High School today. There were approximately I think less than 50 students who Dr. Vaden had communicated the principal at at Ravenwood had communicated with the organizer and some of the student leaders who planned on participating as well as
073their parents today. Those students didn't walk out of class. They checked out with parent permission prior to the last period of the day. signed out in the attendance office and left campus. and my understanding is they had demonstrations somewhere off campus. Gotcha. And they all they all signed out with their parents. The principal was following up this afternoon, but based on the number of notes that came in, there were actually fewer students who left than notes that came in with parent permission, but she's double-checking those this was this afternoon and will tomorrow morning and then she'll follow up with me following. Yeah, I did have some parents send me some screenshots from a giant text thread with the organizers and the students talking about that and actually talking about how to fill out the sign
074out thing with your parent and then deleting it from your parents' phone and all of that type of stuff. So, I would they need to know that some of those might not be legitimate. Thank you for that heads up. So, they're getting on to us. They they know what you're looking for. There's nothing new under the sun that the Any other questions or comments? All right. There is no board chair report for tonight. So, we'll move on to new business. first item is approval of the family tuition rate for 2020 2026 27. Mr. Golden. Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I mentioned at the work session, we have an annual request of you to establish the family tuition rate based on the state rules governing us. and we have an we have an SOP related to
075that as well. I do want to emphasize that state tuition rate is for outofcount students attending here, but our policies do not allow generally speaking students living out of county to attend here. I will tell you one of the big reasons for that is because the the cost of of serving a student. The county government bears the lion share of the of the cost. That tuition rate is applicable. For example, if a student moves out of district, we do have a policy allowing them to finish the school year or if they're a rising senior to finish their career here and pay that tuition. be based on the proposition that they've been here and they and it's it's good for them to finish. Or if somebody's moving in and they have a non-contingent contract and they
076haven't actually moved into the house yet, they might pay that might pay that those funds up on the front end and then when they move in that semester, those funds are returned to them. So do recommend approval for the state tuition rate based on those numbers that we have there based on the per pupil revenue and expenditure. All right, we do have a motion and a second. Any discussion? I do have a question, Mr. Golden. can do you have the numbers off the top of your head of the number of employees who bring live out of county who bring their student their child to county schools? I don't have that off the top of my head, but Miss Hall you Oh, Rachel actually does. Rachel Farmer, our CFO, we had for 2526 216 employees. that
077have have benefited from it. employees children's attending that are paying tuition or 132 and then we have 168 employees children who have passed the 5 years and no longer pay the tuition. And Mr. Chair, thank you for asking that question. We do have a board policy that that allows full-time employees to bring their children here with that payment of tuition on that memo. So, do you have the rough numbers on what we're generating in revenue the last three years? The average is $143,000. Okay. I for one have always had a kind of an issue with us charging our employees to bring their kids into our schools, but maybe something we can talk about when budget comes up next month. Any other questions or comments? All right, we're ready to vote. The vote is 12 yes,
078zero no. All right, the rate is adopted. Our last item for the evening, approval of school fees for 2026 27. Mr. Golden. Thank you, Mr. Chair. As you all recall, last year we actually made a substantial change to the secondary schools quote unquote fees. And I put that in quotation marks because there the state has the parameters describing curricular fees as fees even though in fact they there there is no way that you can actually require them. So as a result of that last year we made a change and did not have curricular fees at the secondary level. so this we don't we propose no changes from last year with respect to your vote on the fees. I know there are potential budget issues that may be discussed in the future. but the elementary voluntary
079fee is there in that first memo from Dr. Royer. And we do have recommendations for extracurricular fees that can be charged as fees for secondary schools. And that's in the memo as well. I do recommend approval consistent with what we did this current year. All right, we have a motion in a second. Any discussion? All right, seeing none, we're ready to vote. The vote is 12 yes, zero no. All right, that fee schedule is adopted. Any other comments? We go to the order. Miss Wyatt. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to remind our community that tomorrow is the last day for public review of our textbook materials for this for this cycle. It's health, wellness, and CTE. We've hosted over 15 hours of public review. They've also been sent out in links, but if
080you're interested in doing that, tomorrow is the last day from 4 to 6:00 p.m. in our professional development center down the street. And you can also provide feedback. Our textbook committee will meet again next week. and then we will hear their recommendation next month at our meeting. So, thank you for that. Thank you. All right. Any other comments? Okay, we are journal. Thank you. I wasn't sure where that went in the agenda. Well, I felt like if people missed it on the