001Call this meeting to order. >> Sorry. If you would join me in the pledge of >> allegiance and followed by no silence to the flag of the United States of America to the standice for all. This time we'll turn it over to Anthony Johnson for a point of pride. Sorry for being late to the podium here. So this evening we have three very special points of pride. all three individuals who have done some amazing things uh both in the state and at the national level. So, first if I could have Carson Carroll along with his administrative representative Dr. Sanders to please come forward. Carson Carroll is a Rosview High School senior who made a perfect score on the ACT exam. >> Yes. Yes. Yes. The perfect score of 36 is this is an average of
002the four section scores for English, math, reading, and science. Now, I've shared this with you before, but I have updated the stats based on 2025. Getting a perfect score is very rare. And in fact, out of nearly 1.5 million students who took the ACT across America in 2025, only around 2900 test takers or 2% earned a perfect score. That's incredible. Congratulations, Carson. >> Yes, I'm going to take your All right. And next, if I could have Miss Kathy Cobb to please come forward. I think she's been joined by a couple of uh representatives if they'd like to come forward, too. Or if Miss Cobb would like to come up. So, this one you already kind of heard about, but I want to read exactly uh what was shared by the state. So, as you all
003know, Miss Cobb is the first ever CMCSS teacher to ever be appointed by the Tennessee State Board of Education. Pointed to the Tennessee State Board of Education. Miss Cobb is a veteran educator with more than four decades of experience in public education. Dedicated to supporting students with diverse learning needs and strengthening instructional practices. She has spent the majority of her career as a special education teacher right here in CMCSS. Her work has focused on advocating for students with special needs, fostering inclusive classroom environments, and mentoring new teachers. She has also served as a special education department chairperson and has trained fellow educators on IEP development, compliance, and best practices. In recognition of her dedication impact, Miss Cobb has been named a building level teacher of the year three different times. Beyond the classroom, Miss Cobb
004has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to professional service and volunteer leadership in education. She most recently served as the president of the Professional Educators of Tennessee, where she supported educators statewide through leadership development, professional collaboration and engagement. Her involvement with education focused organizations has included mentoring educators, contributing to statewide initiatives, and supporting efforts to strengthen teaching and learning across Tennessee. Congratulations, Miss Cobb, and thank you for everything you have done and will continue to do to inspire and lead us all to make a difference in children's lives. And I do want to share on a personal note, speaking of mentoring teachers, 16 years ago, Miss Cobb was my mentor teacher in my first year. So, this is a definitely very special moment. All right. Congratulations Thank you. And for congratulations and for our final point of
005pride, try to surprise her, but of course it had to be on the agenda. If Dr. Luna Veter could please come forward. Speaking of first for CMCSS, Dr. Dr. Luna Veter is the first CMCSS Director of Schools to be selected for the prestigious school superintendent association national superintendent certification program. This program comprises a small cohort of superintendent selected from across America as they navigate the essential work of preparing students to graduate as both good students and good citizens ready to succeed in whatever path they choose. Today's superintendents face historically complex challenges that require building trust with families, supporting educators, and strengthening community partnerships, all while keeping the focus on what matters most. And you hear say it all the time, our children. Dr. Dr. Luna Veter embodies servant leadership and we are so proud of
006her for graduating from this prestigious program and continuing to push herself and those around her to be better every day so that CMCSS can be the best school system for our students, families, and community. Thank you, Dr. Ludeter. [applause] This concludes this evening's points of pride. That was the updated agenda was got >> you got added. All right, at this time we'll have our public comment. First up, Richie Patton. Turn your microphone on by pressing the right silver button. >> That's fine. Time will display and just show your a lot of time. The microphone will >> Thank you. Got you. >> Um All right. So, uh I've been trying to speak since December. Um I'm on a walker now. I was in a wheelchair in December, which is one of the um reasons I'd really
007been pushed to speak because I was um interacting with my kids schools. I was interacting with CMCSS from a wheelchair for my first time ever. Um it showed that it's it's difficult. There are kids out there that are struggling to get in their buildings. They're struggled to get in this building. It was hard enough to walk with this with the issues with my feet that I've had and the surgeries that I've had now. Um and so ADA compliance is not about intention. It's about results. And our results really aren't meeting the mark. And when I see from this perspective, this new perspective for me that there's a lot of like these these micro issues and tiny issues that really build up throughout the day that really highlights the 504 and IEP issue that I hear
008about all the time and that I see with my kids where we're not we're not doing the right thing for these kids. We're not hitting the requirements that that federally are required um for our school system and for our students. Um, and when we constantly see when we're missing these obvious ADA compliance obligations, when we're it highlights to me that these families that are coming in here and talking about their kids, they're talking about their struggles, they're they're right. They're it's not hypothetical. We're not getting the small things, which tells me that the major things are just are just falling to the wayside. And like I said, compliance is not about intention. It's about outcomes, and the outcomes just aren't there. Um, and it does show that the outcomes do show that there is work
009to do. Um, and I I would I'm hoping that the school board comes together to do that work. Um, and continues to focus on improving this uh the 504 and IEP compliance within our school system. Um, this is not the only place that um has really missed the mark. Um, this is going to call back a while, but CMCSF ethics CMCSS ethics policy section two, my relations to the community subsection B specifically states, I will represent at all times the entire school community and refuse to represent special interests or partisan politics. In November, we saw the appointment of um, Miss Crosslin. Um, and during that appointment, it was very tumultuous. There was a quote by the school member explicitly invoking partisan politics um which is in a direct conflict to the spirit of this ethics
010um policy. Um she made the claim that an anonymous call had been politically motivated that local Democrats were pressuring her to get out of office so that they could get their pervert candidate in. There was never any substantiation of this. There was never any evidence shown. It was just an anonymous call that suddenly became a Democrat call. And as a new school board member, um seeing those partisan politics is um disheartening um [clears throat] because I want to see our community come together. I want to see everyone um working together towards a common goal. Um and to see someone come in and I know that you had a lot of a lot of conflict and a lot of issues. Um there was a lot of uh back and forth on whether you were on the
011school board or not. Um and that has come out and you're here and that's fine. Um but you having come out and attacked Democrats, having come out and and and made the part politics partisan um directly against the ethics policy um is extremely frustrating uh because I I haven't seen in a policy I haven't seen any any walk back of that and I haven't seen any evidence to support that claim because it sounds like you are claiming that you were blackmailed but then that would be a court case and that would be ongoing and I haven't seen that either. So um I'd really like to make sure that we're meeting these ADA compliance. I'd really like to make sure that we're meeting the ethics policies. And then the third thing um for you uh Mr.
012Lawyer man, Mr. Nolan, um with uh Miss Crossland's history, it's difficult to know where the boundaries are of what I can and can't talk about, right? Um if you look in the United States, former sex workers are some of the most underrepresented elected officials that we have, whether that be on a school board, as a representative in any at any level. And so to have a um I don't know what I I don't Can I say the word text? Can I talk about the incident? Can I talk about how um Miss Crosslin now um highlights an opportunity for our students, right? We always talk about how um college isn't the only option, right? We have trade schools now. Well, now when any whenever any of our students drop out and they go work at the
013pink lady or they start their only fans, Miss Crosslin is there. She shows that there is a different avenue that you can go down and still have a life after whatever you've done in your past. And so, um, I'd like to see a a bigger focus on the compliance pieces. I'd like clarity on what I'm allowed to say as a parent, as a member of the community, and what I'm not allowed to say when I'm addressing the board. Um, given the recent history of our board members. Thank you. >> Okay. Amanda Frost. I intended to be here last month, but my children I were six, so here I am today. Recently, Tennessee legislators with support from the White House proposed legislature that would require K to2 schools to verify the lawful status of students in
014the name of protecting classroom resources and supporting long-term planning. My first initial request is what classroom resources, the ones that our teachers are already paying out of their own pockets for. is the proposal also states that any local government or agency that refuses to comply could face consequences including the loss of shared sales tax revenue. That's not transparency, that's coercion. Just a few months ago, members of this community asked this board to take a stand and proclaim that education is for all. The board the board chose not to. The decision matters. The Miriam Webster dictionary defines racism as a belief that race determines human value or capacity and as behavior or systems that result in discrimination or prejudice or systemic oppression. So I'm asking you directly when policies disproportionately target immigrant families and children of
015color. What do you call that? When you refuse to affirm that education is for all children, what do you call that? If it meets the definition, why are you comfortable standing in it? The Supreme Court already addressed the issue in Ply Piler v. Joe. If a state provides free public education to citizens and lawful present children, it cannot deny the same education to undocumented children without showing a substantial state interest. Even the state, even the descent acknowledged that it is senseless for an enlightened society to deprive any child of an elementary education because the long-term cost is exclusively outweighs the cost of educating them. It's not legally ambiguous. It was settled decades ago. Now, I know there are those that are many around here that are my age and a little older like to think
016the civil rights era was so long ago, but I want everyone to look around here and see the people in this room or out now. Now, look up the board. According to what I could find on Google, there are three people that should be sitting on this board who very well may be old enough to have witnessed and remember the moments of that time. One of you may not be necessarily old enough to remember it, but you are older than the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Those of you that this doesn't apply to means most likely it was your parents that did. What side of the fight were they on? So the question is not whether we recognize the pattern. Sorry. This means we do not have the excuse of ignorance. We know what exclusionary
017policy looks like. We know how it starts. We know who it harms. So the question is not whether we recognize the pattern. The question is whether we will interrupt it. History does not only judge those who create injustice. It also remembers those who stayed silent in the unfolded. I remember reading the diary in an Frank in middle school before it was banned and asking how did they let it happen? Why didn't why didn't people let it stop? Later I learned in Nazi Germany only 3% of the population were perpetrators. Around 7% resisted the other 90% were bystanders. This question is for the board and for the community simple. When vulnerable children are targeted, will we be perpetrators, rescuers, or bystanders? For those who identify as Christians, may I remind you in Matthew 22, Jesus replied,
018"Love the Lord your God with your heart and all your soul and with all your mind." That is this is the first commandment and greatest commandment. And the second is love your neighbor as yourself. Is this the way you love yourself? If so, maybe you should go to therapy and impact why you hate yourself so much. Maybe about how in Matthew 5 when he said, "Love your enemies." Or when he said, "He is without sin cast the first stone." The same one who assaulted people in the temple and with a whip and overturned tables because they were exploiting the poor and refused the Gentiles to worship. Same Jesus who the only people he called the brute of vipers were the rule following churchgoing Pharisees who were so worried about the law and following the rules
019that they neglected justice and compassion. The same Jesus who hung out with prostitutes and blessed sexual outcasts like the Unix, the undocumented refugee to Egypt. That's the J Jesus you are claiming to follow while literally going against his teaching. The Jesus that preached the law of love, humanity, and grace all supersedes the law of land. A priest once said, "The only clear line I draw these days is this. When my religion come tries to come between me and my neighbor, I will choose my neighbor. Jesus never commanded me to love my religion." Education is a public good. It is not privileged as reserved for some children and withheld from others. When we create fear around enrollment, we do not protect classrooms. We destabilize them. We harm children. We undermine the very purpose of public education.
020Oppression does not always come with chains. Sometimes it comes with discomfort. When people become comfortable inside injustice, they stop demanding change. The community is watching. Parents are watching. Voters are watching. Let's hold every single member of this board accountable. Remember how each of them votes. Remember who stood up, who stood by. Education must remain accessible to every child who walks through our doors. History will remember where you stood. Bora Dorsy, peace and blessings. I stand before you tonight as a member of this community, as someone who cares deeply about our future, of our children, and the direction of our public schools. I'm here because what is happening to public education in this state is not accidental. It is systematic. It is deliberate and it's harmful. Our children are facing real crisis. They are struggling with
021food insecurities. They are struggling with mental health. Teachers are overwhelmed. Yet instead we are centering those realities. We continue to see energy spent on expanding voucher programs. They pull money away from public schools. Every dollar diverted is a dollar taken from the majority of the students who depend on this system. Public schools are not side projects. They are not charity cases. They are the backbone of this community. If we truly care about academic achievement, then we must start with the foundation. A child who is hungry cannot focus. A child who is anxious about their family being targeted cannot learn. A child who feels unwelcome cannot thrive. We should be leading with universal free breakfast and lunch programs that provide real nutritious foods, not highly processed meals that barely meet the standards. Nutrition is not a
022luxury. It is directly tied to cognitive focus, attendance, and behavior. If we can fi if we can find the time and political will to debate religious displays in classrooms, then surely we can find the will to make sure every child eats with dignity. And now we are once again confronted with legislation that pushes immigration enforced into the walls of our classrooms. Schools are places of learning. They are places of growth. They are supposed to be safe spaces. When you ask schools to collect immigration information, you inject fear into the classroom. US citizens are not safe from the slave catchers. This is im intimidation. When families fear sending their children to school, attendance drop, engagement drops, trust disappears. And once trust is broken in the community, it is very difficult to restore. At the same time,
023we see a push to mandate religious messaging in public schools while books that empower and educate students are being banned. Public schools serve children of many faiths, many cultures, and many backgrounds. You cannot claim to defend freedom while limiting intellectual freedom. You cannot claim to moral authority while ignoring hungry children. You cannot speak values while failing to practice them. This is about priorities. When summer food programs are not fully supported, when universal breakfast and lunch are not prioritized, when resources are drained from public schools, when educators are burdened with political mandates. The message being sent is very clear. This is this well-being of children is not the top priority and that is unacceptable. The board has a responsibility to the children of this community, to the children who comes to school hungry, to the child
024whose family is afraid, to the teachers who are overwhelmed, to the parents who just wants their children to receive quality education. Leadership requires courage. It requires standing up even in uncomfortable things happen. This is not right for students. If you do not see how diverting funds weaken public schools, if you don't see how injecting immigration enforcement creates fear, if you don't see how prioritizing religion mandates over food programs reflects distorted priorities, then I urge you to listen more closely to your community because we are watching, we are organizing, and we care. so much about our children to stay silent. As the honorable Lewis Farrakhan said, there can be no peace without justice. There can be no justice without truth. And there can be no truth unless someone rises up to tell the truth. Tonight I
025rise to tell the truth. To tell the truth that feeding the children is your pro top priority. Fund the schools, support the teachers, protect every student, keep politic and put our community. [applause] Okay, moving on. Now we have approval of consent agenda. We have a motion to approve. Motion by Mr. Garland, second by Miss Bryant. [snorts] If you would please open the vote. Everybody satisfied with their vote. Please close the vote. Motion passes. All right. Policy monitoring EL3. >> Board. Please find in your board packet information on executive limitation three personnel administration. This executive limitation has 15 compliance expectations that the director of schools shall ensure recruitment, employment, development, evaluation and compensation of district employees and contract workers in a manner necessary to not jeopardize achievements of its ends policies, fiscal integrity or public image
026of the district. As the director, I have not changed my own compensation or benefits, nor has any employee been promised nor implied permanent employment. The HR department has an applicant tracking system and selection process to identify qualified, certified, and classified candidates. Additionally, there are easily understood policies and procedures developed and available for all employees to review. Furthermore, there are multiple venues available to employees and the public for registering complaints and concerns. All positions in the district have current job descriptions and applicants are interviewed and hired based upon documentation verifying the requirements identified in the job descriptions. State employment standards and federal guidelines to include criminal history background checks. Employee investigations, evaluation, and personnel information are kept confidential pursuant to Tennessee code annotated. CMCSS salary schedules are reviewed on a yearly basis and compared to similar
027districts in the state. Finally, the culture and work of the district is annually reviewed and realigned through the strategic planning process and employees have a clear understanding of their connection to student achievement and success. Chairman Laneir, this concludes executive limitation three. >> Anybody have any comments? Motion for approval. Um Griffy um motion and Jimmy second it. Um any discussion? Please open the vote. Is everyone satisfied your vote? Please close the vote. Motion passes. already reports student personnel electronic devices update. >> I'd like to ask Chief Communications Officer Anthony Johnson to come forward. It was asked by this board for an update related to the recently adopted uh student personal electronic devices. So, Anthony will be sharing that information today. >> Yes, and thank you all for your patience. I know Mr. Ler, you asked several
028weeks ago, Miss Bryant. Um, again, we were waiting uh to get the feedback uh from families and employees, and we have that tonight. So, we gave them a little extra time because the winter storm uh the two weeks out, we wanted to make sure we got everybody's survey results back who wanted to complete it. So, I always want to start this conversation with the why, and this is the research. This is what the board talked about last year, what Mr. Laneir talked about as he he championed this. Um why would we restrict cell phones? And so, uh, the distractions, you know, that's usually generally the first thing that pops into into folks's minds, the distraction in the learning environment, but there are also safety concerns. There are mental health concerns. There's just a lot of
029concerns that comes around students using um those personal cell phone devices that don't have filters that don't have those sorts of things in the school environment, what content they might be getting or sharing within the school environment. So, there's a lot there that's all researchbased. As a reminder, this past year the board approved revisions to our student code of conduct specifically around uh cell phones and personal electronic devices. We've always had that as a component and we've always restricted it during the instructional day, but we did provide more flexibility in the previous uh version than we do now. And so where we landed just basically to give you the highlights as a reminder is it is prohibited during the instructional day which is when school starts to when it ends. Um although principles still do
030have that discretion to allow uh students to you know check their phones maybe during lunch or whatnot but that's not a requirement. And from anecdotally what I'm hearing the majority of schools are not they're basically prohibing from bell to bell um in this policy just like in adhering with with with the law. And I know Mr. Garland, you've brought up this concern before. Families need to get in contact with their students. Um, our policy and and most in the state of Tennessee are pretty similar to ours. You might have seen some buzz where a school district uh kind of midyear changed it to be more reflective of kind of what we have. We're not taking up phones. We're not putting them in pouches. We are telling students they need to be turned off and put
031away. And then if there is an emergency, they would be able to access those and turn those on. Uh but during the instructional they they should be they should be turned off. The other thing, and this is going to get to when I talk about an update in a moment, that we updated and made it a little bit longer is there's lots of new and emerging technologies. If somebody would have told me about 20 years ago that I would have a watch that would do more than just tell me the time, I would have thought it was sci-fi. But we know now that there's watches, there's glasses. So, we did um ensure that we included in here some of those new and emerging technologies because just to reiterate, this is not just cell phones. This
032is cell phones and personal electronic devices during the instructional day. So let's get to some data. This is what was specifically requested. So this shows um where we were where we are now compared to last year. We have seen a 29.2% increase in cell phone and personal electronic device violations. I think without even having to say it, it makes sense when you implement a new policy, streamline it across the district and also bring more attention and awareness to not only employees but families about the the effects um and distractions that cell phones you're going to see more enforcement. So we have seen an increase by about 30% year-to- date. Um but the one thing I want to emphasize where you see repeated category 2 offenses um that is something that as you all know if
033you're continue a student is continuously bringing their phone and there's been warnings and there's been ISS or whatever it might be there can be escalated to another level. Um what we've actually seen is a decrease there. Um, so we do think that for the most part, uh, we're having some pretty decent collaboration with families and and warnings that are going out from from from teachers, just reminding students that those need to be put away. The other piece of data on here is probably going to make a lot of sense to everyone uh, where our violations uh, land. 88% of them at the high school level, 11% at the middle school level, 1% at the elementary. And this reflects pretty much national norms with when students begin getting their own personal devices. So that's the data
034year to date on where we are there. Now the next part, how do the adults feel about the policy? I think you all are like me. You'd love to see 100% agreement, but I've been up here for many years and there's rarely ever 100% agreement. With that said, I still believe overwhelmingly um it has been it has been positive. So what you see from both parents and guardians cuz we do ask that demographic information on the survey and employees about 70% on both sides agree with the policy that we implemented last year. This was a specific question about the new revision to the policy. One thing I want to note is um we always you know we agree strongly agree disagree disagree we always provide neutral because sometimes people are indifferent about things and so
035you are seeing some neutrality from both employees and adults but I want you to also reflect that for many um one it's not maybe a significant change at their school we talked about Kinwood High School had pretty much the same policy we have now already implemented last year and also many at the like I'm just gonna be honest prek is probably not a huge problem with So families are filling out. We're thinking, "Oh, my my 5-year-old doesn't have a phone yet." So, um, but what I really want you to know is the disagree. Only 6% of employees disagreed with the iteration of the policy we have now versus 14% for parents and guardians. So, again, overwhelmingly, I I can I can truly say that the adults agree with the policy. Now, to the next slide,
036which is feedback from students. And I just want to again say we have an amazing first ever student school board member because when I asked him to kind of collect some feedback, it was the most thoughtful feedback I I've received. And so he shared that overwhelmingly students don't necessarily agree with the policy. I think there's um some things he noted specifically students wanting to maybe be able to listen to music on their phones or being able to check in with homes uh with their house, that sort of thing. But ultimately, and he brought some good perspective, he has noticed and when he's talked to other students, he's noticed there are less distractions. There are more students actually talking to each other and communicating. And so, um, while there may not be 100% agreement there, and
037again, national research showed that you're never going to get the majority of students agreeing with this. I do think that we've seen some some great effects. And Elijah, I appreciate you putting that together for us. So, as far as next steps, where are we going now? So, we want to stay current on any legislative changes. Right now, there's not anything that's popping out that we're seeing that's significantly going to affect um this policy, but uh there's still months to go. So, we'll continue to make sure that we are in compliance uh with any recommendations we provide for you all in May when you approve the next student code of conduct. Um the other piece that we are working on is clarifying uh again, even though we added a lot last year for new and emerging
038technologies specifically around smart glasses. Uh you've probably seen a little bit more of that in the media. Um, some companies, you know, like ACT testing companies, they are specifically banning and saying you can't have them in the room. You're seeing some universities, some school systems coming out and banning them. We want to make sure that we are thinking about this holistically, knowing that that sometimes those are used as prescription lenses, but um, also making sure that we understand the power of again I said my watch 20 years ago, I didn't think it could do the things what these glasses can do are quite amazing. And we we definitely from a integrity standpoint with the educational process don't want students to have access to something on their face that could be using AI to answer the
039questions for them or be a distraction. So we're continuing to research that and we'll have some recommendations for you in May with the student code of conduct. Again, we'll continue to reinforce expectations with with everyone. And I just want to reemphasize this because I've had uh many conversations with families and a few who have said, "Well, you have this policy, but my kid was texting me." And I will always kind of say, what are you saying to your child? Because if you can't set the expectation with them, we're going to have difficulty with that as well. So, just reinforcing to everyone that we've got to be in this together and have the same expectations. And then continuing to train administrators um on both the student code of conduct, but also the trends. Uh just like
040I keep referencing smart glasses, I still don't know enough about them. Um and so we're researching learning. We've got to make sure our administrators know about these technologies as well. That's pretty much the quick summary on it. Any questions? >> Brian, >> there we go. You know, I have questions about this one. >> Oh, yeah. >> Um, so, uh, how many people do we know how many people filled out the survey? >> Um, I believe I'll check with Elizabeth. This one we um I mean our parent survey we get usually 17,000 responses. On the student code of conduct specifically it's probably closer to about 200. So it's not a ton but it's usually pretty representative of a good sample. >> Cool. Okay. And then um I'm just curious as to the ones that disagree. Is
041there any were there any open-ended questions on the survey to find out? >> That's a great question. I we do allow open-ended on both surveys there. No one spoke to why they disagreed on this specific item or none that Elizabeth flagged for me. There's about some other topics and things that they want to talk through, but none that that specifically talked through it. I will say though, overwhelmingly um what I've heard when I've heard parents push back. It has been around that piece that Mr. Garland talked about, which is if there's an emergency, I want to be able to to contact my child. That's that's what I've seen most of the time when there's been a concern. And I just remind that that phone is still there and if there's an emergency, your child would
042have access to that. So, some of those disagree might just be because they don't fully understand the policy. >> Yes, absolutely. It could be that. Um, and and I'm not I mean, I don't want to misrepresent. There may be some who just absolutely just don't agree with it. And that's that's a perspective. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Yes. >> Anyone else? >> Thank you. Thank you. >> All right. Comment section for Campbell School Leazison officer. Good evening, Dr. Luna Veter, board members and commissioners. My name is Karen Watkins JUF. The Fort Campbell Garrison Commander, Colonel Michael Snowden, has invited our director of schools, Dr. Luna Vetera and our surrounding Kentucky school superintendent to attend our upcoming student transition response team meeting later this week. The primary objective of this meeting is to provide a collaborative
043forum for superintendent to share successful practices implemented with your school districts and to discuss challenges encountered concerning our military connected youth. And it's that time of year for our music in our schools initiative in March. The Army band has been invited to several schools to play and to speak with the youth about their experiences of being part of the Fort Campbell Army Band. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> CMCA. Good evening. 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 Tennessee students, educators, and communities. Not just in policy language or legislative text, but in real immediate ways. At this moment, the voices of locally elected school boards matter more than ever because you bring credibility,
044context, 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 in 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 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. That belief sits at the center of a simple truth. Working together actually 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
045opportunity. 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 the same belief. Respecting educators as professionals, fully funding public schools so every student, regardless of zip code, has access to highquality learning environments. Protecting local decision-making and transparency. and ensuring 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 in that collaboration. You are the bridge between policy and practice, between community expectations and classroom reality. When educators are included early, when their expertise is valued rather than managed, outcomes improve, morale improves, retention improves, students feel the difference. Working together
046works 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. Partner with your community. Use your voice during this legislative session to advocate for policies that strengthen, not fragment, public education. 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. >> PET representative. >> Yeah. Um, county commissioners, >> I do have one. I've just got one. I was reading when Mr. Bryant was going through his slides and one of the things that stuck out to me uh where the children or the students were saying uh Howard was adversely impacting them on getting messages from their coaches i.e. about change to practices and things.
047Uh kind of strange that the coaches would be texting the children knowing that the children shouldn't be having phones. All right. So, I'm I'm just a little unclear on that one. But if that's the fact, right, how is that affecting the students participation in extracurricular activities? Is anybody tracking that? So, I will I will just say when when I saw that as well, um I I have a conversation planned with our our person who oversees athletics. I will say and and I'm not saying that's the case, not all of our coaches are teachers or employees in the buildings. You have to remember that some of them are outside and so some of them may need reminders. Um, also we don't know some of them are involved in athletics outside the school as far as extracurriculars.
048And so we we do plan to dig into that and as part of our coaches training reminding them um that we do have school announcements that are are given as as Elijah's shaking his head. Yes, that that we do have announcements that can be made to students. So they do have other avenues to be able to remind them. But we we we did notice that as well. Thank you, >> Mr. Johnson. >> I just want to add that was a great question and a great observation and just to be transparent, you know, we started with uh parent square about three years ago and uh we've had a lot of early adopters and we've had some that uh have preferred their own methods like Remind or some of these other programs out there and so we've
049moved more towards a a requirement uh for everyone to use parent square. We may still have some of those pockets where they're using a different service does the same thing. You use a service, it texts a student. Um, but one thing that we are going to be spending a lot of time this summer on is training our high school principles because high school students have access to student square. It's an underutilized feature um that we want to see utilized 100%. So student square will be the solution to this problem. Okay, Elijah. >> Um, thank you all for like bringing that up because that was something I actually wanted to talk about. Um, with the topic of athletes not being able to receive uh messages like uh Mr. Johnson was saying, some coaches are just I
050guess setting their ways and I know that a lot of coaches will use Remind or group me. Um, and then another thing is that students aren't taking the initiative to download Student Square. Um, I personally have it on my phone. Um, but it's also something that can be accessed from your computer. Um, which kind of gets rid of that whole uh, we can't see stuff during the day. Um, but I wish that I would have seen more students that had taken the initiative to go out and get their information from their coaches and then also uh some coaches that don't realize they can send in announcements at the end of the day. Um, which I had a conversation about the other day. Um, but thank you all. >> Thank you. >> Board members comments. Mr.
051Carlin. >> Yeah. Id like first of all I would like to apologize for being late uh all the years that I've been coming here and I'm normally first one on on the dis but I I I appreciate the uh the remarks that our fellow board member made. U you know it's good to know that we have systems in place to try to help make sure that our children are successful and I thank the board for actually coming up with this policy. you know, they uh they're actually working on trying to make sure that the children that do have uh those devices, they will be available them on cases of emergency, but it should be totally be a total emergency, not just because it's something I would like to do. Thank you so much for allowing
052me to speak. >> Anyone else? >> Okay, >> Miss Barry, >> thank you. I just want to say that when we think about looking back over our lives at the end, I really wanted to know and feel like I've tried to do my best and everything that God has called me to do. You know, my life will not be judged by how much money I have. It will not be judged by the material possessions I have, but how well I lived and how much I tried to help others. And my whole adult life has been in education and supporting students. But it is truly a calling because I probably wouldn't have uh made the decision to do what I do, but it was a high calling and so I I had to accept it. And
053I've also all my life tried to promote justice for all and all means all. Doesn't matter where you came from or where you're going. But I just want to say, you know, sometimes we have to stand for things that others may not stand for. And even in that, the majority might not agree with us. But we have to stand for what's right. And there are some things happening now that's not right. It doesn't line up with things that are ethical. It doesn't line up with the word of God. And so, you know, I'm not sure where things are going, but I'm going to stand for what's right. I don't fear death. The innocent people sometimes, like Dr. King said, he'd like to live a long time. But if death [snorts] comes to me from standing
054for standing up for what's right, it's the right thing to do. Thank you. I do want to thank um Miss Bryant, Miss Crosen for going with us to we spent last Monday and Tuesday at legislative and legal agenda at TSBA and so learned a little bit more about how to serve as students and what we can do to reach our legislators. Um this time we'll call on the directors of school report. >> Good evening board members. This week, I'm excited to honor our teacher of the year recipients, one from every school, at a dinner banquet hosted by the Education Foundation. Each year, schools select special educators in their buildings to be recognized. One of the top three finalists will be selected for a trip voucher to the destination of their choice. It's always a great
055night filled with celebration. As mentioned by Miss Watkins, I will be visiting Fort Campbell later this week for our annual student transition meeting. I appreciate the partnership with Fort Campbell as we strive to best support our military families. One JOTC cadet from every high school will be presented a challenge coin by the garrison commander as well as teachers and schools honored for their military support. Finally, installation of open gate security systems has begun at our high schools. Northeast High School began installation this week with Ross View High next week and other high schools are already scheduled in the coming weeks. This technology was chosen as a system with minimal restrictions while still providing heightened security and safety for our students. This was funded through grant dollars and our goal is always to create welcoming environments
056for our students where they feel comfortable and safe. Chairman Laneir, this concludes my report. >> Okay. With that, we're journed.