001has the conditions needed to thrive, and every educator has the support needed to succeed. Please join me in congratulating Janice on this well-deserved honor. Her leadership exemplifies the very best of Knox County Schools, and we are proud to celebrate her today. CONGRATULATIONS. [applause] >> I get to >> I guess I get to give it to you. >> Oh, okay. >> It's usually John. I didn't know I get Carl Switch hands. >> Switch hands. Congratulations. [applause] Congratulations again, Miss Cook, on that. We certainly appreciate your work and all you do for our students. And we also have a second recognition, and I think Miss Himlgarn, this one is you. [clears throat] Madame Chair, members of the board, I have the privilege of recognizing our team member, Ula Carr, the Educator Preparation Program Supervisor for Knox County
002Schools on being named the 2026 Association for Career and Technical Education National Teacher Educator of the Year Award. Uh this award from the Association for Career and Technical Education recognizes the finest teacher educators in the country who demonstrate innovation, leadership, and an unwavering commitment to preparing the next generation of career and technical education CTE uh professionals. ULA currently leads the KCS educator preparation program and has since its inception. It's a vital program that supports and helps professionals translate their industry experience into the K12 setting um to serve thousands of students here and in KCS and across East Tennessee as well. Under ULA's direction, the KCS EP is on track to graduate its hundth program completer uh next year, a testament to her vision for high quality instruction and educator retention. We're incredibly proud to have
003a national leader of her caliber serving our students and teachers here in Knox County. And I appreciate the opportunity to have you all join me in congratulating Ula [applause] picture. >> Thank you. >> [laughter] >> Everybody can take one. Perfect. All right. One, two, three. [laughter] It's okay. It warmed me up for a second. Oh, there. This one's real warm. I mean, I don't have it. It's okay. Oh, yours is mine. Maybe mine's not on. All right. So, moving into our Everybody's excited for the recognitions. Moving into our regular agenda, Miss Cotney. Thank you, Madam Chair. Item seven, consent agenda. >> A motion by Mr. Triplet, a second by Miss Templeton. Discussion. All in favor say I. Any opposed? Motion carries. >> Item 8A, approve second reading of Knox County Board of Education policy C180,
004advertising and solicitation in schools as amended. >> Motion by Mr. Triplet, a second by Miss Henderson. Discussion. >> All in favor say I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. >> 8B approved second reading of Knox County Board of Education policy C1 181, political solicitation as amended. >> Motion by Mr. triple is second by Miss Henderson. Discussion. All in favor say I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. >> 8C approved second reading of Knox County Board of Education policy D190 payroll as amended. >> Motion by Mr. Triplet, second by Miss Henderson. Discussion. All in favor say I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. >> 8 D. He approved second reading of Knots County Board of Education policy G467 paid parental leave as amended. [clears throat] >> A motion by Mr. Tuplet, second by Miss Henderson. Discussion. All in favor
005say I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. >> 8E approved. Second reading of Knots County Board of Education policy G500 compensation guides and contracts for support personnel as amended. >> Motion by Mr. Triplet, a second by Miss Henderson. Discussion. All in favor say I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. >> 8 F approve second reading of Knox County Board of Education policy G570 time schedules of classified personnel as amended. >> Motion by Mr. Triplet, a second by Miss Henderson. Discussion. All in favor say I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. >> 8G. Approve first reading of Knox County Board of Education policy I371 early graduation as amended. Motion by Mr. Triplet, second by Miss Henderson. Discussion. All in favor say I. Any opposed? Motion carries. >> 88 H. Approve first reading of Pops County Board of Education policy
006I 373 graduating with honors or distinction as amended. >> Motion by Mr. Triplet, second by Miss Henderson. Discussion. All in favor say I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. 8 I approve first reading of Knox County Board of Education policy I 383 test security as amended >> motion by Mr. Triplet second by Miss Henderson discussion all in favor say I >> any opposed motion carries >> 8J approve first reading of Knox County Board of Education policy I420 controversial issues as amended >> motion by Mr. triple second by Miss Henderson. Discussion. All in favor say I. Any opposed? Motion carries. >> 8K. Approve first reading of Knox County Board of Education policy I440. Wellness policy as amended. >> Motion by Mr. Triplet. Second by Miss Henderson. Discussion. All in favor say I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries.
007>> 9A. approved Patel Education TSIN STEMX STEM classroom grants sponsored by TVA and BVI in the total amount of $42,000 for Beardarden High School, Dogwood Elementary School, Gibbs High School, Green Magnet Academy, Harden Valley Middle School, Holston Middle School, Ellen STEM Academy, Rita Elementary School, and Whittle Springs Middle School. >> Motion by Dr. Butler, second by Mr. Wright. Discussion. All in favor say I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. 9B approve Crossley Custom Cruiser contest donation in the amount of $500 for Central High School. >> Motion by Miss Templeton, second by Miss Henderson. Any discussion? All in favor say I. Any opposed? Motion carries. >> 9 C. Approve Tennessee Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom Mini Grant in the amount of $250 for South Middle School. >> Motion by Dr. Butler, a second by Miss Henderson.
008Discussion. All in favor say I. Any opposed? Motion carries. 9D. Approve DAO gives grant in the amount of $23,000 for West High School. >> Motion by Miss Bike, a second by Mr. Triplet. Discussion. All in favor say I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. >> 9E. Approve grant acceptance agreement with Mr. Holland Opus Foundation for grant of musical instruments valued at $38,717 to West High School funded by the Morgan Wallen Foundation. >> Motion by Miss Spike, a second by Mr. Triplet. Discussion. All in favor say I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. >> 10 A. Approve superintendent annual evaluation. >> Motion by Dr. Butler, second by Mr. Triplet. Discussion. All in favor say I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. >> 10B approved tenure for eligible teachers. >> Motion by Miss Fontau Ridley and second by was it
009you Miss Templeton? Oh, Miss Morgan. Okay. Any discussion? All in favor say I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. TNC approved 2025 2026 textbook adoption committee appointments for advanced manufacturing and information technology and PE health and wellness. >> Motion by Dr. Betler, second by Miss Templeton. Discussion. All in favor say I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. >> TND approved schematic design package for new K through8 school by Lewis Group Architects. >> So move. >> Second. >> A motion by Dr. Butler is second by Miss Fontno Ridley. Miss Templeton. >> Yes. I have a couple questions. Um I love the interaction with the community on this. Um I'm getting a lot of emails which is wonderful and I appreciate um people reaching out. So I just am going to ask the questions that are being asked of
010me um to Lewis group. Um I had a question that was have we maximized all of the opportunities for natural light inside the school building? So, I know. Oh, there you are. [laughter] >> That'd be great. >> Did you hear the question? >> I did. >> Okay. >> Thank you for being here. >> Relaying questions as they come in. [laughter] >> The answer is yes. >> Wonderful. >> Yes. Site with a long linear building. It gives us opportunities to get maximum maximum exposure uh to the to the outside. >> So we can say that it is on your list of priorities. >> Yeah, absolutely. Always on our list of priorities when we design anything but yes. >> Okay. Wonderful. That was my only question for you. So you are now I only have two questions
011actually. Um and the other question was for Dr. Risewick. Um if the funding changes uh what are the um what changes might come to the building structure if funding goes down? >> I if funding I if if the funding is not the same when we break ground >> right >> will there be changes or what what will the changes be? >> Yeah I would I mean there I may get Dr. to weigh in or maybe Mr. show were to weigh in. But I would say this, you know, the way just to explain the funding and I know you know this, we'll do this for the public. How about that? The >> That's why I'm asking the question. >> Totally. So the funding in the capital plan is, you know, we have that fiveyear, you know,
012for folks know, we don't have our own debt. We work within the county's debt. They give us what our caps are for every year. And so the money that's allotted for that project right now is within those caps. So that money should be fine. Uh if the question is what if the cost of things go up or who knows what happens in supply and demand and all that down the down the road before we get to there. Um I would say that's not unusual for that to happen from time to time. Um it's not too far out to having that bill. So hopefully there's not a lot of fluctuation in that. But at that point, you know, typically they we we do start thinking through where are their cost savings. But um how we typically
013do that, I would say either Dr. Adams or Mr. Shel would probably be able to tell you how that works in most projects. >> Madam Chair, thank you Dr. Rywick. Miss Templeton. Uh so basically what would happen at that point is we would bring uh the project backed. Uh but keep in mind that you will have the final decision on the design once the design is complete. Then that goes out to bid and that's that's a process that we would quickly recognize whether a contractor is going to take that project or not. Once it's underway, uh we do have a contingency fund that is built into the project. >> Great. Thank you, >> Miss B. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. That just sprung one question for me. Um, and I'm not sure who this one's
014for, but at what point I assume because this is um also includes K through five that we'll have a playground. And I'm curious at what point that um design or that implementation or we see those what what stage is that for a brand new school? Madam Chair, Miss Bike. Uh so we do have a standard playground for all our new school builds. Uh so again, it's a standard playground that that's it's just a part of the design. So you will see that in the final design as well. >> Are there um accessibility um options? >> Fully accessible. fully accessible. That is correct. Yes. >> Thank you. >> Yes. Thank you. >> All right. Any other questions? Any more discussion? Okay. So, we have a motion on the floor by Dr. Butler and a second by
015Miss Fonto Ridley. All in favor say I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. All right. Moving on to public forum. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. We've got two public forum speakers registered this evening. Um, just remind the speakers that you will have three minutes. Please state your name and county of residence. First is Caris Connor. >> Please state your name. County of residents. >> Should I do this? Can y'all hear me? Can y'all hear me? Great. Um, I brought a crew. So, my name is Caris Connor. Um, I live in Powell, Knox County. My, um, husband is passing out pamphlets that I brought for y'all, um, to look at while I give my pitch. So, when do I start? When it starts. Great. Okay. Good evening, members of the board. My name is Caris Connor, and
016I'm honored to represent the members of the PAL community tonight. Wait, stop. >> Okay. Well, that's that's great with me. Then I have more more time. >> Here's a a time keeper right here. >> Oh, perfect. and he was busy doing pamphlet work. >> As soon as he gets back to a seat, I'm sure he'll start. >> All good. >> Okay. Um, I have three minutes that I plan to use in urgency to make you aware of the dire needs at Pal Elementary School. So, please do your best to open your ears and your hearts to our data and our request. Our main school building was designed to hold around 500 students. We are currently at 767. We are able to fit this many due to the trailers behind the main building that hold 13
017classrooms. 267 students. These trailers were meant to be a temporary solution to a population boom that has not stopped booming. And they arrived at our school 40 years ago. Our trailers came in 1985. A 40-year-old trailer does not hold up like a 40-year-old house. We have some that have the walls splitting, some with the floor sagging, all with their own unique issues, but most obvious being that the width of the tin wall can barely keep out a rock, let alone a crazy person standing in the parking lot with a gun. When there is inclement weather or police presence in the area, our students have to move into the main building hallways or share fourth and fifth grader classrooms. This disrupts multiple grades and valuable academic time. And this happens at least once a month. In
018the winter, our students must wear hats, gloves, and coats the entire day. And while Knox County schools will repeatedly and truthfully tell you that the heat works, it doesn't matter how much heat you pump into those trailers, the minute the doors open, the heat is gone. And with first and second graders, you can imagine that the doors open all day long because that's right, our trailers house not some of the first and second graders, all of the first and second graders. Onethird of Hell Elementary students are learning in 40-year-old trailers. I began this fight merely asking that our trailers be replaced by a brick and mortar annex because it's cheaper to pro and safer to provide brick um than it is to replace the trailers. And I was quickly told that Knox County Schools will
019not be putting any more money into our property because at some point they will need to build a new school to address the population surge in North Knoxville. I'm here to implore you to see that that time is now. According to Knox County zoning in a three-mile radius from our school, 550 housing units are expected to be built in 2026. We had 700 homes built between 24 and 25. That's 1300 new homes in three years set at affordable prices which will attract young families and growing families. We urge you to be ahead of this issue and not behind and to make plans to build a new school that will be able to hold all of the new students projected to need a public school in the next 5 years. We have been threatened with resoning.
020This is not an option. No other school has enough room for all of us and this would threaten the jobs of our incredible teachers. You may have also heard there's not land and we believe that's simply not true. If you would speak to our community, we could let you know that we have ideas of plots of 20, 30, 40 acres as well as local buildings that could be repurposed for a school. Our current school's on seven acres, including the parking lot that we borrow from the private school across the street. That private school has threatened to not allow its use in the next few years, which leaves another traffic nightmare on our hands because we use that area for carpool twice a day. We feel that our needs have not been appropriately represented, and I
021came here to make sure that all of you have the data and the facts straight from the source. I'm here to make you aware that if you fund a budget for a new storm shelter at one school or a new playground or turf at another, there's four there's six and seven year olds freezing in 40-year-old trailers up in Pal and we are ready to do something about it. So, just now y'all know and we're here to talk if you want to talk to any of us. Okay, did it. [applause] Thank you. [applause] Next is Candace Manister. Candace Bannister Knox County resident. Tonight I will talk to you about Will because I want you to know who we lost. Maybe you'll begin to understand why I continue to come here month after month. Will's birthday is
022January 12th. He would have been 25 years old this year. Will was born when his brother Brooks was nine and a half years old. Though we had a long wait, Will was the very best surprise of our lives as he completed our family in the most perfect way. Will was born with glorious red hair. Not just a little bit red, but full-blown can be seen for Miles red hair. We learned in time that it was not just a hair color, but a way of life. He was decisive, full of energy, and could advocate for himself in the most convincing way. One night, I was washing his hair while I was giving him his bath, and he told me a friend at daycare pulled his pretty red hair. He'd never heard it called anything else. Wherever
023he went, he heard pretty red hair. Will reveled in his red hair, and it fit him perfectly. When it was time for him to go to school, his brother was in ninth grade and still carrying his lunch every day. So, we thought we'd start Will out buying lunch at school. After his first full day, I asked what he thought about it when I picked him up and he answered that it was okay, but it was kind of random. I asked what he meant by that, and he said, "They don't give you what you want. They just give you what they got." We packed his lunch every day afterwards. I loved hearing about his school day. He could just about repeat the lesson for me. Today, Mom, we learned about naming words. The grown-up word is
024nouns, but we call them naming words because they name people, places, and things. You know, like dad, dog, and house. He really paid attention to details. Will was always a little bit shy in school until 8th grade when he became very concerned about social standing. His words were, "If you're not in the right group, you're nobody, Mom. That's just the way it is." I took him shopping that year for school clothes at Packson. From that day forward, fashion was his top priority. He was always putting together his outfits and had his clothes in a rotation. Will had a great group of friends. I think at that point, they called themselves a squad. At the end of 8th grade, Will was voted most unique. Will was in scouts from first grade tiger cubs for the rest
025of his life and was just a few months away from his eagle rank when he died. Mark was one of the leaders once he crossed over to boy scouts. They had many happy times on the trails, in the caves, and at camp. Will gave our family many gifts. If Brooks was here tonight, he would tell you that Will was the very best thing that ever happened to him. Being here on this earth without Will is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. I have learned that a broken heart continues to beat even when you wish it would not. I never once in my life thought this is where we would be. Will was funny, smart, kind, and he had anxiety. He shouldn't have had to die for having anxiety, and he certainly should
026not have been bullied, harassed, and intimidated by his administrator. What he deserved was care and understanding. Here we are almost nine years later, and what have you done to hold that man accountable? Absolutely nothing. Instead, you promoted him to a highle position called chief of schools and put him over every building level admin admin in the system. A position in which he himself failed his staff, students, and our family. >> Thank you, Candace. Madam chair, that concludes public forum. >> And with that, we are ajourned. [groaning]