001Welcome to the March 5th, 2026 board meeting for the Rutherford County School System. We will be opening the meeting with a brief moment of silence or prayer and the pledge of allegiance to the United States flag. No one is required to participate or be present for any of these and being in this portion of the meeting is completely voluntary. Before I hand it over to you, Ms. Sharp, apparently Rutherford County Schools lost someone very near and dear. Butch, could you let us know who passed away? Yes. Uh Ms. Ann McCraw, she was very close friend of mine and very close friend of most of the people who work for Rutherford County Schools. Uh Ann's been a long-time educator for Rutherford County Schools. She was a great teacher. She was the district testing coordinator. She did
002the district safety and professional development. Uh she ran the teacher center and professional development development for so many years. That one of the reasons that we've got such a great school system is because of the professional development uh taught our folks how to how to teach, how to get it done. She passed away on uh Wednesday, yesterday. And uh she didn't have much of a much of a battle. She found out she had um cancer a short time ago and she went through radiation and I think her body just couldn't tolerate it. And uh so but please remember her thoughts and prayers for the family. Uh She's got a daughter and a husband, Jay, that uh and uh again, she's just a very, very special person. So. Thank you, Butch. Now, Ms. Sharp. Thank you.
003Um if everybody will pray with me, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation and deliver us but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. I pledge allegiance 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. First up, we have the uh approval of the agenda. Thank you, Mr. Vaughn. >> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Sharp. Mr. Sharp, I'm sorry. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion
004passes. Next, we have the approval of the consent agenda. Move to approve. >> Thank you, Mr. Rosales. Thank you, Mr. Vaughn. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. We have seven that are signed up for public comments tonight. And when I call your name, I ask you to please go to the podium and you'll have 3 minutes. The first is up is Tony Ketzer. Kotzer, I'm sorry. Hello, Rutherford County School Board. My name is Tony Custer, a resident of La Vergne. My wife and I have lived in Rutherford County for 10 years. I have an 11-year-old that went first through third and an 8-year-old that went kindergarten readiness through first at our zoned school. We were thrilled to find out that American Classical Academy was coming to Rutherford County. It kept us
005from moving out of the county to find uh better schools and avoid constant re-zoning. We've been involved with ACAR from their first day of classes. There were some things shared here on February 19th that do not that do not tell the entire story. Uh the information shared was as of the end of the 2024-2025 school year. As a parent listening to the cold facts, it bothered me because that's not the school I see and experience on a regular basis. I also know that many of the things mentioned had been resolved prior to the February 19th meeting. ACAR has a board of directors that work diligently, tirelessly, and selflessly to see the school succeed. I'm thankful to hear that Dr. McCann mentioned several times that the ACAR Board of Directors was always very responsive. The things
006shared that were areas that need to be addressed by ACAR had been taken taken up by the board. They brought on additional employee to help with those things. They made the difficult decision to ask for the resignation of a beloved head of school and this came with a lot of anger pointed in their direction. They listened to parents, faculty, and staff. They heard the needs and have been partnering with them to ensure the continued culture at the school and the positive steps the school is making. I'd like to address the testing concerns that received a lot of attention during the the meeting. At one point, one of the board members here was concerned about those students coming into RCS schools and how that would then impact their scores. I would ask that board member, where
007do you think these students came from? What school district do you think it is these students were attending prior to transitioning to ACAR? These students had parents that saw that they were not getting what they needed at their Rutherford County school and decided to give ACAR a chance. These are things you cannot There are things you cannot measure with a test that they are learning and the things you would see if you visited the school. I would encourage you to visit with ACAR. Come see the kids, the confidence, the pride, and the motivation to succeed. They are engaged and working hard to catch up and be better. We are thankful for those that came uh that come from the southern areas of Rutherford County because it is a great burden for them and it is
008proof of how great this school is. They travel I-24. They give up 45 minutes to an hour of their day each morning and each afternoon to get their schools their kids to this school instead of their zoned school. I hope the presence of these parents and students tonight shows you how much we love this school. The ACAR Board of Directors, administration, faculty, staff, and parents are wholly devoted to the success of this school. Thank you for your time this evening. Thank you for hearing us and we look forward to the continued improvement and growth at ACAR. Thank you. Next, we have Mayor Jason Cole. Good evening. I'm Jason Cole. I'm the mayor for the city of La Vergne. Tonight, I'm here not just as a city official but as a parent and a concerned neighbor
009who cares deeply about the future of every one of our children in this county. La Vergne is built on a motto, which is honoring our past and building for our future. Today, I believe that we have a unique opportunity to do both by continuing our support for ACAR right here in Rutherford County. We all know Rutherford County is growing at a breathtaking pace. The north is on fire with growth. With that growth comes a diverse set of needs and our traditional public schools, while doing a fantastic job, also we also know with that it's not a one-size-fits-all for for approach for every family. ACAR offers something distinct, a classical liberal arts model that focuses on the good, the true, and the beautiful. It prioritizes phonics, Latin, and a deep dive into foundational documents of our
010nation. By supporting ACAR, we're not taking away from our existing schools, but we are adding new tools to the education toolbox. We are giving La Vergne parents and Rutherford County parents a choice that keeps them and their children invested in our local community. From a city leadership perspective, ACAR is a win for the development side. They took a vacant building on Ingram Boulevard and transformed it into a vibrant center of learning. When businesses move to La Vergne, they ask about two things, infrastructure and education. Having a high-quality tuition-free charter option makes our city more attractive to families and professionals. It signals Rutherford County is a place of innovation and where we have different paths and experiences for education. But beyond the economics, it's about character for our the future of our citizens. You can see
011many of them here. These children are our future for this community. And we want students who graduate not just with high scores but with the ability to think critically, act compassionately, and understand their role in a free society. I want to thank this board for all of the support for ACAR, for the oversight. I know the road to having a charter school is complex. It's controversial to a degree, but the results are children who are excited to learn and parents who feel empowered that they have a choice in their education. I urge you to continue to stand with our parents for the mission of ACAR as they as they expand to serve more grades in the coming years. Let's keep building a future where every student in Rutherford County has the opportunity to thrive. Thank
012you. Thank you. Next, we have Ms. Danielle Netto. Okay. We have Susan Sealing. I'd like to thank all of you for all you do for our students and our teachers and the families here in Rutherford County. Wanted to start with that. I know it's a lot of work and selflessness that goes into what you do. Uh I watched the February 19th board meeting a few nights ago and what I was struck with was um I just saw a lot of metrics from last school year. The charter schools seem to be kind of a thorn in many of your sides, a project that was shoved onto you that you don't particularly like or want because they make your jobs more complicated and there are many variables outside your control. But charter schools are nothing new to
013the public education system. They've been around since the early 2000s in the United States and since the early I'm sorry, the early 1990s in the US and the early 2000s in Tennessee. These are just new to Rutherford County and they aren't going away. My older children were a part of a charter school in California that began three decades ago. That charter school also endured a lot of pressure and backlash from their school district and what they ended up doing was starting their own school district full of charter schools. And that's still going on very successfully today. I tell you all this because I want to give you a fresh perspective on charter schools. I want you to think of them as startups. I've been involved in a lot of startups over my career and I
014have learned a few things over the years. When you start something new, it takes time to work out the kinks. You make your most educated guesses and start it with a set of plans and those plans quickly get thrown away and outdated because once they meet real life experience. That's not failure, that's not incompetency, that's learning. And what I see here in this board room and in all these charter schools is a lot of learning. You can see that evident even in the metrics that you'll see in the 2026 school year. Regarding the low enrollment, my son was a student in Salem Elementary in Murfreesboro when it launched. Even in a new school within a well-established school district in a populated area full of subdivisions, that school took three years to fill. I chose ACAMIS
015because it provides a classical education in a public school setting learning about the good, the true, and the beautiful. The thoughts that created our nation and defined the history of our modern world. I want my son to have the deep education that inspires a Socratic discussion and critical thinking. The curriculum at ACAMIS second to none. The teachers are a collection of some of the most inspiring, kind, and well-educated people I've ever met. Their passion for learning is contagious. I am smarter because my son attends ACAMIS. The community that has formed there in under two years is beyond special. I'm here to strongly urge the board to come visit the schools and support them. Move beyond the metrics into actual life. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to to public education or any education. We need The
016charter schools offer options kids are looking for and need, a different approach than what traditional public schools offer. I urge [snorts] you to see the charter schools as a gift to the children of our county. Thank you. Next we have Isaac Sealing. First I'd like to thank you for allowing me to speak here tonight. I'll be telling you why ACAMIS is so important. I'm very well aware that several of you in this room even dislike ACAMIS. I will explain where you are wrong in thinking that. Let me present my case first with a quote from Aristotle. He once said, "Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all." And what I'd like to point out about ACAMIS is ACAMIS does not only teach the mind but also the heart to make more
017well-rounded people and citizens of this United States. At ACAMIS we strive for excellence in our studies and at the virtues. One day of learning at ACAMIS is equal to 50 at any other school I attended. At my old school it did not matter if I missed a day at school because we learned two or three things a week. But at ACAMIS we learn a lot every single day. It pains me to miss even one day of learning at ACAMIS. And also everyone at ACAMIS is connected and knows each other and there's a great sense of community at ACAMIS unlike any other public school I attended. So by going against ACAMIS you are not only missing out on a great opportunity but you're also throwing away a true, deep, content-rich education. If that does not make
018you realize how much it matters to us as students of ACAMIS, if you still don't understand how it good it is to have ACAMIS, you should personally come to ACAMIS to see how awesome ACAMIS is. Because ACAMIS is such a life-changing school I cannot even scratch the surface of how amazing it is. And as we say at ACAMIS, I will do the good, I will learn the true, I will love the beautiful. May God bless you and may you all have a blessed night. Thank you. Next we have Bellamy Greer. >> [snorts] >> Hi. My name is um Bellamy Greer as you already know. Um I am a student at American Classical Academy of Rutherford and um I would have like I would like to invite my um my fellow American Classical Academy of Rutherford
019students here tonight to recite our mission. The The American Classical Academy Rutherford student The American The mission of American Classical Academy Rutherford is to train the mind and develop character in students through a content-rich classical education utilizing as as as utilizing instruction and student virtue. Thank Thank you. Now I would like to recite a piece of literature that every sixth grader at American Classical Academy Rutherford had to memorize this year that helps serve the purpose of our mission. If by Rudyard Kipling. If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you. If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you but make allowance for their doubting too. If you can wait and not be tired by waiting or being lied about don't deal in lies or
020being hated don't give way to hating and yet don't look too good nor talk too wise. If you can dream and not make dreams your master if you can think and not make thoughts your aim. If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same. If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools or watch the things you gave your life to broken and stoop and build them up with worn-out tools. If you can make one heap of all your winnings and risk it all on one turn of pitch and toss and lose and st- and lose and start again at your beginnings and never breathe a word about your loss. If you can walk with If you can
021talk with crowds and keep your virtue or walk with kings nor lose the common touch. Or if you if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you. If all men count with you but none too much. If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds' worth of distance run. This Then yours is the Earth and everything in it and what's more you'll be a man, my son. Thank you. And lastly we have Naomi Thick. Hi. My name is Naomi Thick. I'm 10 years old and going into sixth grade. I have played cello for two years and I love music. I'm here today to talk to you about adding orchestra programs to Rutherford County middle and high schools. I found out there are a total of 52 schools in our county but only two offer
022orchestra programs. Both of those schools are magnet schools with limited numbers of seats. This means that not everyone has the same access to this orchestra. Many schools Many school districts have orchestras in their middle and high schools. Here are a few reasons why to add why orchestra should be added to our schools. Number one, performing with a group teaches teamwork and helps build confidence. Number two, learning a string instrument develops discipline and patience. Number three, students who are partic- who participate in band or orchestra are less likely to do drugs and more likely to graduate high school. Number four, did you know that playing music can even reduce stress and anxiety? Here's some other data I found. A US Department of Education study found that students in the performing arts program program had better attendance,
023fewer discipline issues, uh and better and improved on-task behavior relative to comparison to students. In the future the most valuable work skills will be those that machines can't yet perform such as collaboration, creativity, abstract thinking These are all skills that students gain while playing in orchestra. I believe all Rutherford County in middle and high school students deserve a chance to experience playing a string instrument with an orchestra. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Next we move to number six, the RCS difference. >> Good evening everyone. Tonight we are here and we have many young artists here with us tonight to celebrate the arts in our schools and I think it's appropriate that this is the first time we've called this segment the RCS difference because the arts in our county truly are
024one of the biggest things that make us different and wonderful. We have great programs in our schools. You see here under our logo that we go by the values of excellence, creativity and community because those are the things that the arts provide for students in ways that other content areas simply don't. If we are in a high school math class, a 95% on a test is a real good job. In band, it's a pretty good starting point because we are going for 100% on that concert and that audition and it teaches our students to have dedication and to strive for their best. Creativity, many of the visual artists here tonight had to come up with an idea to generate an idea on their own to decide what kind of tools they were going to use
025it to make a plan and to decide if what they created fit that plan or not and adjust. So creativity is something we do in the arts that just doesn't happen as well in other content areas. And community, in a world that is increasingly digitalized, band, choir, putting on a musical, those are things that bring our students together in community with one another and to share with their community that just doesn't happen other places. So these are things that the arts truly provide for our students that they really don't get anywhere else. And the reason we're talking about this tonight and have these young artists with us tonight, March is the everything arts month, music in our schools month, theater in our schools month, dance in our schools month and youth art month. So we're
026here to celebrate that. If you're the kind of person that loves musicals, you might want to celebrate at a musical this week or next week because just about all of our high schools are putting on a musical within the next 10 days. There's always a calendar of events on the RCS Fine Arts website if you want to go check it out and see where those great events are happening. Something we can celebrate in Rutherford County Schools that makes us different from other districts, we provide instruction in all five art forms. In music and within music, a variety of music. We do have band, choir, guitar, piano, lots of different types of music, even digital music creation for our students. Theater, visual art, dance and media arts. So students in this school district don't have to
027choose between things or find something that doesn't really fit them. Every student's passion is different and here in Rutherford County, we make sure the students have opportunities where they are most interested. We are also fortunate 100% of our elementary students have access to regular music and visual art instruction with teachers who specialize in those areas. That sets the foundation for middle school and high school where they can branch out into the more specialized areas. I'm going backwards. Just a quick look at some of the achievements this year. You can see the hundreds, literal hundreds of RCS students who have achieved regional, state and national recognition this year for vocal music, instrumental music, theater and the visual arts. This comes from great instruction that's happening in our schools with our teachers preparing these students for the
028rigors of these auditions, of these art shows and submissions and they are doing fantastic work. And this is not even to mention all the individual student honors, all the school honors. For instance, Rockvale Middle School just yesterday was named a Arts Rich School of Merit in the state of Tennessee. We see these things all the time because of the great work that our folks are doing in the arts. And so tonight we are here to celebrate these visual artists that are here with us tonight. I hope some of you got a chance to go down to the Frist in February. We had artwork up for about two weeks at the Frist Museum. There were about 400 pieces of artwork from Rutherford County Schools. It's their biggest art show every year, brings in thousands of people
029to see the quality of our artwork. Students were chosen for that by their teachers, by their art teachers and the teachers could only select two artworks per grade level or two artworks per course to go to the Frist. So it was already highly selective. From there, only one or two per school were chosen to come here to the central office and be displayed in our hallways. And they are up now. We have many of our artists here tonight to go and check out their artwork. So it's quite an honor to be chosen to be here because out of already limited numbers who are at the Frist, now it's a very, very select number who are here. And I can tell you that it makes such a difference in this office when the new artwork goes
030up. People just start coming out of their offices, walking around the building, trying to bribe me to put their favorite artwork outside their office. It is just it just really brightens up and adds to our quality of work here. So for the students who are here tonight, I'm going to call your name to recognize you for your work. If you would, when I call your name, either stand or raise your hand where you are. Audience, if we'll hold our applause until everyone's name has been called. If you want to give a little silent jazz hands or something for your student, that's totally fine. Then at the end, we will recognize everyone and then we will be released out into the hallways to go find your art, take pictures and we'll also have certificates for your
031student artists out in the hallway for them to pick up. Being recognized tonight, we have Arya Gahar from Barfield Elementary School. Valentina Bedell Sanchez from Blackman Elementary School. Kirsten Tan, Blackman Middle School. Valeria Bedell Sanchez, Blackman High School. Marvinia Bechter, Browns Chapel Elementary School. Jazlyn Coble, Buchanan Elementary School. Woods Denny, Campus School. Diego Castillo, Cedar Grove Elementary. Marley Pinson, Central Magnet School. Kylie McKelvey, Christiana Elementary School. Swar Gowda, Christiana Middle School. Eileen Jimenez, David Youree Elementary School. Bailey Suter, Eagleville School. Addison Thomason, Holloway High School. Lena Abdelgabar, John Coleman Elementary School. Jemaya Gore, Kittrell Elementary School. Cora Harris, Las Casas Elementary School. Asia Said, Lavergne High School. Johali Perez Montalvo, Lavergne Lake Elementary School. Mason Farmer, Lavergne Lake Elementary School. Demi Morrison, McFadden School of Excellence. Candon Swells, Oakland High School. Ethan Supakorn, Oakland High
032School. Riley Reeves, Oakland Middle School. AJ Glensky, Plainview Elementary School. Emma Fodor, Poplar Hill Elementary School. McKenna Garber, Riverdale High School. Ryker Kyles, Rock Springs Elementary School. Sarah Bucker Rodriguez, Rock Springs Elementary School. Ariana Garvey, Rock Springs Middle School. Owen Warren, Rockvale Elementary School. Reese Brooks, Rockvale High School. Sarah Eskandar, Rockvale Middle School. Laken Gregory, Rocky Fork Elementary School. Ever Bonilla, Rocky Fork Elementary School. Ambria Mitchell, Rocky Fork Middle School. Jace Montalvo, Roy Waldron Elementary School. Jackson Porter, Rutherford County Virtual School. Matilda Woodring, Siegel High School. Seven Fleming, Siegel Middle School. Genevieve Cooper, Smyrna Elementary School. Noah Pannell, Smyrna High School. Genevieve Carlin, Smyrna Middle School. Ronan Sias, Smyrna Primary School. Valerie De Leon Alvarado, Stewartsboro Elementary School. Kiara Jacques, Stewarts Creek Elementary School. Allie Demoe, Stewarts Creek High School. Alexandra Demoe, Stewarts Creek High
033School. Chase Ware, Stewarts Creek High School. Gabriella Lasala, Stewarts Creek High School. Allie McKinnick, Stewarts Creek High School. Isabella Jenkins, Stewarts Creek Middle School. Austin Hood, Thurman Francis Arts Academy. Natalia Altidor, Walter Hill Elementary School. Jaylen Montalvo, Whitworth Buchanan Middle School. Jacob Young, Whitworth Buchanan Middle School. Anaveah Chequista, Wilson Elementary School. Give all these artists a round of applause. >> [applause] [applause] >> Thank you all for your support of arts education in our schools. Uh now, artists, parents, and teachers, we will go in the hallways, find your artwork, take pictures, view all the rest of the artwork, and we'll have a certificate for you in the break room that's right here in the middle of the hallway. Thanks, everyone. You were going to give it just a few minutes to let them go out to
034the hallway and find their art. Apparently, we're not Next, we move to instruction. All right. Next, this continuation of fine arts, so this is a visual and performing arts distinguished graduate program. Instruction Department's requesting to implement a graduate distinction program to prepare and recognize students seeking future studies and careers in creative arts industries. Students completing all requirements will receive a medal to wear at graduation and have the distinction printed on their high school transcripts. The program will be managed by the fine arts department under the supervision of Dr. Lindsey Halford, and it'll be offered to students beginning in the 2026-2027 school year. And below, you have the requirements for that. Recommend motion. I would recommend we approve. Move to approve. Second. >> Vaughn. Thank you, Ms. Sharp. All in favor, say I. I. Any opposed?
035I think this is excellent. Yes. >> Very good. Next, we have legal. Transfer student under discipline. We have one tonight. The board's been requested to admit a transfer student from another school system under discipline. The student was expelled for possession of a weapon other than a firearm. According to policy 6.318, the board may deny admission of any student except those in state custody. When a student transfers from another school system under suspension or expulsion, director of schools recommendation is to deny. So moved. Thank you, Mr. Vaughn, Mr. Spott, and Mr. Johnson. >> [laughter] >> All in favor, say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Next, board matters, transportation. Next, we had a list of drivers who I don't drop everything. had met the requirement. List of drivers who have successfully transitioned from Ursa Major Logistics
036by securing private insurance and bus lease under a new company or bus. If there are any additional ones mention. Not that we're going to read tonight. No, sir. >> Okay. So, I'd ask that we approve these contractors, bus 160, 84, 237, 244, 211, 129, and 320. Could you repeat those one time? I'm sorry. >> 84, 237, 244, 211, 129, and 320. Did I miss any of those, Mr. Johnson or Mr. Lee? Is that all of them? Okay. Any comments or questions? I'll entertain a motion. No move. Second. >> Ms. Sharp. Second, Mr. Tidwell. All in favor, say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Next, we go to hybrid model. All right. So, I'd like um first, we have this is a transportation bus purchase request. Transportation Department's requesting to begin the purchase of buses to
037supplement the current student transportation system. These buses will be utilized to replace unfilled contracts and provide coverage for added transportation needs. This really what we need is just direction if we're okay to move forward and kind of get pricing. We have some official quotes, but this is going to take some time. Um we're going to have to start talking about funding with county finance, look at buses that are available. Um there's all kinds of different I have lots of quotes that I will present to the board probably at our workshop retreat next Thursday. Um but we have I'd have first one um Mr. Lee, if that's okay, or Mr. Johnson, give us kind of an update. I think we've gone up a little bit in our open routes from where we were on Tuesday. Yes,
038we did have some routes turned back in. We had currently have 12 open routes. We will be sending out an email tonight asking for interested contractors. We call that all call. They have until 4:30 tomorrow to let us know what route they would be interested in. And then on Monday, we will do it the random drawing to determine who picks up those routes. I'd like to make a motion that we authorize Mr. Lee to uh to go ahead with the purchase of uh the thanks for your special ed buses to to go ahead and cover the special ed routes that aren't covered. And the possibility of purchasing five more full big-size buses to help cover these routes that aren't covered at the time. Cuz we've got to we don't have any choice but to serve
039transportation especially to the special ed kids. And there's law and legislation now that's going to mandate everybody that every school system furnish traffic furnish bus transportation to any any student that lives over a mile and a half from school. So, we don't have any choice. We we're going to have to uh get in the bus business. So, I authorize Mr. Lee to go ahead and cover the uh special ed buses. To go ahead and purchase them and possibility of purchasing five more the big buses. Uh I think we could probably get them on a uh a little bit cheaper uh cost simply because we could purchase the ones that are being repossessed and be taken from the these routes, these drivers that couldn't get the insurance and that were leasing these buses. Possibility of those
040buses being turned back in. So, uh I'd like to like to make that motion. I'll second that. And now, we'll have some discussion. Dr. Sullivan. I think my recommendation would be for us to look at quotes. Um and I appreciate that greatly cuz that would be my recommendation as well, but for us to look at quotes together with transportation and come up with three special education is what you said? Yep. And then, five of the regular buses um and come back with a recommendation of one, how to fund them, and two, which there's about 40 that are available. And so, instead of just I'd like for the board to be clear on which VIN numbers we were actually purchasing, whether it was new versus used for warranty purposes, all those different types of things. So,
041I would like for Mr. Johnson, Mr. Lee, myself, Mr. Runyon, and probably Michael Smith, to get together and see what's the best deal and make a recommendation from there. Okay. Mr. Tidwell, and then Ms. Sharp. Yeah, I got I got several questions. So, Trey, we have right now, we have 12 open routes. Does that include the sped buses? Yes, sir. All right. And then, you're going to put out the all call for those. If they're all going out together, yes, sir. And then Monday, they'll be doing a the picker will for these routes. Yes, sir. All right. So, I guess I'm a little bit confused at the the motion here. Are we are we Is the motion to move forward with these purchases or is the motion to just begin to look at what we
042have need of? Cuz I'll tell you where I'm at. Our our contractors bailed us out when we had the situation come up. And Trey, all these students are getting picked up, right? We don't have any students not getting picked up currently. We have the three central magnet routes that we're not operating, but by and large, most of our students are being picked up, yes. And those were not required. To just to be clear, central magnet routes are not required for us to do that. That is a magnet school. But, I do appreciate that distinction. I think if we have the opportunity for our contractors have the first look at this, which will be the all call, which is what we're going through right now, I think that's the proper way to move through this. This
043has worked for 40-plus years. We have looked at centralizing this before. It was more expensive when we looked at that. I I'm not completely opposed to looking at this as far as what we have need of, but I would rather come back with the results from the all call. If we're simply just asking to figure out, "Hey, this is going to be a process. We need to get numbers. We need to figure out this makes sense. Figure out the benefits. Figure out the cost of the driver. How we're going to find drivers?" Cuz I talked to a lot of contractors today that had a lot of those questions. Like, "Well, how are y'all going to find drivers if we're having problems finding drivers?" And so, I think there's a lot of questions that need to
044be answered. I would rather be talking about this a little bit later down the line. That was my position on Tuesday. It has not changed after talking to contractors over the past 48 hours. So, I'm not in favor of moving forward any type of purchase. If we want to just give you authorization to start looking at gathering information, I'm open to that. And it will just depend on what the information that comes back. If we have unfulfilled routes, and I've heard from contractors that said they don't want these certain routes, and I ain't going to mention what routes they are, but they don't want them, and we're having a hard time filling those, then we're talking about something different. But, to to take the what would be potentially an opportunity away from those that literally
045came together and helped us and has been doing this for past 40 years on something on the insurance side had never happened before. Now, it was structured differently, but that's that's my opinion on it. I think that's where I'm going to remain. I would like to gather more information, and I'm most curious about how many of these routes are left open after the all call. We'll give you an opportunity to vote against it. Madam Chair, point of order. Mr. Vaughn. I hear you. I I received you. Yes. Please, Ms. Sharp. Um so, I agree with Mr. Tidwell's sentiment, and actually Dr. Sullivan's sentiment. So, I think we have some due diligence that we need to take care of and have an exact number of buses that we need, an exact number of cost that this
046is going to happen, because this is going to add more bureaucracy to our system. Well, you can vote no, too. Mr. Vaughn, please. >> [laughter] >> Mr. Lee. Do you have information on the data on these ones that didn't come to fruition? Like, what it was? Was it the insurance? Was it a driver? Was it a bus? It varied. Some of them decided that the routes were different than what they thought. Some of them couldn't get it They thought they had a driver, then the driver moved away. Some of them just decided they changed their mind. They didn't want it. So, it it varies different things. So, it's reasonable to expect that some of these will very likely be picked back up through the all call? I would hope so, yes, ma'am. I mean, I
047would have to echo a lot of what Mr. Tidwell said. I know I spoke about it on Tuesday, as well, that you can talk to any district, probably in almost any state in the country. Like, everybody's struggling to find drivers. People that are using large corporations don't have backup people. So, when their drivers call out sick or whatever, those kids are just not getting transported. I think Rutherford County's people, our contractors, have done a fantastic job for a very long time in serving our community. They're invested in this community. They're from this community. A lot of them are generational in this business. And and I think it, quite honestly, is a little bit of a slap in the face with the way that they have helped us out recently to be talking about this so
048quickly. And I appreciate, and there's no disrespect to the process and that it can take time. I think I will be looking for more guidance on a timeline on how we need to look at this, as well as details on pricing, on what we're going to pay those drivers. Those are things we discussed on Tuesday, too. So, if we don't have that information, I think that moving forward with this is premature. Okay. I just want to say if if I'm correctly, what I was seconding was Butch's motion to look at purchasing three sped buses. And then the possibility of purchasing five more after we go and do our due diligence and get the pricing and find out how we would go about just what you and Mr. Tidwell were talking about. I do know that
049I've heard from a lot of sped families that were very upset that this was such a disruption to their child's life. And I do feel like buying They're under a contract right now. Our our contractors are great. The way they came in and they saved the day, and they pulled everybody's fat out of the fire, and I cannot thank you guys enough for what y'all did. But, at the same time, these sped families were very, very upset that their lives and their kiddos didn't understand what was going on and got like got upended. So, by purchasing three buses, I don't believe we're turning the contractors' world upside down. We we are making sure that we have some buses that we can jump in and we can help with when this kind of stuff happens. And
050I do believe that we need to be prepared and not caught flat-footed. Now, Mr. Vaughn, would you like to clarify what your motion was? Because that's how I heard it. Yeah. You know, thing about it is, if if these routes aren't picked up, you know, what they've had the option over and over and over again, it's going to be the that they have the that they could have been picked up, but they weren't for various reasons. And I don't think I'm willing to do is to make sure, one, we've got to provide special ed routes. And that's if these routes aren't picked up, Mr. Lee is going to buy the buses to cover. And if these these drivers that we've got in hand contractors want to pick up those routes, they could do so. I
051think they have to contact Mr. Lee, if I understand it correctly. But, my motion was that I want to go ahead and and let him start moving forward and investigate it. Because if they're not picked up, we're still in the We have got to furnish transportation, whether we, you know, whether you like it or not. And the thing about it is, can't find drivers. We've got We've got drivers these buses that covered these routes that don't have a job. And I'm hoping that My hope is that we go and offer the drivers the opportunity to come to work for for Rutherford County Schools and drive those buses for us. And put them on our payroll. And hopefully maybe I'd like to see them be EAs in in school to to round out that amount of
052hours and allow them to get benefits, which is going to be a great, great, great benefit to those people that that can't afford to run the bus. And thing about it is, I want us to be proactive instead of reactive. You know, I don't want us to get caught after all this is done, and here where I'll get sued because of parent we didn't we didn't furnish transportation for the kids fulfill his IEP. And if you want to take a gamble with IEPs versus the bus, that's that's not a real good gamble. Cuz you're going to lose. Ms. Allison and Mr. Tidwell. All right, thank you. So, I am by no means wanting to put anyone out of work. I do agree that our bus contractors stepped up to the plate over the on a
053very, very short notice, did everything that they could to pick up the routes. I mean, I was making phone calls and speaking to the contractors and trying to find sped buses. And since it happened, I'm still helping trying to locate buses. I'm trying to locate drivers that are in need of a route, trying to get them a route to fulfill. So, I'm not I'm not um trying by any means to say that we're going to get them out of business, because at the end of day, if they pick out a pick up a route, they have to fulfill that contract for 3 years, regardless. But, considering what happened over uh 2 or 3 weeks ago, I think that we would be in a very different spot had some decisions been made where the main uh
054bus driver that created the the situation would have taken ownership and accountability by picking up the phone and calling Mr. Johnson and saying, "Hey, this is the situation I'm at." But, because um that did not occurred, we had to scramble. And um and so, we will have probably given a different type of um leniency. We would definitely probably given him some leniency in that regard since he did take ownership. So, with that being said, I am a parent and that was very concerning for me as a parent that we do not have these bus routes. I do agree that we should have some spare buses in the event that there is an emergency. To me for me is not saying that we're going to automatically buy a spare bus to get a contractor out of
055business. If that was the case, I wouldn't be agreeing to buy an outrageous number of buses. If we're just looking at buying three buses for um Janet and three for sped, then I'm okay with that as that as to use them as spare buses in cases of emergency. I don't know what the cost is. We still have to figure out what the cost is of that to see if we can even afford that. So, us saying, "Let's start the process." doesn't necessarily mean that we are signing the dotted line right now. We're doing our homework and trying to figure out if this is something that we can financially absorb. So, I'm going to vote yes, let's start this process to look and see if we can at least research it. Okay, Mr. Tidwell. Mr. Vaught
056just stated that the routes are picked up, then Trey can buy these buses and that's opposite of what you are saying right now. So, I I'm just wondering where the clarity is. My Here's my thought is if we need the buses, we can have the conversation. We can We could do right now without the motion to possibly be looking at eight buses and you just mentioned Ms. Rosales you just mentioned six. That's a That's a We're getting closer to the number that we could potentially be at. But, let's just say, "Hey, you have permission to go out there and and figure out what we are going to potentially have need of." But, find out what it is after the all call. Let's see what we have need of. The issue that typically happens in these
057situations is you buy something and you don't let it set and because you own it, now you put it to use. You say, "Well, we didn't buy it for that reason to put anybody out." But, now that we have these buses, let's go ahead and put them on uh this popular hill instead of sending out to the all call. Let's go ahead and start making use of these things since we now have ownership of them. Here's my I'm not moving off this ground is if we want to move forward tonight, I'm not going to go forward with eight buses. If we want to move forward as a board, if we're just talking about starting the conversation, then why can we not authorize right here, motion to authorize the purchase of buses as presented the recommendation
058Why can't we just authorize them to go ahead and collect the information, see how the all call goes? Our next board meeting, we have way more information. We're We got a spring retreat coming up, too. We have a lot of information from that as well. We get the information instead of just jumping out here. We could all be together. So, that's where I'm at. Um I don't want that to get twisted. And Dr. Sullivan, how much are these buses? Say we He's How How much are the buses? About 185,000 for a new one for the big buses. For the big buses. And that's a potentially five of those plus three of the speds. I think there are going to be sped routes to go unfulfilled. I think that's it. So, let's look Let's get that
059information back and then it's just an easy motion to go with the flow with the whole board rather than always having, you know, differences of opinions on how it's going to play out. Yes. Ms. Dr. Sullivan and then Ms. Darby. >> My recommendation would be for us to We have a retreat next Thursday. Possibly do a special called right after on Thursday. We will give everybody through We'll do with the all call. Everybody will have time. That gives our contractors time. The only thing that I would respectfully ask the board what I can't give answers to parents is when if we delay this too long is when am I going to have a route for my kids to have and and I don't have an answer. So, if we give a the all call, which
060is the appropriate route, and I think our contractors will take most of these, but if we get past that all call and then we still have routes open, I do think we need to be able to move forward and cover those. Uh just so that the board has an idea, it is a little bit of all over the county, which was a little bit surprising, and I'll just give you a quick overview of where these routes are. I just think it's good to know. Bus 12, and this is my last information, so it may have changed just a little bit. Bus 12 is John Coleman, LaVergne Middle, LaVergne High. Then bus 27 is Cedar Grove, Rockvale Middle, LaVergne High. Bus 39 Rockvale Elementary, Rockvale Middle, Stewarts Creek High. Bus 65 Stewarts Creek Middle, Smyrna High.
061Bus 75 Smyrna Primary, Smyrna Middle, Smyrna High. 114 is David Youree, Stewarts Creek, and Stewarts Creek right Stewarts Creek Middle and Stewarts Creek High right now. That's a special education route. is Stewartsboro and Blackman Middle. is one of our shuttle buses from the north end to Central Hallway and Oakland's IB program. 258 is a special education bus. That's LaVergne Lake, Roy Waldron, Smyrna High. 303 Stewarts Creek Elementary, Stewarts Creek Middle, Stewarts Creek High. 323 Rockvale Elementary, Rockvale Middle, Rockvale High. And then 327, I don't know the location of that one. I just have the contractor. But, you can see it's a little bit of kind of all over all over. And so, my recommendation would be for us We've got quotes and pricing. We will go over that over the next couple days and then
062I can We'll send out the all call, see how many routes we can get covered, and then I can have a better idea right after our retreat. I'll know by Tuesday if we need We can probably go ahead and put a special called um on the agenda for 4:30 right after our retreat. And if we need to go ahead and move forward because it's going to take at least a month for us to purchase it. That would allow us to be on next Thursday. We could still hit Health and Ed in March. Then it would have to go to budget. Then you're looking at full commission in April. We're barely getting to the end of the year before we're even able to cover these. And so, that'd be my recommendation. Yeah. Um Ms. Darby and
063then Mr. Vaught. That was actually going to be Excuse me, one of my questions was what is the likelihood that we would even have these? It doesn't seem like we're going to have them in place before the end of the school year. Cuz not only would you have to go through that whole process, but then you'd have to find drivers. Like it's Yeah. So, I don't Not [clears throat] saying that we shouldn't move forward with things, but it it's it's helpful to kind of know where that sits, too, because we need to know if we're going to have to find alternative methods to finish out the school year if some of these routes stay uncovered. Um I just kind of want to reiterate I heard from a lot of sped parents, too, that were were
064very upset that we had kind of, in their opinion, moved as fast as we did with the decision. Um I know I had I had talked about really wanting to ask our parents and survey them since their families were the ones being affected by the decision that night. Um And [clears throat] looking back on it, I really wish the board would have taken a pause and kind of taken time to breathe a minute and and reached out to those parents in those families that were affected. Some of these students don't do well with change at all. Um and some of those drivers had nothing to do with what went on. I think there were some possible alternatives that we could have done and and looked at. Um So, I it's I think it's just the
065whole situation is a shame, but I don't want to continue on making super rash decisions. I think these things have to be talked about with all of the information necessary, really thought out before we make some of these decisions. So, I think Dr. Sullivan's recommendation is a good one, allowing them the opportunity to get more information, some pricing together. Um so, we have a better idea and a bigger picture of what we're looking at than what we're talking about this evening. Ms. Maxwell. What Mr. Vaught? Okay. And then I'll get back with you. Oh gracious, I don't know if y'all want me to start or not, but I'm going to try [laughter] to walk you through some of what I know. Um the village up Mr. Vaught, I appreciate the motion. I really do. I
066think the the all of us here have a very great concern. We felt this way back when we did the the the new contract when the you know, some of the drivers threatened to strike last year, but you know, we've gotten beyond that a little bit. I think we've got to be And I'm going to I'm going to try to offer a little wisdom right here about trying and as Ms. Darby said, maybe an alternative to doing something. I really don't see how we can buy buses and get them on the road this this spring. It's really not going to work. If we wholeheartedly think this is the path we want to go down, let's let the director and transportation put a budget together you know, realistically how many buses that we need to buy,
067you know, whether that's five or 10, whether it's sped buses, whether it's big buses. Let's Let's get it Let's get it right. We We are all emotionally strained right now, for lack of a better way to put it, because we we feel for these uh sped parents. Uh I think all of us do, but I don't want to knee-jerk react and make a bad business decision heading down this road. So, I want to focus our attention just a little bit. We We're We're re- We've gone through a rezoning, so we're going to reroute a lot of stuff this summer anyway, correct? I'm looking at you. That everything gets kind of shuffled around a little bit, right? Yes. So, that will give us a greater picture as to what we actually will need if we if
068we take off down this path and if if by chance some of these routes get re- re- tooled, reallocated, maybe there's greater demand on the contractors to pick them up. Second thing is, and this is first and foremost, we're going to have a new draw Monday. So, Monday afternoon we will know what position we're in, how many are open at that point in time. One thing we might consider is to uh ask the director to, you know, we could we could lease buses. We could rent buses temporarily if we could find drivers between now and the end of the year before we dive off deep in this. Uh if there's some drivers out there we could pick them up right now, offer them benefits, whatever it is. That gets into a little political situation with
069our contractors. I don't want to go down that road too far, but I think you could back into it just a little bit and not have to go through the purchasing part of it if we could just lease the equipment, cuz we're you know, guys, we're what, 10 weeks out from the end of school. And And this is a big big decision to take off down this path. I think all of us feel we're going to end up at that point and that we're going to end up there sometime, you know, whether it's five buses or 50 buses. I don't know, but um to take care of the immediate problem and and this is going along with your comment to try to take care of the sped parents right now is get the director to
070through transportation find out if there's any sped buses we could rent, lease, any big buses we could rent, lease, and see what the probability is to get some drivers and maybe we could get that up and running in a couple of weeks, three weeks. Do that right after the board retreat. That might be a better plan to take care of right then and there. Um and I have asked y'all, and I really firmly believe this, there's a series of policies we need to institute, change, redirect. How [laughter] five or six of these buses, and I've talked to these guys today today, yesterday, trying to help them out, trying to point them in the right direction. We there may It It's all about the insurance. I'm just going to say it. It's all about the change
071of the insurance. It's put them on edge. They're not being able to do business the way they used to. We've got to get through that. Here again, the you know, the courthouse, Ed's office over there, risk management, you know, they've put it out for bids. We don't know if we're going to get any bids back, whether or not we can furnish the insurance. They're still going to have to furnish insurance. They're still you know, if we can't furnish liability for them and I I don't know what my opinion is now. Who knows? We've got to wait till that comes in. Can't make a decision based on feelings and thoughts right now. We have to make decisions on concrete information we have right now. That's what's bothering me about all of this is we there's too
072many unknowns. And so, for us to, you know, blatantly say, "Well, we're going to do this." or "We're going to do that." I just don't think we have enough information. And I don't mean to get passionate about it, but these are irrational business decisions right now. That That That's what's bothering me. So, I would I would urge uh my fellow board member, Mr. Vaughn, if he would rescind his motion. I don't think we're ready for this. I'm all for it if this is what the data tells us, but we there's too many open-ended things. I think we need to request the director and transportation to work together for We need a budget put together if this is the business we're going to get in. We also need to look at an alternative situation right now
073to get us through the end of the year. Those are two things I feel very strongly about. Is that enough preaching for tonight? No, that's fine. Ms. Maxwell, Mr. Vaughn, sorry. Go ahead. Yeah. I'll I'll agree. I'll um I'll rescind my motion and make it where that, you know, I'd like to authorize transportation and Dr. Sullivan thing to to move and investigate the possibility of purchasing these these buses if needed, cuz we'll know routes that aren't covered by that time. And if we could uh you know, I I'd like to make that motion that we we make the authorize Mr. Lynn, transportation, Dr. Sullivan to investigate the possibilities of having buy the if we have to buy these buses. And also with the like Mr. Vaughn said, alternative methods of doing that. So. Ms. Ms.
074Dalton, if that's coming to you. I appreciate I don't think we actually need a motion for that. I think uh Dr. Su- We can authorize Dr. Sullivan. He's already doing it, so. Okay. >> [laughter] >> I'm glad you can say that. >> and a half ago. Yes. Ms. Rosales. Thank you. Um so, I hear Mr. um Vaughn um Dr. Sullivan, when we came in yesterday, you said you needed direction and so your direction is that you would rather you wanted to start the process of at least researching. Yeah, my direction would be I expected I didn't expect to have seven more routes come open. And so, now that we've had seven more routes come open, let's do one more all call to see if we can get those covered. But if we get to Thursday
075and we still were Now we're on two weeks with our routes [snorts] not covered, I've got to start being able to provide parents with answers of what we're going to be doing. Routes aren't going to decrease next year. We're opening a new school. They're going to increase, not decrease. >> Exactly. And >> And last And last year we had 10 open 10 unfulfilled routes. And I was there when we were doing the bids to try to get them. Um and so, that's why when uh the the bids came in, that's why why I told you that it was going to be cheaper to continue going with forward with uh the model with our contractors because those bids came up higher than what the contractors were saying at the what we were going to offer the
076contractor. I think I just want to make it clear. My only concern is that I do not want to be in a situation where we're flat-footed. I don't I'm not saying I am not in favor of buying an instrumental amounts of buses at all. If we're looking at buying a couple of buses, I'm okay with that just to have them as a spare for emergencies cases. But because of what happened um last Friday. And I think as a parent and we're in this situation, then they're going to be looking up to us when we cannot fulfill that route and their child is going to stay home. I know that our bus contractors are going to do an amazing job. They're going to step up. They did it. Um but we still had some some that
077weren't having Did Didn't we not have some routes that were still not quite as covered? Yeah, we still have schools that are having to wait longer than I would like to have employees. And so, for me, I just view it similar to, you know, our bus contractors are a different different level, of course, but it's good to have as many tools as you can to solve a problem. And so, right now I I'm down a tool that would be nice to be able to solve if our routes don't um get picked up. Substitute teachers is a good example. If substitute teachers don't fill positions, I then use our teachers to be able to fill classrooms. I have one special education bus and that's all I can use to fill anything. And that's that doesn't go
078very far. >> Yeah, and I'm in agreement with that. I'm not in agreement in And I'm just going to make it clear. I am not in agreement in buying a fleet of buses to give this perception that we're trying to get people out of business. I'm not in favor of that. We're not to be supporting that. But if we are wanting to look at for emergency purposes in the event that something like what cats catat- that has a catas- catastrophic situation, then to help with remedy solution as a tool to give to Rutherford County Schools to have a spare bus, then I will be okay of doing that. But I am not going to be supporting anything that looks like it's a fleet of buses ever buying. Okay. Madam Chair. Ms. Darby. Dr. Sullivan, can
079you include in your information, please, if you're buying them as spare buses, what that would look like? Because then my concern would be and questions I think we would need answers to, does the insurance cover someone that's not an RCS employee driving one of those buses? If it doesn't, what is our plan to have people on staff if they're only being used as spare or emergency buses? >> Yeah, I can do that. Thank you. Mr. Bond. I'm I'm going to go back to that just one more time to do it quickly. Do you need authorization from us to post a bus driver's salary? No, because we're not to that point yet. Well, >> We'd have to do a job description and everything first and we >> That's what I'm saying. Do you need that from
080us tonight to do that? >> creating a job description and then the board can assign what salary level and all those different things. We'll make a recommendation. But since we for funding wise would still be at the health and education meeting on March 24th. Well, the the reason I say that I'm visually thinking in my mind, okay, we've got 10 open routes, whatever it is. Well, we've got the money because we were paying somebody else to do it. So if we can I'm trying to expedite it if that is a possibility for you to hire drivers and rent buses temporarily between now and the end of the year. That's all I'm saying. I'm at Do Do you need something from us to do that or you okay? >> create job descriptions. I can't get it
081a I cannot officially have a job description before it's board approved. So if it's needed for a Thursday and we need a special called, I'm going to put it on the agenda just in case we need it and if we need to cancel it, that'll be great. Right. But Can Can So we could do it We could expedite it that way. That That's what I'm trying to do is expedite. Okay? Yep. Thank you. And I want to echo Mr. Azar. I have no desire to ever have another department that I manage either. I don't want another department. So I got enough. Any other questions? No, I just we we better We have got to cover the special ed buses. There's no doubt about that and you know, we don't have enough buses to cover that.
082So Um yeah, let's move forward with this thing instead of messing around with it because uh Yeah. IEPs can get sued real quick cuz these kids don't get them to school. We're in in dire straits. Okay. Is that it? Any other comments? Ms. Maxwell. Yes, Mr. Tidwell. Just for one point of clarity. All students are being covered right now. Outside of the ones that we're not required to from Central Magnet. Okay. Are all sped students being covered right now? We were till we lost some and so now we're shuffling again. We what? We're shuffling again. We're It's a constant shuffle right now. Is that part of the constant shuffle that happens whenever we have a bus that >> Whenever a route goes down, so yes. We'll continue >> uncommon. No, having this number is uncommon.
083Yes. So we'll constantly get every kid. It just may be later than it needs to be. All right. Thank you. Madam Chair. Yes, Ms. Alden. Dr. Sullivan, this this sped bus that we have, is it currently running to help the situation? >> right now. They're running the midday Midday. midday The uh yes, it's running work based learning. >> Yes, it's running work based learning. Work based learning. Work based learning. We're utilizing it for that. Which is part of a student's IEP, too. So >> Yes. Yeah, we use those sped buses for more than just pick up and take them home. Yeah. Any other comments or questions? Okay. Let's move on to engineering and construction. Uh first we have Whitworth beginning and middle softball request. Principal Chris Butler's requesting to add gravel paths and spectator seating
084areas around girl's softball field. Cost of this request is $1,000. It'll be funded from the softball account as it no cost to the board. Move to approve. Thank you, Mr. Bond. >> Second. Thank you, Mr. Tidwell. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Next Kline Swinney Transition Academy fee proposal. Kline Swinney Associates has submitted a proposal to design the Transition Academy facility based on their proposed date, January 1st, 2026. This proposal is for an estimated construction budget of 350,000. The fee proposal is 30,000 for the first building and 15,000 for the second. Engineering and Construction has reviewed the request and has no objections. So moved. Second. Thank you, Ms. Darby. Thank you, Ms. Sharp. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. I'd like to say something about the Kline
085Swinney group. Uh What they do as associates, they do a good job. Southern New High School, the newest built high school in the state that they designed and it's it's top drawer. Okay. Next we have Central Magnet. Central Magnet baseball field upgrade request. Dr. John Ash is requesting to improve the baseball field at Las Casas Elementary to include concrete, new dugouts, and a turf infield. Warren Construction has provided quotes that include dugouts at $39,885, backstop netting at $39,599, and infield turf at $374,555. Funding for this project is an unsecured loan by the baseball booster club. Engineering and Construction has reviewed the request and has no objection as long as no spoils, dirt, rock, etc. are left on site and any damage to the existing paved areas be repaired at the school's expense. And as we
086talked about on Tuesday, I've also asked that we include Las Casas at some way into that turf. Move to approve this. Second. Thank you, Mr. Bond. Thank you, Mr. Azar. This is this gravel thing, you know, the uh It's a great community thing between Central Magnet and Las Casas and uh the Warren Construction company, they're a first class group. So It's going to look beautiful. >> it right, believe me. They will do it right. Do you Do we Do we need to vote? Yes. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Next we have Blackman Middle storage barn. Dr. Jessica Jackson is requesting purchase of a 15 by 28 foot storage shed to be used as part of the STEM program. Shed cost is $12,605 and will be funded by the CTE ISM
087grant. Engineering and Construction has reviewed the request and has no objection. Move to approve. Thank you, Mr. Bond. Thank you, Mr. Azar. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Next we move to the resolution. And so we discussed this in detail on Tuesday. Thank you, Mr. Tidwell, for pushing this. This is a resolution in support of fully funding for high performing local education LEA bonuses. And so as we talked about, Rutherford County is one of two school districts, us and Williamson County, who have received the full $4 million for having more than 50% of your schools having an A. And this year, unfortunately, it was pro rated. Uh not enough funding was put into the state's budget, so it was pro rated and this is asking for it to be fully funded.
088And it was pro rated at almost $1.4 million to come to us after July 1st. One thing that I do want to call everyone's attention to, we had Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents meeting the last 2 days. Um Tennessee Department of Education and State Board was there yesterday and so they allowed an open mic. So one of the things that I brought attention to very respectfully was the TVOSS change again. And so they've all year talked about how there would not be a a real fiscal impact. And so I brought up and I think we're starting to get some movement. And so it's a truly a department issue. We would no longer receive any funding by this change. And so for the high performance, we would go from being the highest performing district along with
089Williamson to no longer receiving any high performance funding just because of a statistical model change that when I go on the TVOSS site, I click one button and it changes it. And it's called effect size that you're looking at. And so the department was receptive this time. Um I don't know if I'll be able to continue to get that push, but I'm going to continue to push respectfully. Dr. Chastain's working on a very nice email. Um we're trying to run the models ourselves, but all the data's not there to even run the models that we need to. And so we're we're trying to to figure it out. But that is that's frustrating to have that level of performance and have a statistical model change it cuz uh when you hit finances, then it's a little
090different. We can work on communication. We can work on all kinds of things. When you're losing $4 million cuz of that, that's different. Ms. Maxwell. Yes, Mr. Tidwell. I just want to thank uh a couple people for helping with this. Uh Mike Sparks, Representative Mike Sparks was someone that was helping as well as Dawn White, Senator Dawn White. She actually was willing to run a bill. Now we found out about this after the deadline. So everything would be moved to the following year, but she was actually ready to run something if she could have had somebody with a caption on the education side on the house side that was open. But I just wanted to give thanks to them. I really appreciate that. Um and I'm I'm hope very very hopeful this is going to
091go through. Uh but to a question back to the changes for next year. That is not something that is not a bill that's being ran in the General Assembly. That is Is it the Department of Education's strictly? From my understanding, it's one individual who is and I'm going to be careful. Um it's one individual who likes that model better. And so the way it is is occurring right now, all growth scores will stay the same. So as Dr. Chastain mentioned, all schools will earn their one through five. Then there will be an additional measure applied, so called effect size, and it'll break your fives into fours and fives. And so that is going to differentiate your A's versus B's, which would drop us down to no longer be a cuz we met it by one
092this year. So if you don't meet 50%, then you don't get any funding. So that new measure, your school scores aren't changing at all, but adding an additional measure just to get a prettier bell curve is going to change it. But the school scores would still stay exactly the numbers would be exactly the same as they were this year. Have they received any pushback Pushback? Tennessee Department of Education. >> [laughter] >> Yes, they've received a ton of pushback from um superintendents as Dr. Chastain mentioned. Small counties do like it, small districts and then most of this state is small. >> [snorts] >> Cuz it would have the Miss Maxwell. Go ahead. It would have the opposite effect for them. It It would move them up. I mean it could bring down some of their top
093end, but it could move them more toward the middle is what they're trying to do. What is the draw for them? It's basically they are drawing everybody more to the middle. Would you agree, Dr. Chastain? I'm not going to try to guess but um it is to ultimately for that curve to look more normal. So uh right now you have higher numbers of ones and fives than uh the model than the than the person creating the model would like. And so to shift fives and ones in they've created this addition of the effect size to kind of add a measure of magnitude. So you'll have fewer ones and fives. More fours and twos. Same number of threes. I just got to say I don't quite understand and it's quite frustrating and I know there's probably
094something political or something going on in the background, but I just don't quite understand that if your scores are going to be the exact same what reason do you even they have to make it push together? It just It does It's not It's not merit based. This is why I love this high performance thing is cuz if you do good you get a reward for that. That's amazing. I love that. So it's frustrating to me that we have to work so hard to to get true scores and then we turn around and we get punished for it. I just don't like that. How How quickly can they make this decision? Is this something that somebody can make this summer? Oh yes. Yes. Same wording. Yes. Pretty much. I'd like to enter the bottom of this
095motion that that >> [laughter] >> we put that hey if they just need to get their rear in gear. >> [laughter] >> I I did get further with his supervisor yesterday than I have in the past. So I think they're open and I'm hoping that um we've got to partner with another big district. I still Williamson will still perform that way. They're just big enough that they're in there we always want the same expectations. They're a different student demographic. So your growth and your achievement achievement measures there are higher than ours. And so if you're above a 45% achievement rate then you're automatically getting those full five points. We really try to get the full five points for our growth. So Williamson the kind of the way I look at it right now probably be
096the only one that has that many schools that'll get it. I know the person who wrote the bill originally that was kind of the intent portion of it and it got included and we just happened to meet that bar two years in a row as well which is nice. And I'm trying is everything to make sure that we don't just get left out just because we happen to be a high scoring district that now this model's going to impact us. But I haven't gotten very far and I've been fighting this since September. Miss Maxwell. Just a Just a question. The frustrating thing is you and Dr. Martin and Ryan Runyon just went to the state and were honored to present because we do so well with the funding that we've been given and we achieve
097with the great diversity and and the the metrics that we have. And yet this is going to penalize us. Well I That's what I used yesterday and I wasn't going to bring it up but I We [laughter] had um the State Board of Education spoke first yesterday and in front of all the superintendents in the state department. They talked about how well Rutherford County presented their information and that if anybody needed help on or discussion around budgeting to to really look to talk to us. And so I knew that I had an audience at that point. So then I was able to talk about the fiscal impact. And so I'm hoping that'll get motion, but we're really Dr. Chastain and I are really going to work on the wording of our email to see if
098we can keep pushing. So Thank you for that. >> You know since uh Hold on. Which Okay. Miss Maxwell and then I'll come back to you. Thank you so much. So what I was going to say is that changing this to the effective size where it's looking at our enrollment is looking into the enrollment size, correct? When it's saying effective size it's looking how many kids are enrolled. Then the student count is what manipulates that. >> Yes. Cuz the higher number of students in traditionally just with our growth index by itself includes the number of students with the standard error. This effect size kind of eliminates the use primarily of that as the reliable measure. >> Yeah. So it seems like the bigger you grow the harder it's going to be for big districts to
099achieve certain scoring because it seems like the small like the the the smaller sizes smaller size district will have a higher scoring for the effective size size versus a district that has a lot more students. It feels like this penalizes those who have higher have a bigger It seems like my interpretation it penalizes districts that are big. And it helps districts that are smaller in size because it's not taken to into account the makeup of the students within this district whether they're falling in certain levels. So if you're an ESL or special populations for instance. And so everybody's lumped in together cuz at least with the the other side the model with the academic growth it considered those in the special population and they were graded a little bit different than um those that were
100not considered in the special population. And not not entirely. Like the growth measure is still there. This is This is an addition to how the growth is calculated. So it's not It's It's creating fewer to Mr. Tidwell's point a little bit. You have fewer success stories. So it which is frustrating since these are criterion reference tests. Like the idea is that everybody does like we are all aiming to do well which is what we've been asked to do. Here are the standards. Teach the standards. Score well on the standards. That's our charge. And now they're saying wait no never mind. Too Too Too many doing well so we don't like the way this curve looks now. So we're going to we're going to change we're going to add this effect size to decrease the number
101of fives essentially. So >> Right. you've got fewer fives whether you're big small or indifferent but the way that they've done that is to this effect size decre has a level of magnitude then removes that mathematical calculation that adds reliability because of number. I I get everything you're saying but the reason why I'm making this argument is cuz you got Collierville. Mhm. It's a different type of demographics that are in that school system. They tend to do very well. I don't believe this I think it's going to help them. Because they've got when you look at the If you compare and I know Davidson County is not the best um the best um example because everyone talks you know thinks that they're not doing well. However, it's going to it it's going to apply in
102my argument. You've got Collierville different demographics. Their scoring is a five. The effective size is not going to impact that at all. It's going to help them even more. They're not going to drop in scoring. Davidson County way different demographic they their academic growth played a huge part in the scoring. The effective size will will hurt them. It's going to impact that. That's my argument. Okay. And then I'll go up with you, Mr. Vaughn. I'm going to forward this to the board just real quick. I just pulled it up. It's even so the board the state puts it in something called their accountability protocol and they even have it in their accountability pro protocol the TVASS levels range from one to five. And so that's what you earn. Starting the 25 26 the interpretation of
103each level is updated below. So you're still earning it, but then their interpretation of what you earn is below. And so it's it's strictly what the department and what I understand is one or two statisticians want it to be. But I'll forward that to you all so you have it. Mr. >> nerd out on it forever. Or at least Kelly and I could nerd out on it forever. Mr. Vaughn. You know I've been in education basically all my life. And I've I've done work with the Department of Ed back when they started evaluation program. We helped design that thing. We didn't tell anybody because it was so bad. >> [laughter] >> But uh the um I'm telling you like I said I I have seen man uh you know they're they're dismantling the Department of
104Ed in Washington, D.C. Thank goodness. And the money hopefully is going to filter down to the states. And you know what it would be awesome, Dr. Sullivan, if if we could just have our own Department of Education so we didn't have to worry about these other problems. And you could be director for the for the school system. [laughter] You got Miss Martin, you got Dr. Su Miss Dr. Chastain, Dr. Martin. You got everything you need to to to do it right. Thank you. Yeah. That's >> [laughter] >> That's all. It always comes down to the money. That's what I'm saying to you if it filtered down to we could get our our chunk we could get it and run with it, you know. So, that's my that's my recommendation, but Miss Sharp. Thank you, Madam
105Chair. I think one of the problems that we're not looking at is the effect that this has on our students. Because this is a contest that they try to reach and win every year. And they do. Mhm. And then they come and say, "Oh, you won, you won, you won, but you're only going to get X amount of money." And that year after year, testing, more testing, too much testing, over testing. That's why the kids don't care. So, there's that aspect to it that that the Department of Education is not even looking at. Because the kids are saying, "Why should I even try when they're going to come in here and change the metrics? Or they're going to change it to where even if I score well, it's never it's never enough." I mean, they
106need to have they need to have some wins. And we get wins and it's like then they What is it that progressive when they yank that fish out of that guy's hand or something? You know, that it's like you you're about to win, you're about to win, and then they just yank it out of your hand. And I think that's another thing that you know, they're not looking at. And the effect that it has on our kids. And it makes them We already over test. Makes them want not want to test and not want to do well. They don't really care cuz they're like, "Well, we're not going to win." Can I be cynical for just a second? How many districts won this high group? >> I don't I don't know. I know it Last
107year it was two. It was us and Williamson. Got the full 4 million. >> But it was more this year that >> More I don't know how many would be eligible cuz in order to get the full 4 million, you have to have more than 31 schools and more than half of them have to earn. So, I don't know. There's not many of us that have more than 31 schools. You know it. Miss Maxwell. Um it was a basically $11 million more. I don't know exact number of schools, but more met the threshold, but they didn't meet only I can't I think it's maybe two that met the threshold again this year as the highest, which is Rutherford County and Franklin Williamson. But they had some other tiers. Lower, yes. I I can't Sometimes it
108just comes down to money. And if they have to dole out too much of it, it's just like when you have a sales goal and it's a million dollars. Well, the next year it's going to be a million and a half. And I have feeling that that's kind of what the state is doing. They're raising the bar. Yeah. >> [laughter] >> Madam Chairman. Yes, Mr. Chairman. One last point of clarity on this, Dr. Solomon. You when you were reading off that website, you said that the interpretation was going to start in the year 25-26. It starts with this year's test scores. So, that's why next it or it hits us for this year. So, it's already being enacted. >> Mhm. It'll be enacted on this year's scores, which we get in um August, but they
109In the past, they haven't released the protocol until after we got the scores. And so, it is not too late for them to change it for this year. Okay. So. Okay. We need a motion. I'll make a Yeah, I'll make a motion to Yes, I forgot in all that But if you have a red light, I can't have a motion. I'll second it. Thank you. Thank you very Mr. Did you get that, Don? Okay. >> [laughter] >> All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes. Next, we have insurance update. Yes, go ahead. Oh, I got to add one thing here. $4 million divided by creates 531 vouchers. >> [laughter] >> Staying Both of them both of us, too. Insurance? Nothing new from Tuesday. Okay. Financial update? Uh yeah, everyone has a copy of the T
110and Edu funding. This is our first release. And so, just wanted to kind of quickly go over it. The the base funding went from 72.95 72 74.95 No, 72.95 to 75.30. And so, that's the new base funding. I'm just on page one. And then if you'll flip over, now I'm on page would be page three. So, this is our TISA preliminary estimate. And so, the base is 7,530. You'll see the different weights that are generating. Last year, we were funded on 51,500. So, you'll see that's a decrease of about 300 kids that we've been talking about. This does include all three charter schools, us, RCP, Springs, and A Carr. And so, collectively together, we're all down about 300. And so, that's going to impact some of the funding. Where we are really excelling and continue
111to excel at something that we talked about the couple years ago was seeing if putting more funding towards our career and technical education programming would make more money. And so, we have gone from just over $17 million last year to $19.9 million generated this year. So, it it truly is generating money. And I'll give you last year's stuff um in a little while. But if you kind of go to the back, you'll see back of page or page four, you'll see how we are generating and how many students are getting in their career and technical education courses. So, moving to block has helped a little bit of that as well. And so, CTE is continuing to to truly do amazing work. The page five shows how much money has to go into teacher raises, salary
112increases. And when I go over how much money we increase, you're going to see it's just about all of it. So, if you'll now go to the part that says Let me see what page that is. It's TISA preliminary estimate state and local contributions. So, it's page 1 2 3 4 page six. This is the one that truly matters. So, the bottom of this page, this is where they take everything and multiply it out. Across the state, the funding is 70/30. So, the state funds 70% of the funding, the local funds 30%. And so, you will see that our weight is at about um our our fiscal capacity is 5.1. So, we're at 81% is what they're funding um statewide. And so, that fluctuates a little. This is on last year's number, so it's still
113going to change. We don't get that new number until April. And so, it's it's going to change, but statewide, they fund 70% of TISA, locals fund 30. That's why if you look above, you'll see the total funding is $499 million. That's how much we generate. The local is supposed to be 121. Our local funds more than that. They fund 193. So, the state portion that we are getting as of right now would be 378. They go ahead and exclude post secondary. So, I'm looking at the second to last number is 377,732. Last year, we got right at 368. So, it's only about $9 million extra. That was expected from having loss in students. The last couple years, we've had a $20 or $30 million extra in previous years. This does include an additional 150 um
114charter school students that were generated. So, that additional funding will come out of this $9 million. Which leaves that number on the previous one about 6.7 that has to go to teacher funding. It's about all that is left. And so, we have worked for the last We've known this was coming um because we've been tracking our attendance since the beginning. We've been working to right-size all of our positions within staffing ratios. And Dr. Chastain and I have been working on this since what, October probably? I mean, it's been forever. So, retirements, resignations, those different types of things, we basically at the end of the year just won't be backfilling those. Um so, other people won't be losing their jobs. Well, I think we've talked about that before. We've talked about with our teacher advisory council
115that I meet with once every quarter. So, that nobody's losing their job. Instead of retirement, resignations, we just won't be filling those. So, that's going to offset quite a bit quite a bit. As we are looking at this kind of budget, um we're trying to do a raise of two to two and a half percent. Right now, based on this one, I'm probably leaning more towards 2%. And every percent increase is about $4 million on our overall budget. So, that's just rough. It's depending on benefits, insurance, all those different things. But every percent is about $4 million. And then our overall Trying to get my notes. Our overall contribution to health insurance is a little over $60 million. If that's going up 12%, then you can see we're already going to be about $7 million
116additional increase somewhere. 12 60 million is what we contribute to health insurance. It's going up 12. So, you're looking at a $7 million increase that somebody's got to cover. That's why I'm saying I need to probably take that extra half a percent and try to knock down additionally some of that medical insurance cost. It's still way early in our budget season since we just got this on Friday at 4:38. That's usually when you get your first one. The very last day of February is when it comes in. But just want to We're fine. I feel better about this budget than I did last year. There's more things we can control. There's just not very much wiggle room like there there usually is not. It's a It's weird to be in a declining enrollment. That's that's
117strange. Um A blip. Yeah, it's it's strange. That's a definitely a first. But wanted you all to at least have this. We'll go over it in a lot more detail, compare it to last June as well. So, that you all can have an idea of where it is. But looking at between two, two and a half COLA increase, you have the step on top of that, and then the other part that we're looking at is using some of our title funds to try to supplement some of our title one schools as well. But our we'll be talking to our title one principals for retention bonuses at some of our title one schools because those are those schools can be [clears throat] harder to staff and I hear that North end County Metro Nashville may do
118quite a bit of raise so we have to do something to try to offset that. So using title funding for that. Okay. Next, director's update. Yeah, one quick thing that I wanted to hit on. Appreciate the comments from parents about charter schools. I don't think anyone I've I've definitely my tone has been much more from a couple years ago. I've made great inroads with charter commission, with state board of education. Had great conversations yesterday with multiple members of the state board. One of the things that everyone just has to know is that we have TCA 49 13 120. We have to give a annual performance report. Uh that is in state law. We have to. And so that's one thing we have to do. We did earn commendable on our report which is second highest.
119We're going for exemplary next year. The other thing I wanted to give a shout out to and we probably need to do an RCS difference for them at some point is our Rutherford Teach Now program. So their licensure and the number of people that we are actually licensing through that program. They received their top or they received their annual performance and they were exceeds expectations. They were one of 15 in the state and the company they have with their teacher education program. They were one of the 15 along with Belmont, ETSU, Lipscomb, Trevecca, and Vanderbilt. And so pretty good company to be for your college of education because that's really what it is. It's a college of education to be in along with those schools. So congratulations to them. That's all I got. Thank you.
120Moving on to general discussion. I'm going to brag on our director a little bit. >> [laughter] >> Y'all may not know this but I was proud enough to know that he and Dr. Martin and Brian Runyon came and they presented and we were an exemplary system to look at and and model. But at the TOSS this week the director, the head man over there, uh singled out Dr. Sullivan as the finest schools director in the state and uh >> [applause] >> And we know it and we it's a pleasure to work with you every day. I appreciate that. Any other? Yes, Mr. Mr. Arvin and then I'll get you. I just wanted to give a shout out to our CTE department and I think Dr. Traasdahl was a big piece of the CTE mobile learning
121labs. They've been at Thurman Francis this week and I'm hearing a lot of students talk about a lot of things that they got to try. Everybody's super excited talking about how cool they are. So kudos to that department. Awesome job. Thank you. I just wish we could go back in time and have those like 20 years ago cuz they're a fantastic. Yes, but Mr. Ball. >> Uh Mr. Lee how's the how's the building at Central Downs coming along? Uh we should have the state fire marshal drawings this week or next. Think it'll be finished by year after next something like it. Uh no, I got to be finished by July. I said yeah, September is the deadline. >> It's got to be finished by July. Yeah. All right. >> My rabbit hat's getting short. Can't
122wait to see it. Yes, Mr. Salas. >> Thank you very much. Um so this week was Read Across America and I went to Blackman Elementary School and uh Smith Springs Elementary and last time that we I did we did the Read Across America I dressed up as Mother Goose. But this time around in honor of our 250th uh celebration of the United States of America I chose to dress up as Betty Ross. So I walked around as Betty Ross and carried my little flag with the 13 stars and I got to share and speak and give a little history piece of history about Betty Ross's um uh is um what she did with the that she was a part of the history and what she accomplished and so in making the first United States of
123America flag. So that was pretty cool. And some you know, I love doing that because some kids really really think that I'm actually the person and they ask how old I am whether I have a horse and a carriage how did I and they cannot believe that I don't drive a car and you know, I love playing along because I think it's kind of funny and comical and but I I really do enjoy going to the schools and and reading to the kids and so it's one of my favorite things that I enjoy doing throughout the year and I just encourage all of our board members if you can do that do so because it's just a really fun and neat experience. Next year you need to be Paul Revere. Paul Revere, okay. I'm sure
124I'll be something next year. I don't know exactly what it is but I'll dress up as somebody. Yes, Mr. Tidwell. Dr. Sullivan. Do we have an update on the Lee property? Mr. Reed, Lee property? It's been a while since that's been brought up. Just want to kind of catch up and see where we're at. All the state stuff's coming along well. I would expect we have it closed within two to three weeks. Oh, good. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, Mr. Salas. >> Real quick, um Dr. Martin and Mr. Runyon are budget and finance. That's why they're not here. So I've been watching. I don't know where it is yet but trying to watch both. So Anything else anybody would like to bring up? Yes, Ms. Sharp. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um there's a student in
125La Vergne High School that won the Skills USA lapel pin state design. She'll be going to Atlanta later this year. Um so you know the stores that you go into and you have the states and everything and um she won the design. It's really cute. So stay tuned. There's going to be an art exhibit in Smyrna middle April that hopefully we're going to be able to spotlight her on it as well. So she's going to go to Atlanta to compete. Is that nationals? Yeah, so Right here on La Vergne High School. State pin, so Move to adjourn. Adjourned. >> [laughter] >> I don't know. It's Mr.