001Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we just pray for Charlie Kirk's family, his wife Erica, and their two young children and his assassination yesterday. I just pray that people, especially our young people, realize that there's no place for violence in our society. Violence is not the answer. Heavenly Father, we lift up all students to you. Guide them through the school year with your wisdom and grace. Help them to learn, to grow, and achieve their best. We pray for our teachers. Grant them patience, inspiration, and the strength to educate and nurture their students. May they feel your support in their classrooms every day. Please give parents the strength and wisdom to support their children throughout this school year. Help them to be a s source of encouragement and love. We pray for protection over all students, teachers, and
002staff. Keep them safe from harm and guide them through each day. In your son Jesus name we pray. Amen. >> Thank you. >> In remembrance of 911 and the significance of this day, we have a special guest that is here to lead us in our pledge. I'd like to introduce Rutherford County Emergency Services Commander Mike Johnson and Captain Jana Crick to lead us in our pledge. 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 so much for coming. >> First up, we have the approval of the agenda. Move to approve. >> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. uh Tidville. And thank you, Mr. Bond. All in favor say I. I. >>
003Any opposed? Motion passes. Next, we have the approval of the consent agenda. >> Thank you, Mr. Bond. >> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Tidwell. All in favor say I. >> Motion passes. We have moved a few things around from last night. And first up we have financial matters. >> And this is so that Brian can get to the courthouse and also I can tell the courthouse what our vote was. There have been some questions. So insurance rates for 2026. The enrollment period runs from October 3rd through October 31st. Recommended motion is based on a board request from August meetings and previously approved budget. Motions to approve the rate increase as presented beyond budget expenses. I emailed the board yesterday and said we would be able to cover this with additional revenue that is TISA outcome
004funding that we do not budget because we never know what that amount truly is going to be. But every year is at least $4 million and so we utilize that'll be what we utilize um for our midyear. So that's my recommendation. >> Any comments, questions? >> Yes, Mr. Ross. >> Thank you. So um I spoke to Dr. So just to get clarification about the funding and and so he made clear this is not coming out of the fund balance. >> Correct. >> So because I'll be honest on Tuesday I was getting a little confused about where this comes. So this is not coming from um out of fund balance. This is going to be coming from funds that we're going to potentially be getting every year that we normally get. So thank you so much
005for that clarification. >> Yes, Dr. S. It'll be we will have plenty of funds to be able to cover these rate increases don't go effect till January. So we budget as an entire year but insurance goes January to December. Our fiscal year of course goes July to June and so this will be these additional funds if needed because it all depends on what plans individuals choose and so it is an estimate but we will add additional funds at our year cleanup just or our midyear cleanup from TE's outcome funding to be able to cover just to make sure. >> Thank you for that clarification. Yes. >> I just want to say that I'm so glad that we're able to do this for our police where we can cover a significant amount of the insurance u
006because every year it seems like these um prices and premiums keep creeping up. So, I'm just very um thankful and fortunate that we have the means to be able to cover it more for them so that they can take that extra increase that they get every year from their uh um from their salary. They can put it into their pockets and not be for paying for insurance. So, I'm so glad we can do this for them. Agree. Mr. Temple. >> Yes. Dr. Sullivan, can you speak to uh the what you think the rough estimate of of what this cost is going to be? >> Yeah. So, it is Let me pull that up real quick. >> And I'm just going to have a follow-up question about looking for that. >> It you mentioned it depends
007on which plans they choose. So, if they choose a premium plan, these these numbers will fluctuate. >> They will fluctuate. This is the best estimate. So the uh if the board chooses to cover 50% so the rate increase the aggregate I believe was 5.6 or 5.5 if the board covers half of that it is a 1.91,943,435 estimate. One thing I do want to to talk about though is that is for all of our employees fund 141 142 and 1430. So the cost is not going to be that much for the entire fund. That is also not the increase in cost from January till June. That's the increase in cost from January through December. And so it is a full year. And so that's that's why we get into this cycle year after year is because
008we don't know what the increase is going to be. But it is that is the highest estimate. But again, fund 142, which is federal, will be funded federally out of this. and our nutrition staff fund 143 will all be funed out of 143. So that 1.9 split over two fiscal years but also uses 141 142 and 143 and you said that >> no not yet. >> Thank you said that was January December January December. Yes sir. >> Yes Mr. Vaugh thank you. Thank you, Miss Sharp. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Next, we have Rutherford Proud. >> We still have one. >> Oh, sorry. I'm so sorry. Yes. I'm sorry. Reallocation. >> The board approved this last year, but this is to make sure it makes it all the way through.
009Commission cycle fund 189 reallocation of project money request. This request is to reallocate the balance of $355,664.30 30 cents from Leurn Middle annex project to Simon Springs Community School project and the fund 189 building program. This shift of funds will move money not spent to burn middle projects in place of the Simon Springs project to clean up overages and close out both accounts. >> Any comments or questions there? >> Thank you. Thank you, Miss Rosales. All in favor say I. I. >> Motion passes. Now we have Rutherford Proud. >> Now we have Rutherford Proud. And so Dr. An. So we have uh Central Magnet here and as we've talked about the last couple weeks, Central Magnet has been named the third best high school in the nation based on an evaluation by US News and
010World Report and of course first in Tennessee. Uh principal Dr. John Ashes staff of students. You guys are going to present some stuff to us and we're incredibly proud. We talk about Central being the flagship for us and we are great for your leadership and performance you guys have. >> We appreciate uh you having us. Uh we are ranked third this year. That's the highest we've been ranked in America. uh US News and World Reports uses multiple sources to rank their schools. They use AP scores, college rating, state score, uh each state scores, how to do state testing. Uh you know, it's a multitude and it is the most respected poll or ranking in America. So, we are very proud of that. Very proud of our teachers and students that you'll get to meet in
011a minute or two. Um we this year we have already have 14 seniors with 36s. Uh last year ACP average was a 31.4. Uh last year seniors got 12.5 million 193 of them and there were 12.5 million dollars of accepted academic scholarship that's not needed based uh that's earned and uh you know we're very proud of that. Uh we had 22 national merit semi-finalists this year. Although one of them has went to another king school. So uh y'all will recognize the other school when that happens. But uh she did take it at Central. But uh we're still proud of her and that will open up a lot of doors for all those young people. And you know if people ask a lot of times um you know why we're successful and that sort of thing.
012I will always say there's teachers are the most important thing. You know, when y'all make decisions, what's best for the teachers is best for the students. A good school system, a good school teachers, if we're good, it's because of them. And uh, you know, I can't say enough about them. Uh, we're very close-knit family at Central and we're very proud. We also feel that at central a lot of our success when I'm you know when I walk in the office at central um in my office there's an aura that's left over uh from previous people who work there. Uh >> what's your fiction? That was >> great. >> So, we do feel, you know, Central >> Butch, I was there with you, too. So, >> but no, Central has been very successful its entire time
013there before we got there as well. Uh, they will tell you that is supposed to be the best football team. If you want to get Butch started, it's the second football team. So Butch can talk about that for several hours. I've been there when he did. But uh anyway, uh we do uh at Central. He's not looking at me. [Laughter] Uh our motto is always my best. And we do expect from our students their best in everything they do. uh whether it's bands, strings, chemistry, uh calculus, whatever, we expect their best. And that's the attitude we want them to carry with them the rest of their life. It's not always perfect, but it is always the best effort they possibly can do. And you'll hear some of the kids refer to that. Um you know,
014that's we expect if we're going to do it, we expect to be good in. Uh we've been the all sports champion three times in Rutherford County. Uh we have multiple state championships and different sports. Our DECA is nationally recognized. Our robotics, which they'll speak for themselves in a second, but uh it's second to none anywhere. Uh we have a young lady who you'll get to meet through video who went to Julliard and she is now a movie star and so she was in Bob Dylan movie amongst things. Uh that was recently out. But uh we have a young man doing standup comedy who has headlined around the country. We have a young man on Broadway. So we do we're going to do it. We expect to be good. And so at this time video Joys
015and sorrows, successes and challenges, wins and losses, function and dysfunction. It's a place where some find their people and some find themselves, and the path that will take them to places they may never have realized they might go. We have shared in the hard work of being parents, supporting our students in innumerable clubs, at athletic events, and in academic competition. We have shared in the hard work of being teachers, sponsoring those clubs, chaperoning field trips to conventions with hundreds of kids, cheering on mid-state performers, county champions, and state title holders. Our teachers work to challenge students in a way they've not been challenged before. Cultivating classrooms of rigor, independence, and collaboration, perseverance, and determination. The culture here may appear to be that there's a spoken and unspoken challenge to be the best. That around every
016corner there's a new score we need to beat. But that's not the way we move through these halls. We build relationships that foster growth beyond the confines of a number. We equip each other for a journey that only begins here. At the center is the hope that the encounters we have with each other as faculty, as staff, as students, and as parents, that these encounters bring new opportunities or spark new ideas. That new doors are opening for the students who have chosen to be in this place. We live by the motto, always my best, knowing that our best can be different on any given day and that every day is a great day to be a Tiger. [Music] Hi, my name is Elena Serjer. I graduated from Central Magnet School in 2017 where I went
017to study acting at the Giuliard School and have been working professionally as an actress ever since. I think the thing that makes Central Magnet School so great is how it takes students passions and supports them. Whether it's engineering or mathematics or English or the arts, Central really identifies students strengths and finds ways that they can best support them. When I was at Central Magnet School, I already knew that I wanted to be an actress. And all of my teachers supported that dream. Whether it was teaching me how to properly research, which has then helped me prepare for movies, or teaching me how to study, which has helped me memorize lines quickly, or just showing me how to overcome challenges like taking a midterm in calculus. Um, that was a challenge I had to overcome and
018now I know how to do hard things. Um, but yeah, I'm recording this video on set of a movie where I'm working as an actor and I don't know if I would be able to have done that had I not had the support of my entire community. I am so grateful for Central Magnet School and for the ways that it has shaped my future. [Music] All right. Well, Lena stole some of my thunder that I had written down here because I did have what we do well is let students find their interest areas and develop those areas and challenge them. Um, what you don't see is all the failures at Central. a lot of failures especially um Mar's class there and I'm proud of I get emotional because when my students end up um Boeing,
019Blue Origin, Loheed Martin, Redstone, NASA, Honda, Nissan, George Pacific and so many other places they end up and are leaders sort of management in their in their companies because of the chances they took in robotics, the chances they took in class and failures. So, so many failures we've had, but eventually they did well. Just a brief um things we've done pretty good. Last year, the the NASA contest was our first year entering the contest. We were fourth in the world last year. History will be first. I feel pretty good about that. Um robot drone league mass champions twice. Um first robotics. That's been our big challenge for our school. Um we did finish second in the Alabama state championships. Um Samsung soft for tomorrow contest. We've been state finalist five times at national finals points.
020Um and I go on Beta Club Robotics and um best robotics champions in Tennessee, Southeast than the nation. But we we allow our students to take chances, but on the fatal we love them hug and pick them up. That's a part what that's part of what makes our school special. And I think our students recognize that on in hindsight after they've left and they come back and tell me these experiences have made this much better. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> These are three of our students. Good evening everybody. My name is Jada Scott and I'm a senior at Central Magnet School. A couple of things I'm involved in is the varsity tennis team, um, Spanish National Honor Society and also and a little bit about why I love Central Magnet and attending there is
021mainly for two reasons. For one, the school and the teachers really want students to excel academically. So, they do whatever they can to just support the students however they need to figure out how they learn, adapt to each student, and it's a just a really nice environment to be in. And I know um if students want to pursue a certain passion or a certain subject, there's so many levels of um classes that a student can take all the way from honors to AP. So it's very um personalized for each student and it really helps each student learn. And another thing that I love about Central Magnet is that everybody is well-rounded. We're not just focused on one class. We have people that are able to maintain good grades, also do a bunch of clubs that
022we offer, and also do a whole bunch of outside of school activities. And it's just really nice to be surrounded by people that um have an academic drive as you and then that really want to support you and watch you grow. >> Hi, good evening. My name is Harrison Hampy. I'm also a senior here at Central and I've been asked to share a little bit about what makes Central unique and there are a lot of different ways that Central is a unique school but I think what sets us apart academically is that everybody here be it faculty, administration, teachers or students even though some of them won't admit to it are all committed to a high degree of excellence. The students here they work really hard for their aids for high GPA for 4.0's. They
023work to achieve high ACT scores and national merit semi-finalists and finalists. And while not all of our students achieve those things, the one thing that everybody has in common is they're all determined to work hard towards their futures. And this is of course all thanks to our incredible teachers and our staff who are equally, if not more committed to our student success. And they pour into us with incredible amounts of love and passion towards their work. And that love translates into their students education. The result is a body of students who not only perform well or achieve great things, but they truly have a passion and a dedication for learning. And I'm grateful to have been a part of that and been a part of this fantastic school. Thank you. >> Save the best for
024last. >> Hi, my name is Alicia Marino. I'm senior class president here at Central. And Central is unique to me because it has allowed me to grow into the best version of myself. The quote, "Always my best," is Central's motto, and I can stand and truly live by it. Although our school is smaller than most schools in the area, it fosters a great community between teachers, students, and staff. Everyone that works at the school truly wants what is best for each and every one of us and always puts their 100% to serve us. Not because they have to, but because they want to. Central offers a variety of different classes on a higher educational level, preparing us to be successful no matter where our future takes us, as well as promoting students to create various
025communities that are unique to them. I am grateful for being able to have an active role in my school's Hispanic leadership fund that allows our members to have a community of Hispanics here at Central, like selling Mexican snacks or performing traditional Hispanic dances at school. Central has many unique clubs that allow us to express who we are aside from our academic achievements. They also build in times during school to make us successful. From offering writing lab to math tutoring to resume workshop, they give us all the tools we need to be prepared. And I'm very thankful to be a part of this school. Go Titans. Uh we are proud. Uh Miss Scott there is an expert on AI. She if you want to see her TED talk, you can look that up. Uh she has
026spoken to several organizations about AI. Of course, Mr. Henry is was on earth. He's captain of our state champion cross country team and of course Miss Brand was the best. She is class president this year. But uh you know we do feel very proud of our students and where they are. Uh we have students that we have once project manager Barton uh one who is a rocket scientist and it really is rocket science. Uh but uh she's builds engines for the space program. But uh we have one flying 15s. We have one flying commercial. Uh we have doctors and lawyers. We finally have plenty of graduates with their advanced degrees now. Uh and it makes it a special place. And they come back to see us. They want to, you know, talk to a teacher
027and they want to see someone who made a difference in their life. And we're very proud of that. And as I said, we're proud. Uh this is a small sampling. How many do we have now in choir? >> Have about 170 choirs. Uh so I assume most of them can sing. But uh >> but we still welcome them. Uh and then we also have band strings and yes a very active theater department. So, you know, we do want the whole child educated and I think that goes through. It takes a special person to teach at Central. Many people think it's easy because we don't have the classroom management issues that some schools do. Uh it's different. No one has it easier. You're a teacher. All teaching jobs are very difficult. But, uh it's different. you
028know, at school, if a child tells you they've got a physics project here, they really do. Uh, it's a challenge to coach at Central. You know, some of our coaches found out if you schedule a game on ACT Saturday, you may be missing some of your players. Uh, so, you know, everyone has to adapt a little bit to our environment and it's a challenge for some people, but our students are amazing. They rise to the challenge. I don't want, you know, I have parents want to take tours. I don't like giving tours when there's no kids in the building. What makes Central special are these young people and we're extremely proud of them. And now we will finish up with our album that was written by a Central student. [Music] proudly stands are all [Music]
029shining bright forever. Ever and together shall prevail [Music] on our journey to we all [Music] to each new marry. Brave and bold. [Applause] Thank you. Central has always been very important to Rutherford County and a lot of people are proud of that school and you all have just taken pride to the next level and I just want to thank you for all that you all do. Very proud of Central Magnet. >> Thank you. This is great. Give them just a moment to leave. Central's where I learned to love. Eye of the Tiger. >> Eye of the Tiger. >> First pep rally I ever held to. Next, we move to public comments. And we have two uh people signed up to speak tonight. First, we have Tammy Mendoza. Guess my press. >> I think they'll take
030care of it. I'll take care. >> Um, I'm not much of a speaker, so I'm going to go ahead and date back 16 years to when I took public speaking at college. So, it's not something I do on a regular basis, but my son is in DMK. So, he's at Dana McKe. He was sit there almost two weeks ago um doing an incident at school. Um it's it's causing uh the transportation situation is a lot. Um I know you guys voted on removing the buses. Um however, we have hundreds of families that are now struggling. Um I have four children on my own between 7 and 15 where I'm trying to work a full-time job trying to get my kids to other places, get my son to school and home every day. And it's it's
031taken a financial toll on us and stress. Um, I'm paying $75 a week for Lift to pick him up in my house and drive him to school. Um, on top of losing hours leaving work at night or in the afternoon to get home to pick them up. Um, I don't have family around that to help. And, uh, I think that's something that needs to be considered and looked at. I'm not the only one. There are a lot of parents struggling. Um, some of them close to losing their jobs because they're leaving work, going to work late. Kids are at risk. kids are now being even more at risk uh do do not have any transportation to school. Um they're showing up late. If you go ahead and pull all the records from these schools and
032find out how many kids are showing up late every day. Um there's parents that have their their grandparents picking up from an hour hour away driving to get their bank um because the parents can't leave work to do so. Um so I understand that the reasoning and the financial and everything, but we we have to do something. It's it's not fair to these kids that because they made a mistake, we're punishing the parents. We're we're risking people's jobs. We're risking people's livelihoods. And these kids, the chances of them even finishing school um is pretty high up there for some of these kids. Um so, I just wanted to come and speak on that. Um that I understand all voted against, but we got to figure something out um for these families, including mine. So, thank
033you. >> Thank you. Next we have I hope I say this right, Moisha. Okay, Moisha Robinson. >> I am also a parent of a DK student as well. Um our household functions it requires two incomes. Not only are we supporting our family of three here, but we also have a son that's in Jamaica with a grandmother and a mother-in-law that we're supporting as well um to help them keep them afloat. The lack of transportation is drastically taking our family down because we're having to either show up late to work or him not go to school at all. He's already missed the five days. I started a new job at the 1 of August. I'm already on a regular for attendance trying to get my kid to and from school. Um my husband has taken over
034some of the responsibilities because his job does allow a little more flexibility, but that's income that's missing because he's not able to work. I personally don't understand why it was voted to take away the transportation, but I would urge to reconsider because sometimes it's the difference between us being able to pay utility bill and pay our rent because we're taking a cut financially. We've already scaled back the support that we're sending to Jamaica to the bare minimum. I just don't know what else to At this point, I know my kid made a mistake. I just don't want him to be punished any further or our family to be punished because we're not a household that's able to not have a working parent where I'm able to stay home and do the things that need to
035be done while he's there. So, that's sorry for the tears. >> It's okay. I understand. >> Thank you. Next we have instruction. >> All right. So construction. So we have Mr. Lee Ramsey here with us today. Lee is our social studies specialist for 6th through 12th grade and he's going to present a brief overview of instruction initiatives to engage students in civics. These include our freedom week celebrations, recent nominations for the civics allstar board for the governor's civic seal. This is something that our county forward that we can be extremely proud of that is really civic space education that believe we appreciate your leadership in this area. >> Thank you. Thank you. It's uh all credit goes to the teachers. I'm going to start by saying that when Benjamin Franklin was leaving the constitutional convention,
036it's alleged that he was asked what kind of government would you make? His answer was a republic if you can keep it. Additionally, Thomas Jefferson made many statements emphasizing how a healthy democracy depends on education. Our founding fathers stressed that civic responsibility and civic education are necessary for our country to exist. In Rutherford County, our teachers champion their principles. They're they're want to make sure that we're not only producing ready graduates, but graduates that are ready to engage in civics upon graduation. Um, we see that in the classroom with Tivas. Our sixth grade had the second highest growth in the state of Tennessee. Our seventh grade had the highest growth in the state of Tennessee. US history had the sixth highest growth in the state of Tennessee. We also see it in other awards that
037come up. Uh, the state has something called the civic all-star award and the bar to get is extremely high. 100% of your graduating class has to score above an 85 on the civics exam. Uh up to last year, we have never been able to nominate a school. And last year, we nominated six. Uh those include Eagleville High School, Holloway High School, Oakland High School, Rockville High School, Seagull High School, and Smyrna High School. Uh we've also had amazing work from our individual teachers. Uh Mr. Brandon Deanna Middle was recognized as our teacher of the year for the district. Uh Mr. Eldridge at Central received the Tennessee National History Day teacher of the year. Uh so they're killing in the classroom, but they're also modeling the things outside the classroom. Um it's one thing to talk
038about civic responsibility, it's another to walk it. And a lot of our teachers like Mr. Singh at Seagull and Mr. Alan Kessinger at Stewart Creek Middle School model for our students through their former service as a military activist. Um and I'm extremely proud of that. But we also have other heroes like Miss Britney Taylor at Rockville Middle School that while her husband was deployed with the National Guard, she was here teaching our students at Rutherford County and received some of the top scores in the state like she always does. I say all this to say that when we get into this future programming, it's not something that's absolutely brand new. It's a continuation of amazing work our teachers are doing. Uh so starting next week, we have the Freedom Week celebration. This is has a
039bunch of different arms, legs to it. So the community partners that we work with like Ambetts and the 917 society has made sure that we deliver a hand constitution to every eighth grade student in the district which is amazing. We have voter drives going on at the high school. So at Blackman High School, Mr. Young, Mr. Gio Kobe will be registering uh students to vote during their lunch period as well as in Rockbell with Mr. Limba and I'm sorry, Rockville, Miss Snder in Riverdale, Mr. Limba. uh at Lever High School next week. Miss Greenberg and her government class will be taking students into a deep dive of the constitutional text. Uh we have other programming with some of our community members. Uh DAR has an essay contest which many of our teachers will take advantage
040of with their students which allows them to not only get recognition, engage in civics, but also win scholarships. Uh but the freedom week is one week next week uh and it is big but it goes into something bigger that we're working on too which is the government civics bill. The requirements again are lofty. uh you have to have civic education across those curricular grade levels. You have to have real world civic learning activities, project-based civics assessments, and if you're a high school, you have to meet the requirement of the civics all-star board, which we talked about already, was was the high goal. Um with with the work of Miss Clemens with Smyrna and Miss Snder from Rockville for the first time, we're able to nominate three schools. Uh those include Eagleville and we know the
041great work Mr. Pettig is doing in building community. Uh Rockville and we know Mr. Lucer. All you have to do is go look at the football field and you see how tied down he is. Uh and then also in Smyrna with Dr. Stman, the strong community that you see there and they made an amazing documentary with with history of Mr. Deets and Mr. Pierce. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. The goal next year, we started with three this year. We want to get six next year at least, if not more. And I'm encouraged to see that it's not only happening in our high schools, Miss G Blackman Elementary ready to go get it. We have some other middle schools as well. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to brag our teachers.
042They work extremely hard uh and just do an amazing job. >> Thank you. >> I I did have one one thing I wanted to ask you and Dr. Sullivan told me I could ask you this. >> Okay. Yes, ma'am. >> Uh my husband is a vet and he served in Afghanistan and Iraq. >> I would like for service. Well, thank you. I'm I'm very proud of of his service and 9/11 is very important and I understand that um there's a lot going on but I would like to see every school take about 20 or 30 minutes not just a moment of silence and they can design their own remembrance and type age appropriate I don't expect an elementary school uh there's a wonderful 2hour video that was on PBS Frontline I That kind of shows
043you in real world time what happened because these students don't know. They were born after 911 and they don't know the significance of what happened and all the people that died for their country that day and the acts of bravery and what that significance on 911 put in motion. So I would like to see is there any way we can encourage all of our schools to do something more than just maybe a moment of silence which I understand there's a lot going on you know with the schools and >> I think there's so much to unpack there and the first is the honorary that we need to give to the people that uh not only lost their lives from not only our country but many countries the people that rushed in instead of running away
044which I think is one of the things we talk about civ duty it goes beyond anything um that you can teach or give. But I would like to circle back and we can get together and see what we can do. Um >> I know Thompson Station had a middle school had an FBI agent who was there that day in uh in the Twin Towers and he came and spoke to them and maybe it's not that day, maybe it's that week, but I would love for them to hear real world, you know, information from somebody who was there. That would be great. >> I think we can get together and see what we can do. And I know it's in our standards, so I know it's getting taught at other points of the year as well,
045different subjects, but we can definitely get together. >> Thank you. This is something I'm just really passionate about. >> Thank you for your for your service or his service and your service, too. It's a family thing when it happens for sure. >> Thank you. Thank you, sir. You're doing a great job teachers. >> Thank you. >> Number two is the Orton Gillingham Plus Morphology training. So this is a continuation of what we use with our interventionists. Ratherford County Schools will contract with the Institute for Multi-entury Education to continue providing Gordon Gillingham and morphology training to classroom teachers, ESL teachers, special education teachers, and academic interventionists in 2526 school year. These courses are five-day highly engaging interactive and hands-on training that will provide our educators with a deep understanding and enhanced OG program. accredited structured literacy
046course will equip our teachers with the knowledge, strategies, and tools necessary to effectively implement foundational literacy skills across all instructional tiers. We're planning on two cohorts, October and November at a cost to exceed not to exceed $89,12.50 and this will be paid through title two funds for this school. >> Thank you, Mrs. Rosel. All in favor say I. >> I think they chimed in together. Talk to Tim. Motion passes. >> Legal >> transfer student under discipline. The board's been requested to amend a transfer student from another school system under discipline. The student was remanded for possession of illegal drugs. According to policy 6.318, the board may deny admissions of any student except those in state custody when a student transfers from another school system under suspension expulsion. Tre school's recommendation is to deny. >> I'll
047entertain a motion. >> Move to approve. >> Thank you. >> Yes. >> I have a question. not directly related to this, but I know we had had a lot of capacity issues at our schools and we're just starting school year. So, I know that that factors into too, but don't we have a lot of rollover from previous years? >> We had a lot of rollover this year because we put in the new tier point system. So, we have much we have a lot more attendance and enrollment than we would because we didn't necessarily kids didn't have just because the year ended. So, they're they're more full than they normally are because of past years. Okay. So, we have a motion to deny from Miss Sharp and then Miss Darby second it. All in favor say
048I. I. >> Any opposed? Motion passes. Next we have engineering and construction. >> Only item here is the extended sessions bus contract for the 2526 school year. Transportation has submitted extended sessions bus contract for power hour for the 2526 school year. compensation is $245 per day. I believe Dr. Chastain said we had 21 in the fall and 21 in the spring. I think Mr. Lee has >> Yes, M Mr. Lee. >> Before everybody votes, I'm going to want to clarify something. Um, I spoke about what we how we do the drawings and everything last night and I spoke about how we've done it every year since we've been doing it. This year I got out of here last night and got back to the office and nothing hit me. They had decided this year that
049they were only going to draw once instead of drawing twice. So we have two choices. What was sent out in August and what was drawn said there would only be one draw. We've drawn twice in the past. I heard from a few contractors today that were happy that they possibly would get another opportunity and I heard from a few contractors today that were not happy because they had gotten one and they didn't want to lose their opportunity to keep it all year. So I put us in this box and I've talked with the ladies in transportation. We can do another drawing like we've done in the past or we can leave it like what was set forth in August and what everybody saw on it. But I misspoke, got carried on with what we'd always
050done. So I'm admitting that I misspoke and I'm willing to do whatever the board would like to do as far as whether we draw or don't draw. >> Miss. >> Yes, Mr. Tid. >> I'd like to make a motion that we have two drawings. Uh, I think that if we give more people more opportunity, that seems a lot more fair to me considering the amount of contractors we have and the small number of routes that are available and how sought after these routes are. These routes are >> I f >> Thank you for the clarification as well. >> Doing it twice. >> Well, it gives more people an opportunity to have uh that extra money in their pocket. Mr. Vaughn, >> you ready? Um, and I and I apologize. The reason I'm smiling, you know
051why I'm smiling? Because I was here and I heard the announcement. I saw thing and I start and I guess maybe this is partly my fault, Mr. Lee, that I didn't correct it to other because I knew different, but and and Caleb, I would yield. I would yield, but I think there was a lot of notification that went out that it was going to be changed this year to be a single draw. And here was I think the logic and Mr. Lee pre please correct me if I explained this the wrong way. The complaint from parents has been that if you have um one of these power hours as a contractor you have some jurisdiction about the route. Correct. >> A little bit. and and and so what has happened in past let's say you
052got XYZ contractor and he he or she is based out of I don't know whatever school but he's on the far end of that zone he's been used to if he does it in the fall or she does it in the fall that route is scheduled accordingly this way by having the second drawing ABC contractor may have January through May, they may live on the other side of the zone. And so then they reroute it. Well, now all of a sudden you've got a parent that's used to the child getting home at 4:30 or something like that. And what's the latest that they get home? >> We start picking up at 4 and 4:15. So typically it's 45 minutes to an hour >> an hour later. So if you're if you were first on the
053route in the fall, you could get home at 4:15 or 4:30. But if you're on the wrong side of the route, you may not get home at 5:30. Well, then and and we just heard from two ladies here tonight that families get into these schedules and they get into these routes and they get into used to somebody being at the house and and welcoming the child home. That would be my only reluctance to go along with this, Caleb. It yes, it does make it where it's more lucrative for more uh drivers, but you know, it's kind of the luck of the draw anyway. you may turn around and have another draw and it'd be the same come up the same way. And if I understood correctly, the way it was done the other day, it
054was done through position. However many um drivers there were that was interested in that particular route. And if that first driver turns it down, it goes to the second driver goes to the third driver. So there's an opportunity for some other contractors to to to be involved with this. But that's I don't know. It's a little observation on my part. I I I think some of the not my understanding was the notification was given by transportation that but I may be wrong right there. I think everybody sitting in the room the other day understood it that it was one drawing this year, but we can do whatever y'all want to. >> Yes, Mr. Darby. >> Do you have any idea like did we receive a lot of complaints from parents about the power and and
055the situation that Stans described? Yes and no. It It's not any more than we typically receive about any other thing that we do. But yes, we do. They they they do complain about the time that they get home. What happens when you swap the route? you end up with and I'm gonna pick a number somewhere between a third and a half become new contractors that haven't didn't run the route. So the route does change and they do complain about that. What would it look like? I guess if we stuck to drawing doing the drawing once a year, what would that look like? And I know would be a little bit of something to keep for someone to keep up with, but if you had I'm just going to throw a random number just to if
056we had a list of 50 contractors and this year 30 of those contractors were awarded power owners. So next year those 30 contractors are going to go to the bottom of that list and any new contractors that are added would go in between the people that haven't driven and the ones that already did. So that every year it's people getting an opportunity because I think the concern is and I understand that it's just random and luck of the draw, but that doesn't stop a contractor from being able to run it all year this year and run it all year next year while one contractor didn't get to run it at all. >> So it is possible. >> I don't know if that's a better option because that pleases parents if the route stays the same
057the whole year and I get that it means one year a contractor may get it and the next year they may not. But at least everybody's getting an an opportunity if they want to take it to run that at some point. It's just something I'm throwing out there. >> Mr. Maxwell. >> Yes, Mr. Table. >> How many contractors do we have typically signed to try to get these routes? >> It varies where they are. Some you have three and four, some you have four. It depends on the school. It it it's it's there is no 15 or 20 in every school. I mean, it it's it's a varying amount, >> right? But >> that's why the the smaller the number, you've got people, and I'll use myself as an example, you have people that are
058very lucky. I'm not on that side of the fence. That if they went to a raffle and you raffled off something three times and there was 50 people in the room, they would win two out of three. You got other people, there could be two people in the room in a raffle. I'm that guy. And you raffled it off seven times. I'm never going to win. I'm just There's just some people who have that kind of luck. So, there are those that where the routes are smaller. there there's a real opportunity that somebody else is going to get it, but there's also those people that are just dirt bucket lucky and if there's a small number, they'll get two out of three. >> And and and that's why we went to this picker wheel because
059it's completely We used to draw names out of patent. He got accused of stacking the hat and putting somebody's name in twice and and and when the picker wheel came along, I thought this is the greatest thing we we found forever because you put the names on the list and the computer does the spin and the computer it stops and the computer gives you the name. >> Well, I I'll just say this, you know, obviously my concern making my concern known uh is that opportunity I think should be spread out. We have a lot of contractors. We spend a lot of time with this contract. We want to take care of them. We took care of them. I want to continue that trend. For me, fairness would be pretty high on it. You mentioned the
060the route sells probably about 45 minutes. So, if you're on the front end or the back end, and personally growing up, I was always on the the back end of the route. Uh but, uh, as as far as that goes, 45 minutes to me is a huge juggle for most parents. Um, and honestly, like you mentioned, if you get about the number of complaints we get about most things, then we're about to comment there. Uh, so I'm not completely opposed to more discussion about possibly if they get it this year, then they don't have the opportunity or they're not first an opportunity order to get it next year. I'm not opposed to that, but I'm still fine with with going back to the two routes, which so I'm not pulling back my motion. I'm just
061saying that I'm open to discussion. >> Miss Maxwell. Yes. Thank you. Okay. So, just for clarification, uh whether it was one one opportunity, two times they can um bid for this not bid they can get for this route. So, if they get it one route, can they submit it again for the second time? >> Sure. Is there a reason why we haven't looked into as far as fairness is concerned? If they if they get it once, then I'm just I'm just asking and >> and I'm going to give you back the same answer. What you determine is fair and what I determine is fair. Half the contractors are going to line up with you and half are going to line up with me. And if we swap it, they're going to be just as f.
062That's why we went to the picker wheel. That's why we started trying to do this twice to give everybody an opportunity. The contractors wanted all their names in on all the on all the drawings and didn't want to take people's names out because if they did, it would have been theirs and they wanted an opportunity to win it twice. So there's y'all come up with a method and I'll rub it. >> Um, go ahead. Yes, Mr. >> Kind of go back to do it. Yeah, I don't think it's anything we have to vote on tonight. Caleb, if you if if you would be persuaded to and I hate to say let's table it, but let's pull it maybe pull it back to next month and go back to the documentation if it was you know
063was it really I thought it was done that way that everybody was notified that it was just once this year and and if you know if we're doing it just because you misspoke. I mean, >> that's why that's why I got I had a couple of calls one way and a couple calls the other. Couple >> and I have too. I have too. And I >> I go back to it doesn't matter what we do. Somebody I don't either, but I I hate for us to make a decision tonight based on hearsay and all that kind of stuff that maybe we can wait a month. >> We don't have to do anything right because the next down till Christmas, which is the 21, >> you would probably do it around the 15th of December. I
064do between Thanksgiving and Christmas >> and Christmas. So, we we got a little time. So, if you kind of want to hold back and let's see kind of how >> I just wanted to acknowledge that I misspoke. >> I was here. I watched you. I'm sorry. I should have corrected you. >> I didn't finish what I was going to say. >> Thank you. So, what I was going to say is that um if we were to do it one time, then I can see why some will get upset and when some are happy because if you get it um the first time around and then the second time when you get it for the summer, then you're also competing for that person that got it that whole year. So, it just seems like it's a
065bit in my this my opinion, it just seems like it's just a bit unfair if we're doing it one time. And then those that can bid for summer can also bid if they got it the first time. So that's why I was saying for me personally that you're going to get people that going to get mad either side, but it just to make it fair since everyone's going to be vying for the same routes whether they get or don't then do it more than one time. That's that's just Dr. Sullivan, could you explain about we do need to vote on >> we need to vote on at least the contract, but whether or not it is >> drawn once and twice, that can wait. But we need the contract to be able to move forward
066with power to start. >> Miss Mr. Bos, >> I was prepared to make a motion, but I realized we have a motion on the floor. So, >> yes. >> Yeah. Let me uh >> Yes, Mr. V. >> I guess I can't, you know, we talk about doing it once or twice or, you know, end up doing it every month if we go down that rabbit trail. But as I understand, uh, they were all under the impression we were going to do it one time. And it doesn't matter whether you do it once, twice, once a month or whatever. There's going to be a group that's for you and a group against you. And I think it's just easier to do it one time and not worry about it. I think consistency from a parent standpoint
067would be better without having to redo it, you know, at the end middle of the year. So that's my opinion for whatever it's worth. >> We have a motion on the floor for Mr. Tipple. Would you want to change your motion to just the contract approving the contract and we can discuss like we're not in yet come back to whether it's one draw or two draws? I'm okay if uh I I agree with Francis on this. I do think that if we do it twice, even if we're looking at possibly if you get it in the fall, you don't have the opportunity to to draw forward in the pin wheel in the spring. Um I'm okay with more discussion about it. And so I will withdraw my motion if she withdraws. The second >> we'll
068postpone this to the following meeting so we can have further discussion and then I'll move to approve the extended uh bus contracts. >> Second. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Dwell. Thank you Mr. Rosales. Do we have any other comments questions? Okay. All in favor say I. >> I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Now we come to corporate rec recognition and Miss Darby. I I really said everything Tuesday night pretty much. I'm hoping that we're going to have some design ideas uh next week. So, okay. I will gladly have Dr. Sullivan or Mr. Evans um forward those to you guys so you can see some different ideas and we can kind move forward as we go. >> That was good. Thank you. Now, we go to director's update. >> Just a couple quick things because we have
069a county commission meeting tonight as well. So, as soon as we are finished, I'm not being going over there because they have a busy agenda. We have the Leo property on the agenda today. U weapons detections in its second week of implementation. First couple days were were tough, which we know that would be. Uh schools have adjusted. So I appreciate their partnerships and collaboration. We're still working through some things as we get through there, but overall very pleased how it's been implemented. September 25th, we will have I'll present our TOAS data and scores for our district and schools. um report card data is not going to be later until the winter. So I won't be able to talk about any of the other indicators, but we'll talk about T box on the 25th. So getting
070back to include that as part of our yearly thing. That's all I have. >> Any general discussion, Miss Maxwell? >> Hold on, Mr. Shaw. And then I'll get back to you. Yes, Michelle. >> Did you have a question? >> Okay. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um couple things. Um, I rode Miss Dela's bus the other morning, bus 16, Dave Yuri, Smy Smyrna Middle, and Smyrna High School, and they're they're getting it down with the metal detectors. They're doing a really really good job. Um, one of the problems that I hear from a lot of the bus drivers is that um cars and their personal vehicles are going past the stop signs when they stop. And that's very, very, very, very dangerous. Um, a couple of weeks ago, um, Mr. Arby and I went to the Bulma
071meeting in Lever and I got a chance to speak to Captain Moose and, um, he has been sending squad cars over in the nine bus stops that are in my little neighborhood and, uh, there's a few that have gotten driver certificates um, and that it's helping some. But please, y'all, we don't need any more kids injured or anything. Please pay attention to the buses. Stay away from them. Stay behind them. Don't run through them. Um, also something is equally serious. I've been talking with Miss Jessica Johnson with Atlas and we're about five weeks into the school um year and we already have about 900 students that we're serving. So, um, she and I have been talking about doing a a clo a clothing closet and then I got cancer and then, you know, time and
072everything. So, but she has um well positioned herself. We will be starting a a a clothing closet for students and we'll be um accepting gently worn clothes. Don't send your holy clothes that y'all been out in the yard working. We need them for the kids to if they've had, you know, accident or something like that at school or if they are homeless and they don't have any uh clothes. So, we'll have more details on that um in the next coming weeks. She's she's got a a position with they are asking for shampoo and gel, shower gel. So, I've got another civics group that's working on that. And um if y'all want to bring some, you can. You can get a box of like six from Amazon for less than $20 and we can just bring
073them here to the central office and they can take them by mail or something like that. So, but um and Smyrna High School is having their Hall of Fame induction uh brunch and ceremony on Saturday. >> So, that's Thank you. >> Yes. First, Francis. >> Thank you. Okay. U Michart, that's awesome that you're working with Atlas. Um I have shampoo and conditioner in my garage that I would love to get rid of. I've got boxes and boxes and I believe I also have um I think I have socks too that I would love to get rid of too. Um my church actually started a vanilla event program um just recently and Atlas is one of the programs that I had mentioned and brought up that we wanted to be a part of. So if closing
074clothing is something that is needed then we I know my church would love to partner and get that. So that's great. I do want to talk about something and um I've been thinking about this quite a bit um and I think that we need to talk about something and not look at it as a taboo tie subject and that is mental health crisis. I I h I do believe that we're facing a crisis among our youth and it's pretty prevalent. Um we've seen a breaking point with kids in the past um at least four or five years. We've seen some school shootings that have been a result of where the shooter was actually had been a previous student in that school. And we've already spent quite a bit of money in trying to fortify our
075building. And it's a good thing. I mean, we've got metal detectors, we've got blue fan, we have film in our windows, and we spent quite a bit of money. But I don't know if we're getting to the issue of what's causing some of these things that are happening. Um, there was a study that was done in the state of the of um the state of the child in Tennessee 2024 study by the commissioner the commission of children and youth and the top costs of death among m minors are death by firearms whether intentional or intentional and this reflects a painful reality and the data says that unintentional harm is more common than intentional harm and among intentional harms suicide side stands as a devastating concern tied to mental health. And mental health struggles manifest in
076a way that are not always visible until some tragedy occurs. uh before I when I was running and as for this position and even after I spoke to principles and teachers and even today and even as of two days ago and as of yesterday I've gotten calls from teachers who are asking for us to provide to them and help them with resources so they can identify help them identify these children that are in in crisis. They're pleading for support. Um, you know, imagine what the impact will be if we redirect even a portion of resources that we've already allocated to our increasing the proactive mental health support in schools. Train train school services personnel who can spot warning signs and have the tools to help the child. What if we pre could prevent a crisis
077by recognizing a child in distress and connecting them to the help long before tragedy occurs? It is not a question of either safety or well-being. It is called to both. And I share this as a personal note that I don't I've never really talked about this publicly, but my I my childhood friend who lived literally behind my house and he would come over and he would play video games with us. We would play basketball. We would do all kinds of things. No one knew he was suffering. No one did. Not even his parents. And I still remember to this day waking up to the realization that his parents found him in home. And my brother and my sister and I, we were really impacted by that. And we didn't have anyone that we talked about
078or or or said anything because we didn't know. And so I'm bringing this up because he Mr. Von and I we went to meeting with Dr. development and we learned that there are resources that are available but right now it's not something that's supported by the board. I'm not say I'm not asking for the school to parent our children. I'm not asking for them. I'm just simply saying, can we be open-minded to if there is a a training and a resource that our teachers are asking for that if we can support them if they see a child that they can spot the signs and the child is in crisis, we can possibly help prevent some kind of tragedy. That's all I'm asking that we can be open to that as a board. And so, uh,
079that's what I'll say. Thank you, Mr. B. >> I guess in response to what Mr. Z said, you know, mental health is nothing more, in my opinion, than just evil. Uh the only way we're going to eliminate evil in the world is to uh teach our kids about about Jesus. And you know to read to teach him to read the Bible and to understand that the Bible tells us how we should live. And you know that uh that's just something that that as parents that we all should be responsible to do also. And something else u you know I just like to say shout out to all our great teachers and principles and you know we got the best school system in the state. is proven by scores and everything else. And I just like
080to give a shout out to Oakland High School. They they achieved level five and all the value added composits for the in the county which is only high school do. So congratulations to those people and hard work. So I thanks for for everybody that you don't have tragedy like we had yesterday that affects all of us. You know it's just uh we we just got to get back to basics and to treat each other with dignity and respect. You don't have to agree, but you have to be respectful and to just uh understand there are differences and that's okay. We're allowed to have differences, but just thanks for everybody that's trying to help solve this problem of violence. >> Thanks, >> Mr. Tidle. >> Yes. Uh, I'd just like to thank Mr. started rewarding buttons
081tonight uh turning point buttons that that she had brought uh there obviously was a a devastating tragedy uh yesterday from a very prominent voice uh and I just jot down a few notes here u Charlie Kirk was a prominent voice in the American landscape he was the founder of one of the fastest growing school organizations over the past several years that's turning point USA preached nonviolence and believed conversations were the solution to finding common ground in a very divided nation. As as Butch just mentioned here, his engaging style of debate fostered conversations about policy, faith, and life across the nation on both sides of the aisle. Unfortunately, Charlie's life was cut short after he was shot yesterday on a campus tour in Utah simply for his speech. This horrendous act of violence may have silenced
082his physical voice, but the truths that Charlie spoke will be carried on by generations to come. In honor of Charlie Kirk's dedication to free speech and the love of this country, students across the nation are starting new turning point chapters at their schools. If you are a student that is interested in starting a new chapter at your school, please reach out to me and I will help you get started. Uh at this time, let's just cover his family of prayer. I can't imagine going through that type of tragedy. Uh you know, he is not not far into his marriage. He has a one-year-old and a three-year-old. That would be right. So, >> Miss Maxwell, yes, Mr. Ross, I just want to publicly thank um Dr. McY because um there was a certain situation that occurred
083and that were not there were some comments that were made and um and what happened with Mr. Kirk. I think you're absolutely right. we need to bring God back into our lives in in in some way or some way, shape or form. Um, but anyways, I just want to thank Dr. MCI for standing up for what is right and trying to bring back stability and and doing what was needed. So, I just want to thank him for doing that. He's a professor. He is a president of MTSU. Any other questions, comments? It's been a rough week, but uh our country is going to stand strong. Mr. Starby >> move to