001All right, I'm going to call two minute warning before we start with our work session. All right. I know that was a short two minutes, but we're going to go on and call the uh January 8th meeting uh uh work session with county board of education to order. Appreciate everyone being here. Um, hope you had a great holiday, uh, Christmas and New Year's. And as we start swinging into, uh, 2026, um, this time during our work session, we're going to go through the, uh, consent agenda items that are on our agenda tonight. Um, we'll review those. The intent is these items that, uh, that we'll be covering during this session. Uh if there unless there's uh something that indicates that needs further discussion in our regular meeting then we will uh the intent is that
002we will pass these uh through unanimous consent and then move on into the rest of our our uh agenda for meeting tonight. But uh we'll use this time right here to go through uh go through those uh those items that are listed in in consent. So, I'll start with uh the board meeting minutes from our regular meeting as well as our work session from December 11th, 2025. Um board members, those were handed out to you, provided to you in your packet before tonight's meeting. uh trust you've had an opportunity to look over those and see if there's any questions, revisions, clarifications that need to be uh made on either the minutes for the work session or the regular board meeting. >> Just have one one question, Mr. Chair, and it may be for Mr. uh
003Markham. All the budget amendments that we made and that we approved in our last meeting, did those make it through comm or through the county commission? Um it so it has been everything's been approved that need to be approved. Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. McDonald. Or other questions, comments regarding our minutes. Thank you, Miss Sims, for uh putting those together on your birthday last month. All right. If uh if there's no uh no questions on those, nothing we need to cover, then uh take it down to uh the next item, and that's our policy report. So board members in our U packet we were provided two policies and these uh were recommendations from uh from TSBA which we do receive guidance uh from regarding uh policy and and uh reviews. Um one of
004the policy was uh one of the recommendations to change uh was policy uh 1901 uh and that is regarding a a policy on charter schools and there is language in the first paragraph I believe uh just saying that as um a district for application purposes uh our director would provide the uh the uh the uh the applicant um with information regarding uh uh state data and federal data for uh p u pupil funding uh estimates and do that within a uh 5day time period. So uh that's uh it's procedural in uh in in nature and that that policy just stating what uh what has to be what we will provide those that are um that will be if there was a charter school application uh for somebody within our district. Um we don't have charter
005school have any charter schools in in our district. We haven't received any applications, but this would just be um preparation in the event something like that was to uh somebody was to make an application. So, um it's basically just uh in our policy, we're stating that we would provide that information or a director would or designate would provide that uh if they received a a letter requesting. Any questions on that policy recommendation, policy change? Okay. If there's no questions or comments uh or further information, you will have another uh month to uh uh to study this if need be because when we uh when we if this is items remains in the consent agenda, uh it will be coming out of consent passing in first reading. So keep that that in mind. Would would have
006an opportunity to look at that next month. that would also uh uh probably apply more to uh the second policy recommendation and that is policy uh uh regarding expenses and reimbursements. Um basically the the um of course as as state entity we uh we're exempt from play paying sales tax um and that would include uh sales tax uh reimbursements if uh if if you are as part of the reimbursement. However, there may be an occasion where somebody has to uh make a purchase and does not have all the appropriate information uh available to uh provide that tax exempt status. And so this policy and we've been given the latitude that we can we can we can pay that uh and this is from uh comes from the state controllers's office that can be it can't
007be paid if we don't in policy say we would pay up to a certain amount and state that amount. Um if if we unless we say it in policy that we'll we'll uh we would pay it then we can't. Um and so uh it's the policy recommendation is that we uh if we choose to uh not withhold the re the tax reimbursement that somebody might experience from making a purchase for the district on the district's behalf then we would uh need to change our policy. Now, one of the things that uh we would director has uh has has stated is that we probably want to uh have get some guidance because there would be some things that this would impact um as far as uh maybe some limits that uh that need to be implied
008on that uh on that reimbursement. And so it's u it's also recommended by TSBA that we uh get some professional uh get professional uh help on how that wording is and what those limits might be. So, if we choose to uh move forward with this and reimburse uh on on sales tax, uh if that situation applies and we want to put that in our policy, um it's going to be recommended that we have uh have our our board attorney give us some guidance on what those amounts would be. So, uh that's that is the purpose of uh policy 2804 coming before you tonight. So, pause there and and give you the chance to uh to ask questions. Mr. Smith, just to confirm what you're asking is that this policy move forward upon the recommendation or
009conversation with our board attorney. Is that what you're asking? >> That that is correct. I think uh And I'll try to be more succinct in my what I'm saying. Um, yes, we would if we choose to want to reimburse for um a for sales tax, then we have to state that in our policy, but we would uh we would still need to seek guidance from our attorney as far as what those amounts or parameters might be surrounding that. So, um it would be our intent tonight would be to say that we intend to uh reimburse if that's applicable. However, we're going to wait for guidance on our from our attorney before we would pass that official on on second reading. So, we'd still have a chance to look at it. Mr. D. >> And Mr.
010Markhamm, you can correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I mean, this is under this policy about expenses and reimbursements has mainly to do with travel and travel expenses. So, this wouldn't just allow someone to go out and buy something at Lowe's and then get sales tax paid for it. So, this is specifically aimed at travel and of our personnel. So, it shouldn't be uh large amounts of tax anyway, but just want to get the attorney's wording on how to keep those parameters in place. I guess that was going to be my question was how often is this happening now or is it not happening at all and that's why it's in in the the language is in here now to be able to make that happen. >> It's my understanding that we would
011would have would would have to withhold any tax on expense reimbursement now unless we state it in policy. >> Okay. Something else would take into account is we've now switched to stipens at any rate. So, it's not always going to be applicable to to our system. But that that in mind, just want to get the wording from the attorney to make sure we have it correct. Any comments or questions for the uh I guess that would be the east side of the room. >> Assuming that is Scott Bennett that we're going to be using to get those those recommendations from. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> That that would be correct. >> Thank you. Any other any other questions on uh policy 20 policy revision to 2804. All right. If um if not then we'll uh
012move down to the uh next item on our agenda and that consent agenda and that's the uh maintenance report. Uh, Mr. Mr. Ally, good evening. How are you? Did you have you like >> H? It's all right. I spent quite a bit of time there myself. Um, >> a few months ago, I brought kind of a really quick presentation of us looking at some companies to help us determine what's next with our uh five-year plan and some things like that. So uh we narrowed that down into three companies and then uh made the decision that uh we are going to uh go with a CMTA. Um and CMTA u he sent me all of this stuff. They've been in business for 56 years and and they're they're general contractors, they're architects, they're engineers. Uh they
013do it all. You can see that uh most of their work right now is is Kentucky and Florida. Um they are doing a lot of schools in Kentucky to where they're what they call zero um u cost, meaning that uh their um their uh uh electric and utility bills are actually paying for the school. So uh it's it's pretty neat concept. Um, and like I said, there's a lot of things here. I'm not going to go through all of those. Net zero schools. Um, things like that. So, uh, they're big into geothermal, which we we have a a problem with that around here because all the holes in the ground. Um, but they are big into that. Um, Ben Butner's a guy that we would have we have been working with. Um he's he's a
014a Tennessee guy and he's project manager tech grad. Yeah. Dixon County. Um so what what he's going to do is that they're v they're they're basically going to survey every one of our schools. They're going to catalog all the equipment. Uh we're talking heat and air, um things like that. um evaluate all of our utility bills, get a baseline, uh and then from there they're going to determine what projects would be useful for us. Now, the way they look at that is what can we do to make your schools better and it not cost you money to do. Um I'll show you what uh what that means here in a minute. Uh this is the this is the one that I that that shows it better than anywhere. Um you had a million dollar uh
015power emer or uh energy bill at one time. They're going to try to cut that down for to say $700,000. They're going to save you $300,000. Then they're going to turn around and get that $300,000 for improvements into your building. That's basically how they work. Okay. It's not a uh slide of hand or things like that. It's actually taking um taking uh money that we already spend and reallocating it into um structure and and new equipment and things like that. It's uh again, it's not anything that we have to have um and it's not anything that that we're like, hey, this, you know, this this is great. We just got to jump on it. It just seems like we're to the point where we need uh to start looking at some of this thing these
016things. Um that again is uh talking about change working up on a whole building. Um so uh they whenever if we want do we decide we want to use them let's say to work on the high school. Um they do the whole whole shebang. We don't have to hire 15 different people. They do the whole thing. Uh they select uh subcontractors. We can actually tell them which subcontractors we would like to use if we want to do that. Um they uh um they guarantee savings and if they don't hit the savings, they guarantee you they pay for it. U so they guarantee what they do. Their big thing there in black is no change orders. Uh Chad knows is that we spend a lot of money on change orders whenever we're building something. I mean
017it's just now now we need to add this door plus pay another 25% because somebody left it out. So no no change orders. They will stay with us and long-term measure everything that we do over the years. So, uh, it's, uh, it's like you're getting somebody to help you, um, kind of get through everything and, uh, supposedly a little bit smarter than we are [laughter] hopefully. Um, so what they would do is do their discovery fra phase about two to three months. Uh, do that. Then they will design what they feel like we need and we we get with them say, "Hey, this is what we would like like to do." um they they handle the construction, the commissioning and then they handle the measurement and verification. So um again we are not locked into
018this. If we never spend a dime with this company um it doesn't cost us anything. Some of the other ones that we that we were uh dealing with it did. So if I never spend a dime and they go through all of this two to three months and we never use them, there's nothing out of White County's pocket. So it it's it's like kind of a no-brainer when that goes. Now, I'd hate to do someone someone that way, but on on the other hand, you know, is there's no upfront. There's no, hey, we got to give them 25 $30,000. So um any questions on that? I know that was really quick, but >> so the savings they would provide to us, we would reinvest in the school system or we would reinvest in the project.
019>> In the project. >> Okay. >> Yeah. You put it into the project and and they try to get that savings back out through energy. So over the course of time that savings would eventually come as revenue or less expenses to us >> if they do it right. Yes. >> Okay. [laughter] >> Nice caveat. >> That makes sense to everybody. That's just something that that we want to, you know, go forward with. I just wanted you to see kind of what we were thinking. Um and uh we'll uh we'll move with that and and just uh see how it goes and I'll try to keep you updated. >> So [clears throat] Mr. Ali, if you would just just moment, any other questions? Board members have any other questions for for Mr. Ali regarding th this
020particular proposal that he's gone over with us? >> Have a question, please. Okay. >> Um, if they say at your school you have 10 things they need to work on, is that what you have to agree to is all 10 of those or do they prioritize them or >> you know u they're going to shoot for the stars whenever you know they're going to be like well yeah you need to spend you know 18 million at White County High School. Uh you know uh we're going to be able to say well we want to do this we want to do that. and then they'll come back with, okay, if you do this, this will be the savings that you'll get. So, no pressure into have to do what they asked us to do. We still
021get to pick what we want to do. >> U board members, if I could, we Mr. and I have discussed this and as the board talked about strategic planning and as we look at our capital improvement plan you we had we had already knocked out a lot of that plan that was put together started back in 2022 or actually 2017 we we first worked on that. Uh we're just at a point where we feel like we need somebody else to look at our facilities and say we think this is what you need. We we have ideas of what we think we would if you know if you ask us budget, we're coming up on budget season, what we think needs to happen. Uh but we we'd like someone else to come in and take an
022outside look and assessment of our facilities and say this is uh structurally what you need or this is what infrastructurally what you need. And so just feel like it's a good time with all the strategic planning that we're doing and academic planning to reassess where we are uh in our capital outlay plan as well. So, um, and that that's why we feel like it's important to do. We're not obligated to do any of those things that they list, but I think it would be a a really wise investment of our time to allow them to give us that assessment and give us a good roadmap moving forward. >> Uh, two to three months, I think, was the discovery. >> Yes. >> When could they start if we said yes? >> I I have not asked
023that question, but u I'm assuming pretty soon. Is there a better time, worse time for this kind of work to be done? >> Not really, because they're going to be taking they're going to send someone up here and start going through all of our utility bills and things like that. And then probably by spring they'll start going through and taking pictures of every unit we have, every electrical thing we have, you know. So, uh um it's going to take them a while. This probably a good time to get started, you know. So, Mr. Ali, um I I wanted to say thank you um because you did bring this to us back in August and we had a had a presentation on that and we um asked as ask you guys to do your due diligence
024and go back through and just make sure that it was that you looked at this type of service. um for what all you know have some things to compare to and get uh get some comparisons and so you're coming to us tonight recommending that where you started back in in August that that's where you ended up and so I appreciate you guys doing the due diligence on that. Uh to echo what Mr. Drumarger said is that where our capital uh outlay and our capital plan is right now. Um we've covered a lot of those that plan. And so rather than just going out on our own and trying to say this is what we do next. What we're doing is we're going to leverage a service that professionals are uh trained in this this type
025of work are going to come in and do an assessment for us. We're not obligated to do any project. Um they would like the opportunity for us to use them if we did want to go forward with a project. Um it is my understanding. Um but we're not committed to them for a given project. Is that correct? >> That's correct. And uh a little bit of history. Uh tw I've been here 10 years. Uh 12 years ago they did this same thing White County Schools did uh with with a different company. I still have the report somewhere. Um we never used that company, but we had the report to see what we needed to do. Um, and uh, a lot of times I was able to go through and look at what they had recommended
026and and add to our five-year plan off of that. It's just been 12 years since that's been done, >> right? Um, the I guess one other one other thought uh point I'd like to make sure we're clear on this that it's not saying that the work's going to be that we're going to get all this work done for free. there still will be capital appropriations that on a given project, >> right? >> However, we're looking at their skills and and their assessment to help us figure out how we can maybe recapture some of that investment that we would be putting into that. >> That's right. our our recapture will be coming off of the um the utility bills and and they're going to guarantee that if for instance if we say hey we want to
027go to a fourpipe system in in the high school to where you can have heat and air on at the same time they'll say well hey you know this is going to cost you $3 million to do that we're going to have to pay that $3 million but they're going to try to get to recoup as much as they can through the energy and the heat uh and air conditioning to pay you back. So, we're gonna cut our our energy bills and if they don't, then they have to pay for that. So, it's pretty neat deal. >> Mr. Alien, are we entering into a contract with them in order to get started? Because if so, that's probably needs board approval, >> right? Um, let me I mean I just now got finished with going through
028uh all of the the the other companies. Um, and something too to to that that kind of swayed me with this company other than the others. Um, some of those companies if you did not use them, it cost you money in in the years to come for the next five years. So, I just didn't feel like that was something we needed to get into. Um contractwise we I'm going to say we will and I'd say we'll have to bring some more stuff in front of the board but u I haven't got that far. >> So some and we understand that Mr. Alien and thank you. So really tonight this is more forformational purposes for us. However your intent is you want to move forward with that but when you as moving forward in with that
029means you'll be asking them for what's your application what are the contract what are the terms at which point that would be brought to us we would have the opportunity board members to review that before we would approve uh Mr. Alley proceeding with that. >> That's correct. But based on what we asked you to do last August, uh you're basically here in January saying, "I've completed the work. Here's where I'm at. Here's where want to proceed." And I think um based on questions being asked, I think in in spirit of what you're trying to do, it it makes sense. So it would be worth your while to go on and and start bringing that that information to us. >> We'll continue with that. And uh like I said, next report I I'll have you some
030details. >> All right. Thank you very much, Mr. Elli. >> Okay. >> All right, board members. Um appreciate that. Uh next, we'll move to our uh budget report. Uh and Miss Officer has that information for officer. >> So this is the report for the period ending December 31st of 2025. The end of December reflects the midpoint of the fiscal year and the transition into the peak property tax collection season. The general purpose school fund revenues through December represented a 1.5% increase over this same time last year. Expenditures and incumbrances an increase of 7.37% from December 24th. These expenditures increase continue to be driven by the salary and wage costs related to those bonuses from August to 25. Local option sales tax collections for year-to-ate total reflected continued growth over this period last year. TISA funds
031um are slightly lower than this previous year, but receipts in general are in line with the budget expectations at this 51% of the annual projection. School federal project funds revenues are 31.39% lower than prior year while expenditures are 10.45. 45% lower largely due to the shifts in the federal programming funding and timing. Expenditures are currently outpacing revenue which is typical for this fund operates on a reimbursement basis where funds are requested after obligations are met. The central cafeteria fund revenues show a decrease of 5.48% 48% over this prior year, while expenditures have increased 3.57% driven by the rising cost of food and supplies. As in previous years, the fund reflects a temporary reduced projected fund balance at this point in the year until the federal reimbursements begin to slowly rebuild this fund in the coming
032months. Overall, school systems financial position remains stable through these first six months of this fiscal year. Revenues are generally tracking as expected. Departmental spending remains within budgeted parameters and no areas of major concern are currently noted. Thank you, Miss Officer, and thank you, Mr. Markhamm, for providing that u information. Uh board members, any questions, comments about our budget and our financial report? Markhamm, do you still feel like we are on track to uh to add back to our uh bottom line at the end of the fiscal year or the budget year? All right. Thank you. Another question. How much control does the board have for fund 142 and 143? If that makes sense. one >> talking about the federal and the the two federal funds. >> Well, the federal fund and the central central cafeteria
033fund. >> That's uh yes, that's also federal. >> Answer my question right. Um h how much control do we have to impact that budget? Most of the money coming in we know is going to go out. >> Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Smith. Um, all right. Any other questions regarding our uh budget report? Okay, we'll uh move on through uh through our list. uh budget amendments and transfers. The there are no budget amendments and transfers for this month. Um and u uh so we'll uh we'll we'll expect some of those come in next month, I'm sure. Um, so then we get into our personnel reports. Uh, and you were provided personnel reports in your packet prior to the meeting uh that reflected number of applicants interviews and hires for the month of December
034as well as uh district personnel changes. Any questions or comments regarding the personnel report? Okay, hearing none, then we'll move on to our uh uh threat assessment report. Uh threat assessment was also provided to you prior to the meeting. Uh there were uh two uh two reports deemed noncredible and those uh uh have incidences have been closed. So thankful for that. Any questions on the uh threat assessment report? Okay. Then uh next we'll move on to uh the uh proposed uh district calendar, school calendar for uh uh 2026 2027. Uh provided a draft for next year's calendar. Um and I think there was a see we approved this >> calendar. We haven't this is our first first shot of this. However, there was a change with this due to uh election day. Is that reflected
035in this calendar? >> Yes, Mr. Chairman. Uh we had uh in the process uh first of all, this process goes through the teacher advisory board. Uh they take this back to the schools and seek uh input from uh their school teams and uh provide feedback back to our office here at the board office and then we compile that that calendar. Um so it's a very teacherdriven uh process. Um, but in that process, we did leave out the August 6th uh election day. So, we had to put that back in. So, it's going to provide what I'm calling a non-traditional start to our school year. Um, we'll teachers will report uh the previous Friday back to school. Uh, and July 20, excuse me, July 30th. Um, students will register on the 31st. That's a Friday morning.
036Um then we will be our first full day will be Tuesday uh August 4th. Uh that'll be the first full day with students in which we'll have countywide inservice a house open house that night as well. Uh they'll go to school the fourth and 5th. Uh then the 6th that Thursday will be closed for election day uh by statute and then back on Friday the 7th for another full day. So there'll be a little bit of start stop to get going. Um but that was the best way that we felt like given the uh election days and the school in the calendar the way those days fall uh to get school started. So we want to let uh hopefully get this calendar approved so that we can get it out so people can make arrangements.
037Uh really the it's very similar to this year's calendar as far as uh start and end dates of school. Uh spring break and fall break are the same same weeks that they have been. The one major change will be the entire week of Thanksgiving break. uh we will be off uh out of school Thanksgiving week. So other than that, the calendar is very similar to this year. Uh noting that uh non-traditional start. >> Okay. Thank you for uh for that u explanation. Mr. Any uh questions regarding the U calendar for next next year, me and Miss Douglas were just having a conversation. Um kind of a sidebar here talking about the August 4th countywide open house that says K8. So the high school and middle school or the high school doesn't do an open house.
038So they just wait until um the parent teacher conference in September as their open house kind of. >> So Dr. Butcher, correct me if I'm wrong, but the high school does orientations leading up to uh school starting. They'll do orientations at the end of the school year. So uh they get to credit that time uh uh for the for what they do for open house. and um different grade levels and so so we've they've requested to allow that. They almost felt like they were doing double duty by doing open house after they had already done orientation. So we allowed them to to credit that time for those. And we have several years ago tried to stagger open houses just so that families that have students at all three levels don't get don't miss out on
039the opportunity to talk to their teachers. >> I have a question just for my own clarification. Um this is 179 student days not 180. Yes, that's permissible for us to do 179. And if you'll actually look as well because we have administrative days in there as well. So, we get to count um that administrative day as a student school day. And then also um you'll notice there's more student days in the second semester. Um that's by design as well because mostly snow days uh happen in the second semester in January and February. And so if we're going to miss days, we want to make take advantage of those and have those available then and have more teaching time then towards the test. >> All good questions. Thank you. Um any other questions regarding our uh
040school calendar for 2020 2026 2027? Our student representatives? Um does this look good to y'all? Even though one of you not gonna impact, but if you were being impacted, it would it would meet your standard. Okay, great. Thank you. Glad we have your approval. All right. Um so, uh then we'll move on last time on our consent agenda and that's the annual academic report. Um policy uh 1603 states that the director shall make an annual report concerning efficiency needs of the s of the u of the school system and that includes uh information regarding instructional staff. And so uh in your packet along with that policy was uh provided a uh the annual report for uh for the uh for this the district. uh it was updated as of today and it's based on prior
041years uh data. So it does speak to uh applications u that we have received uh and then uh but specifically uh gives you some feedback on our u on the measurements uh and evaluations of our tenur non-tenured administrative staff. So uh pause here for a second if uh Mr. John Ber would like to speak to that um can or we'd also board members if you reviewed that and have any questions, comments you'd like to make. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just uh some notes. There are several things and information you can look at. I've sent you a link to that item on number three. It's an extensive spreadsheet showing uh teachers and uh evaluations and uh the dates in which they were evaluated. Um, you know, just noting on number six, our our non-tenure teachers, um,
042just showing that they're scoring very well, and that's a testament to our curriculum coaches and our curriculum team, uh, supervisors working hard and our principles, just everyone pouring into our, uh, our novice teachers. U, also our tenure teachers scoring very well, as we' expect, as well, and higher than our non-tenured. Um, principles scoring well. Um, I'm pretty stingy with level fives as you can see, but they're they're working really hard. Not that they haven't earned them, but uh um we keep them pursuing excellence, but they're doing a fantastic job. Um the correlation between evaluation and productivity. Um there are four different levels of of four different metrics of um achievement as far as the state's concerned on overall performance. Uh we are what's considered an achieving district, excuse me, an advancing district. I think we
043just missed uh being exemplary by tenth of a point. Uh once again, there were only I think 12 or 14 exemplary districts in the in the state and uh um so we're that'll keep us pursuing excellence and we missed it by just a bit. I highlighted one of the our lowest areas was chronic absenteeism or chronic out chronically out of school. we work really really hard at trying to get kids to school every day and that's kind of frustrating because that's not really under our control so much but nevertheless we get judged by it. So we'll continue to work hard at that. That was our lowest measure. Uh but we encourage all those who are listening to uh to get to school every day. U six out of our eight schools or 75% of our
044schools are reward schools by the Department of Education. That's really unheard of across the state. uh our supervisors who many are in the room tonight do a fantast fantastic job as well. Um and I I lean on them each and every day. They do a great job of uh of leading our district and helping support our teachers and leaders uh throughout White County. And as we mentioned our we scored very well in the report card. Um there were 14 uh D schools in the upper Cumberland. I think a couple of Fs as well. We are in none of those. uh we are very very high in our grade card and um so very proud of what's going on in our school district academically and the leadership and uh teachers, students uh and and staff and
045parents as well. We appreciate everyone's uh help in making us be successful academically. >> M Thank you, Mr. Strombar. Any uh questions, comments, board members? I would say well done on that and um do plan to touch on our academic performance in uh in our regular meeting uh tonight. And for our student representatives, thank you for being uh achievers and helping contribute to that those scores and as well as our administrative staff here tonight too. So, thank you for your influence on allowing our district to be recognized at a high level. So, that brings us to the end of our consent agenda items uh for tonight. Uh board members, any other items of business we need to address during this work session time? Oh, yeah. Good point. Um, see there, uh, three items that were
046added to new business and just going to give you a little heads up for that because uh, they weren't in your packet prior to tonight's uh, tonight's meeting. Um some after review of policy there it was noted that uh policy uh is actually a duplicate of policy 4212 uh in your uh in the uh in our policy that is uh virtual education program. So, we actually have that in there twice. And so, recommend recommendation is that we uh remove policy uh 4203 uh and remove that duplicate from our policy manual. Uh the next item is uh director is asking that we change the title of 4302. Uh 4302 is uh uh field trips uh excursions and competitions. And what we're uh on our on our uh policy uh the map that that leads us linked
047us to our in our policy manual. It actually references field trips and that's not what it is. So, we'd be m asking uh requesting TSBA change that on our online policy manual uh where it does reflect um field trips, excursions, and competitions uh for our policy 4302. So, that's really just a a clerical uh correction that we'd be making then. And then uh finally in new business uh our director has been asked by toss to attend a conference in Washington DC May 12th through the 13th. And so he would be asked to go and uh and attend that that conference for uh on member of uh Tennessee representing our our our state. And uh it is no cost to us as a district. those expenses are being paid for, but he would like approval to
048be able to be out of the office on those days to attend those those that conference. So, those are the new business items that uh were added before uh since our posting of the agenda. Any uh anything else? Okay. If not, we'll adjourn our work session and reconvene at six o'clock for a regular board meeting. Thank you. This be our two-minute warning and we'll start in two minutes. Okay, if I can have your attention, we'll call the uh county school board uh board of education meeting to order. If you would uh please rise and ask Mr. John Smith if he would lead us in pledge. >> To the flag of the United States of America. Republicy for all. >> Thank you, Mr. Smith. Appreciate that. Uh, it's great to see everyone here tonight. Um, I
049would like to let you know that this is the January 8th, 2026 meeting of the White County Board of Education. It is not the March 8th meeting of the White County Board of Education. School spring break does not start tomorrow. Even though the weather outside may uh make make you think it is, but it is uh it is not. But glad everyone's here tonight. Uh appreciate u our uh our staff uh being here and board members and also members of the uh public and those that will be uh recognized later in uh the course of our meeting. Uh before we consider our uh our approving our agenda uh for tonight, I'd like to state that Tennessee statute and board policy 1400 states that every meeting of the board shall be open to the public except
050where law allows for a closed session. The agenda for the board meetings are posted on the district's website at www.wh coastschools.net and the agendas are posted at least three days prior to each meeting. Public acts of 2023, chapter number 300 in board policy 1404, state that each board meeting shall include an agenda item reserved for public comment as well as conditions under which those wishing to comment will be recognized. The signup sheet is made available prior to the beginning of each regular meeting. Individuals who have signed up prior to the start of our meeting who wish to speak during this portion of the meeting will be recognized in the order listed on the signup sheet at the point in the design in the agenda designated for public comments. Board meetings are streamed with the help
051of our central office technology staff for live or recorded viewing. Links are provided on our the district's website. attending and or speaking during tonight's meeting applies consent for those comments and appearances to be used. So before we uh start tonight's agenda is does anyone on the board have a uh conflict of interest on the agenda that we're proposing tonight? >> Mr. chair as I do each and every month. Um, just to uh be clear and and above board for for everything and transparent. My wife is a teacher in this district and uh the the views that you hear from me tonight um will be of mine and mine alone and in the best interest of the students and and the staff of White County Schools and I have no conflict with anything on the agenda.
052>> Thank you, Mr. McDonald. >> Mr. Chairman, I do not have a conflict with anything tonight, but my spouse is also employed by the district. The opinions I express are mine and mine alone. >> Thank you, Mr. Officer. >> Mr. Chair, my wife works at the high school. Uh there is no conflict with the agenda tonight, but like my colleagues, my views are mine and mine alone. >> All right. Thank you, Mr. Smith. So, uh Miss Sims, please end the minutes. Let let them reflect that Mr. McDonald, Miss Officer, and Mr. Smith all indicated they spouses working within the district, but nothing on the agenda being considered tonight would pose as a conflict for them. So, that uh leads us to the approval of tonight's agenda for meeting. So, uh uh for members, you've had
053an opportunity to review the uh agenda being considered for tonight's meeting. Um and uh would like to give you the opportunity for uh for approving that. Uh just for for note we have added uh three items in new business uh uh that uh we discussed in our work session uh that's regarding uh board policy 14 uh 4203 uh exc 4302 and also a travel approval for for our director. Um, and do uh keep in mind that if there are an item when we get to consent, if there's an item that needs to be pulled out of consent for further discussion, it will be uh added to as an uh fourth item in new business. So, at this time, I'd entertain a motion for approval of the agenda for tonight's meeting. >> Motion to approve. >>
054Motion by Mr. McDonald. I have a second. >> Second by Miss Officer. Any discussion? >> Okay, hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I >> opposed. Motion passes. Next item is our consent agenda. Uh items in our consent agenda were uh reviewed by the uh uh by the board during our work session tonight. Uh that included the approval of minutes meeting minutes from our December 11th meeting. Uh we reviewed policy had a policy report uh policies 1901 uh regarding uh some language change for charter school and also policy 2804 which regard regards to some uh some guidance for reimbursement in the event u a expense was submitted that included uh being charged sales tax. Uh so those uh those items those policies were were discussed. Um policy 2804 uh in in
055the discussion uh if uh if approved on first reading tonight. Uh we are seeking guidance for language that would be included on that policy if it was to move forward for next next week. Uh maintenance report was provided by Mr. Mr. Alley and he uh did a presentation on for professional services do an evaluation on our district's facilities with hopes to help us establish a comprehensive uh capital plan for uh for the coming years. Uh we have the budget report was presented by Miss Officer. We did not have any budget amendments or transfers. We review view reviewed our personnel report, threat assessment report uh and also the approval of uh the proposed uh school calendar for uh calendar year 26 and 27. And then we the board was presented with the annual academic report per
056our policy 16003. So all of those items were covered in our work session and are part of our consent agenda. Um, and if there's any item in the consent agenda that a board member wishes to have removed, please let it know be known but at this time. Okay. If there is no objection, then the consent agenda will be adopted by unanimous vote as presented. Next, uh, we're pleased to have a guest with us tonight, uh, Miss Malia Johnson, principal of Do Elementary. Uh, Miss Johnson is going to be coming and uh sharing with us the artists of the year awards for the uh students at Duel. Miss Johnson, welcome. >> Hi, thank you. I told Mr. D I'm probably the last person that needs a microphone in front of me. But we are very happy
057that um it is Duel's month and I'm always happy to be in front of the school board and you know how grateful I am for always um having everybody's support. I had emailed the faculty last month and I said, "Hey, send me your artist of the year. kids seeing art, not necessarily in that category. And these four uh young men and women are who our whole entire faculty voted for. So, I'm very proud to have these guys here. First and foremost is Miss Tinsley Moore. If you come up, Miss Tinsley. [applause] Miss Jenny says she has a bubbly personality and she sings wherever she may be. I especially enjoy hearing her sing just to herself during recess time. Just swinging and singing. Come up here, baby girl. Yeah. And I hope she never loses her
058love for songs and that she sings her sweetheart out all of her life. And she just loves it when Miss Johnson dances to her parents' music in the morning. That's always the highlight of your day, isn't it? Not necessarily. [laughter] Next up is Miss Everly Eids. Miss Hackinan, Miss Hackin said, "She's a pleasure to have in art class. She is helpful and mature for her age, and she's always open for suggestions and always cheerful. She is talented in drawing, and Miss Hinan just loves her to death in her class." [applause] Next up is Miss Abigail Gibson. And and I will say she is from Florida. [applause] She moved with us and the first thing she asked me when she walked into our building was, "Do you have art class here?" Because they did not have
059art in her school in Florida. And so, Miss Clark and Miss Neil said the her previous school didn't have art and she is so creative. It is obvious she loves it. She can make and design anything out of many different items. She has made me a house out of paper. She designed a purse. I think it was out of tape. It's over there. She brought it. I mean she made that um using different materials and loves to draw and color during her free time. I feel she uses art to express herself and you they hope that you always continue that love of art. Yes. Congratulations. And last but not least, Mr. Lennox Carr. [applause] Miss Parker, Miss Casey, and Miss Rachel said he's an amazing and very talented artist in our classroom. The students love
060to sit and watch him draw. During bus duty, the students actually have him draw characters. And I myself have gotten and autographed Sonic the Hedgehog. By the way, he is amazing. He has drawn so many things in the classroom and the students as well the teachers are fascinated by. He's also on top of that a very good friend in the classroom and has many other unique qualities and talented. He's a very gifted student in many ways and definitely deserves this honor. So, we are so proud of these four and I wish I could bring all 300 to you and brag on them. So, >> thank you, Miss Thank you, Miss Johnson. Um, we'll take a recess. Parents, if you'd like to come up and get a picture of all the students, uh, we'll do that
061at this time. And so, we'll we'll take a recess at this moment and give you the opportunity to do that. Miss Johnson and and parents, we do appreciate you coming out tonight and congratulations to all the students. Um and uh we would like to welcome you to stay for the rest of our board meeting, but if you need to leave, you can do so at this time. I would like to point out that u Tennessee having art classes in our um ed our elementary schools uh attracting students uh and Florida not that's just another reason why the it's the great volunteer state chairman was that on record should that be in the minutes. >> Yes, Miss Sims, please put that in minutes. [laughter] [snorts] >> All right, we'll uh we'll call our meeting back to
062order. Um so, next item on our agenda is our stu student representative report. Uh we have Miss Odell and Miss Sackett from White County High School and like to give them an opportunity to give their report. Ladies, >> thank you. Happy New Year. School just started back on Monday and students are hard at work after a much needed break. Due to that break, we don't have too much to reflect on tonight, but we're going to give you a report on what we're looking forward to. The first few days of this semester have been spent transitioning into new classes, giving students the opportunity to meet their new teachers, learn safety protocols, and begin new studies. The staff has been very supportive and welcoming during this transition to ensure smooth beginnings. Due to the holiday break, there
063were no major events in the past month, but students and staff spent some time actively preparing for upcoming events while ensuring that academic routines are quickly set back in place. This period of adjustment has allowed students to refocus on their studies and extracurricular commitments, setting the stage for a productive semester ahead. Excitement is building for our upcoming basketball homecoming. Students are participating in activities including team practices, event planning, dress up days, and an upcoming pep rally next Friday. With students having moved into their new classes, teachers implementing new semester curricula and providing support for students as they navigate the new coursework and schedules. In addition to academic coursework, students are continuing to participate in a variety of certification and career readiness programs. Several students are enrolled in ICV certification courses including communication and business pathways
064which allow them to build practical skills applicable beyond the classroom. Students are also working towards OSHA safety certifications, gaining essential knowledge related to the workplace safety and industry standards. These programs support college and career readiness by providing students with recognized credentials and hands-on learning opportunities that complement their academic studies. Beyond the traditional academics, our school continues to prioritize preparing students for success after graduation through a variety of career focused and exper experiential learning opportunities. These programs allow students to apply classroom knowledge in practical settings while developing skills that support both college and workforce readiness. In addition to coursework, students continue to benefit from strong work-based learning opportunities that connect classroom instruction with real world experience. Our work-based learning program was notably highlighted when I served my previous term on the Tennessee Department of Education student
065engagement board where industry professionals and state leaders recognized the program as a strong model. And during my experience, professionals actively took notes on our strengths of our strengths in the program, including meaningful student engagement, career alignment, and partnerships with local businesses. Similarly, our career and technical education programs in career and technical student organizations provide students with valuable leadership development, hands-on learning, and competitive opportunities. Through CTE pathways and CTSO participation, students gained industry relevant skills, collaborate with peers, and prepare for future careers while representing our school at local, regional, and state levels. Although the latter half of December and the first few days of January have been quieter because of the holiday break, it's been an important time for rest, preparation, planning, and transition. Students are engaged and motivated, and staff are ensuring that the semester
066starts on strong footing. We look forward to sharing our updates on upcoming events, academic progress, and student achievements in our next report. >> Thank you, ladies. Um board members, any comments on uh our student representative reports? I >> I do have one comment, Mr. Chair, if you'll oblige me. Um just asked a question how long we'd had the student represent represented on our board, but I want I want to give a uh kudos to these young ladies and and the previous students that we have. Their their parents have done a fantastic job raising these these young ladies and young men that we've had on this board. and uh to be so elegantly elegant elegantly spoken uh and I can't do it myself but um these folks are the leader the they're the future leaders and
067and they're the they're the ones that we've got to pass this down to and uh I give kudos to the high school administration for picking the best of the best to represent us on this board. So, um I like that we're a trends setter. Uh and we had student reps before a lot of the other counties in this state did. So, uh kudos to you ladies for giving us um an inside perspective of what goes on inside White County High School and then being involved outside of that uh with all the endeavors that you do. So, thank you to you ladies and thank you to the families for sharing them with us for a little while. >> Thank you, Mr. McDonald. Any other comments? Board members, >> ladies, I couldn't couldn't uh couldn't help but
068notice that you spoke a lot about work-based learning and uh experiences outside the classroom. Um are either one of you uh getting to participate in that this coming semester. >> I have two blocks where I have workbased learning opportunity. Um, I actually work at True North Real Estate and Auction Services and I've been able to tie that back into being enrolled in a business pathway. So, all of our like auctions can be tied to agriculture land sales. So, I get to do all the work with that um during second block and then during fifth block I get to shadow Beverly Drum Barger um and hopefully get to work with students and help families in the clothing and pantry. >> Great. So, deal >> my second semester of senior year, I've already been informed that I
069have an internship with Tennessee Heart to um do work-based learning with them because I want to do cardiotherorics. So, I am involved in our therapeutics program. So, I'll get to go into the office for fifth block every day for the second semester. >> Make sure you're good at that because everybody on this board is going to need you at some point. >> Great. Thank you, ladies. Um, and as far as the school calendar that we uh we approved, you you were okay with that. Correct. I just want to get make sure we had students confirmation on that that as well. All right. Uh, thank you for that report. So, next we'll go to uh our Mr. Drumarger and he will give us our district report for Jan for January. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I've been
070shadowing Beverly Drumar for 31 years and it's and I'll move on. So personnel report uh we are fully staffed and uh in bus routes and in teachers. That's uh it's saying a lot this time of year uh considering other districts are showing shortages and struggles. Uh our enrollment is a little over 3,600 students counting prek. That's slightly higher than before Christmas. So we welcome some new incoming transfer students. Um we've been in the portal nil. Uh holiday break schools. These are all jokes. Um holiday break uh schools reopen one a week after a long this week after a long holiday break. Elementary schools and the middle school are participating in mid-year benchmark testing while the high school is shifting into new classes for the start of the second semester. Uh financially, as you heard, our
071financial status is in very good sha very good shape. Uh we are already looking at next year and evaluating our programs. We'll be considering very carefully our staff positions and building improvements in the days ahead. Uh, athletically, the WCHS bowling team completed a successful season recently and the high school basketball teams are performing well. Many spring sports are in conditioning seasons at this time with full practices beginning in February. Uh, building projects the do at Doyle uh the rooms are being painted and are ready for flooring and uh ceiling tiles. The windows and furnishings will come last. This project scheduled to be completed before spring break. Uh we are also currently working to replace the faulty flashing school signs on Roosevelt Drive near the high school. I think that actually got took place today. Um
072and thank you. And then shout out to our maintenance crews who are doing an exceptional job. They've started using a new electronic platform that helps them organize and report the status of all work orders and they are doing a really good job at at the at the time being. Um, academically, it was previously reported White County schools received its school letter grades based on last year's TECAP testings. Uh, White County had four schools that scored an A on the report card, three with a B, one with a C. I've researched other districts in the region, and it's hard to find another district with such good consistent scores. So, we'll continue to pursue excellence, but I'm very proud of where we uh where we are at this moment. Uh, this completes my director's report. Be glad
073to answer any questions that you have. Thank you, Miss Thank you, Mr. Drum Bugger. Any questions for our director and the director's report? Um, just like to uh speak to to the academics portion. I'm going to do that uh uh a little bit later. But the uh the reports the the items that uh the scores that that we've our district's been uh hitting the marks we grade marks that we've been hitting uh this uh this year is uh uh to be commended. And so uh we thank our start our students who are engaged and being willing to be to be taught and our uh our teachers, our administrators for creating the conditions for for that learning to take place and our director for for leading that u leading that charge. Um we uh you covered
074that in our uh annual report. Uh it did speak to uh the level of our uh teachers and administrators and how they were scoring but also provided the information our district and regarding the uh the scores for the the various uh entities that are that we're being measured by. And uh so we should not let that uh go unnoticed and say uh thank you for all that are that are working diligently in providing highquality education in uh in in White County for for our students and and our community. Any other questions for comments for our director? Okay. If uh if not, we'll move down to the next item on our agenda and that's public comment. Policy 1404 says that uh each meeting we have a time slot designated for public comment for any items that
075are on our agenda. Uh that signup sheet was provided uh before the meeting and uh there was nobody listed on that that wish to speak to uh be recognized tonight during this time. So we'll move on to new business. So uh board members as we discussed in our work session uh new business items we have three uh one is to remove uh policy 4203 which is a duplicate of our policy 4212. Um so uh we want to uh give the opportunity to uh uh to clean that up uh by removing removing removing that policy from our uh from our manual. So at this time I would entertain a motion for approval for that policy to be removed. >> So move >> motion by Mr. McDonald. Do I have a second? >> Second by Miss Douglas.
076Any discussion? >> Okay. Hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Opposed. That motion passes. Next item is uh it was noted in our uh there's a discrepancy in the u on our website uh the title of policy uh 4302 uh on our website the link that that's used to uh to take us to uh this particular policy is uh incorrectly uh named uh compared to what the policy is. It should state uh the pol it should reflect the same title as what our policy is and that's field trips, excursions, and competitions. So, uh it we're recommending that we change that on the website page. So, that's inconsistent with uh what the policy actually is. So, at this time, I would make a motion for approval of that title change.
077>> So, moved. >> Motion by Mr. Smith. Do I have a second? Second by Miss Officer. Any discussion? >> Is this just this is just clarifying >> the title of >> it's it's aligning the title on the website link to what the actual >> and that's something that TSBA does as they monitor our >> this actually I came across this uh Mr. Chair, Mr. past chairman, they they uh actually have uh there's another policy in section one that's called school day, which deals to the number of hours that students are in in school each day. Um so this is just clarifying that this is the actual name of that policy is field trips, excursions, and competition. So we're just making a title change to match what the policy actually says. >> Okay. Thank you. >>
078Any other questions, comments? Okay, I had a motion and a second. Uh if no further discussion, all those in favor signify by saying I. >> Post. Motion passes. Next item in new business is director uh approval for director's travel. Uh our director has been invited by toss to attend the event in Washington DC uh on May 12th through 13th. uh that uh that event will be uh covered the cost of that event will be covered by by toss and uh our no expense to the district. However, we are approving our dis our director to be away for those days to be able to attend that conference. So this time I would entertain a motion for approval for our director's travel. >> So moved. >> Motion by Mr. McDonald. Do I have a second? >> Second
079by Mr. Smith. Any questions, discussion? Okay, hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Opposed. Motion passes. Next, that leads us into uh old business. Um board members, you were presented with two items for in our on our agenda in our old business. Uh one was the lease agreement for school board owned uh fireh hall properties. Um and our previous meetings, we discussed a drafting of a lease uh that could be used in the event of um of a of an agreement with our volunteer uh fire fire halls. Um we've been asked uh if we would to uh uh table this uh this uh approval of this agreement. Um and so that uh some some further uh investigation could be done and uh uh research could be done on that
080that agreement. Um, and so I would like to uh propose that we uh we table that um uh considering that that agreement tonight and move it to a future meeting. >> Motion to table. >> I have a motion to table. I have a second. Second by Miss Officer. Motion by Mr. McDonald. Second by Miss Officer. Any discussion? Okay. Hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. I >> opposed. Motion passes. Next item on on old business is rec recognition of the district's academic uh performance. Uh as we've stated uh for past two meetings, we've we've uh covered our scores and and noted how well our district is uh doing. Uh this is something that uh we have it has been published uh in the paper. Uh we've had uh had some opportunity to
081discuss it here in in these settings. Uh but board members in in the past uh we have uh uh also gone made uh personal presentations to u to our our governor and bodies uh the the county and also the city just to make them aware uh personally of the good work that's going on here at uh in the White County School District. Um so I would uh like to ask uh that board consider um uh going and I will volunteer uh my my services to go and make uh make them aware of that at uh upcoming meeting uh and allow Mr. drawer to come as well when we can go when just share the information, share this news and scoring what's being the district good work the district's doing doing. Uh if that's something that
082the board would be in in agreement with >> I wouldn't mind attending that as well. Um if you'll just put out the date that we need to be there and where we need to be >> and it could be something that Thank you, Mr. McDonald. could be something that that as entire board we may uh might like to attend including our student representatives. So are we in agreement with that? Okay. So, uh, we'll have to coordinate getting on the county and and city's agenda. And, uh, I appreciate your your willingness to come and and, uh, and and be there and show support and we will go and share the good news about, uh, what our district is is doing and how, uh, how we're performing. Mr. D. >> Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And, I'd
083just be remissed if I didn't just thank some people at this point. Um, we've said this along the way, but I'd like to say it again that uh one of the greatest joys of my job is to get to stand on so many people's shoulders that are in this room or in this district and uh and to brag on the great work that they do. Um, and uh they do a fantastic job each and every day. I was able to provide a radio interview recently and they asked me what what would I attribute White Countyy's academic success to and I said it's very cliche but it's people. Uh we have really good people at all different levels that do a fantastic job every day. And I'm just fortunate to, as I said, get stand on
084their shoulders every day. But um if I've done one good thing as a director, I think I've hired really good people in our supervisory roles. They do a fantastic job of working really hard. They go into the schools every day and link arms with our staff and with our students and and do the hard work. Uh we have great principles in place. We have a fantastic support staff. Um we have uh we have incredible students and parents who raise them. They're very supportive of our school system. And the list goes on and on. And as I said, it's very cliche, but we have a great group of people in White County that make us successful. Not perfect, but very, very successful. And it's an excellent school system. I'm very proud to lead it. And I'm
085just thankful for all those that uh that serve in various roles that that make me look good. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. D. And and I think as a board, we would echo that as well. All right. Um, so, uh, unless there's other comments on, uh, on our district's academic performance and going and promoting that through, uh, to our, um, through our friends at the the county and the city. Uh, then we'll move on to the next item on the agenda, and that's chairman's comments. Our next schoolboard meeting will be February 12th, 2026 here at the the be uh, the board of education. We'll be spotlighting Finley and uh also uh we'll have our work sessions that will begin at five o'clock. Our regular board meeting will be at six. Uh board members, just
086a reminder that the statements of disclosures of interest are due January 31st. And so, uh be sure that you get those filled out online in time. >> I I do have one other thing, Mr. Chair. Um our next meeting is you said the 12th. Is that correct? >> February 12th. Okay. So, TSBA has legal and legislative on the 16th and 17th, which is the Monday and Tuesday after that in uh Franklin. Um you can register for that and it gives us an update on what's going on on Capitol Hill uh in Nashville and there will be legislators there. So, it's a it's a Monday afternoon, Tuesday morning uh meeting. So, if you want to get get that on that agenda or get registered for that, you'll need to see Mr. or I guess Miss Sims
087now to get registered for that. So, >> okay. And by the way, we'd like to recognize Miss Sims as being our uh TS our board secretary representing us to the TSBA. Miss Sims, thank you for being willing to serve in that capacity. Uh so, uh board members, that uh that concludes our our agenda items tonight. So, at this time, I'd entertain a motion for German. >> So, move. >> Motion by M. I don't have a second. Second by Mr. Young. All those in favor signify by saying I opposed. Y'all have a good evening. Thank you.