The Kingsport City Schools Board of Education held its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. Several key items were discussed, including:
- Recognition of the John Adams Elementary School Destination Imagination team for winning first place in Engineering at the recent Tennessee state tournament;
- Recognition of the Dobyns-Bennett High School "Portail du Son" saxophone quintet, who performed at the National Chamber Music Festival in Indianapolis in March and also competed at the prestigious Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition at the University of Notre Dame in May;
- Recognition of the Dobyns-Bennett Cyber Tribe Robotics team, who recently won their sixth consecutive Southeast Regional Championship at the First Robotics Competition in Huntsville, Alabama;
- A report by the Dobyns-Bennett students who recently attended the Tennessee School Boards Association Student Congress on Policies in Education (SCOPE) conference at Belmont University;
- Approval of an agreement for architectural and engineering services for the replacement of the HVAC system at George Washington Elementary School;
- Approval of the purchase of playground equipment for George Washington Elementary School;
- Approval to award the bid for parking lot improvements at Palmer Center;
- Approval to purchase Science textbooks and instructional materials for student use;
- Approval of Amendment #5 to the 2024-25 KCS Budget;
- Approval of the proposed 2025-26 KCS Budget;
- The 3rd Quarter 2024-25 KCS Financial Report; and
- A discussion regarding the annual Board evaluation of the KCS Superintendent.
Meeting Livestream and Audio
View the livestream from tonight's meeting.
CALL TO ORDER
The Pledge of Allegiance was led this evening by Ana Brown and Carsten Land. Ana and Carsten are students at Jackson Elementary School. Ana is a 3rd grader and Carsten is in 5th grade.
Recognitions
Board member Todd Golden recognized the John Adams Elementary School Destination Imagination team for winning first place in Engineering at the recent Tennessee state tournament.
- The state tournament challenge was to build a machine that could walk across a tightrope while carrying weights and present it in a visual story form.
- Destination Imagination rules state that no adult involvement is allowed during the competition.
- By winning first place at the state tournament, the team qualifies for the Destination Imagination global tournament that takes place in May.
- Members of the team from Adams include:
- Danny Bailey
- Jamen Eslinger
- Charles Hall
- Isaac Kremer
- Harrison Phillips
- Lincoln Sentell
- Hudson Tipton
- The team sponsors are Cassie Phillips and Jamie Doran.
Board member Jamie Jackson recognized the Dobyns-Bennett High School "Portail du Son" saxophone quintet, who performed at the National Chamber Music Festival in Indianapolis in March and also competed at the prestigious Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition at the University of Notre Dame in May.
- Portail du Son was one of only ten high school chamber ensembles nationwide to perform at the National Chamber Music Festival.
- The Fischoff competition is the longest running and is widely viewed as the most prestigious chamber music competitions in the world.
- Member of Portail du Son include Chris Egan (alto saxophone), Liam Klug (soprano saxophone), Luke Nash (tenor saxophone), Eli Turner (baritone saxophone), and Matthew Williams (alto saxophone).
Board member Dr. Phillip Marshall recognized the Dobyns-Bennett Cyber Tribe Robotics team, who recently won their sixth consecutive Southeast Regional Championship at the First Robotics Competition in Huntsville, Alabama.
- The team was ranked 1st in Tennessee out of 29 teams and ranked 38th in the world out of a worldwide total of 3,712 teams.
- The Cyber Tribe placed 33rd in the world for the autonomous routine. This was the team's highest finish at the world competition in team history.
Board President Melissa Woods recognized the Dobyns-Bennett students who recently attended the Tennessee School Boards Association Student Congress on Policies in Education (SCOPE) conference at Belmont University. Prior to the recognition, the students presented a report on the SCOPE conference.
- The SCOPE conference is designed to give students a voice in public education issues and to involve young people in finding solutions to the topics that are discussed.
- Attendees participated in mock school board sessions, where they assumed the roles of school board members, school officials, parents, students and concerned citizens. The sessions were led by school board members and superintendents from across Tennessee.
- D-B students attending the SCOPE conference included seniors Mercy Adedokun, Abby Hathaway, Layne Knight, and Isabella Stalnaker. The group was chaperoned by D-B social studies teacher Ms. Shelby Lawhead.
business items
Chief Finance Officer David Frye presented a recommendation to approve an agreement for architectural and engineering services for the replacement of the HVAC system at George Washington Elementary School.
- The recommendation was to contract with Holston Engineering to provide design services, bid administration, construction administration and close-out services on the project.
- The proposed fee for the services would be 6% of the total construction cost, not to exceed $240,000.
- Pending the eventual design, general contractor bid process, and ordering and arrival of equipment, the project is expected to take place during the latter portion of the 2025-26 school year.
- After review, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the agreement with Holston Engineering.
Mr. Frye presented a recommendation to approve the purchase of playground equipment for George Washington Elementary School.
- The purchase would be completed using the existing Sourcewell cooperative purchasing contract with Playworld Preferred, Inc. in the amount of $108,028.06.
- Funding would come from the School General Purpose Fund. A significant portion of the funding has been donated by the Washington PTA.
- After review, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the purchase of the playground equipment.
Mr. Frye presented a recommendation to award the bid for parking lot improvements at Palmer Center.
- Four bids for the project were received and opened on April 17, 2025.
- Watts Paving & Maintenance, Inc. was the lowest compliant bid, in the amount of $370,823.25.
- The total cost of the project would be $415,321.25, including a City Engineering Fee ($22,249.00) and six percent contingency ($22,249.00).
- Funding has been previously appropriated in the KCS Parking Lot Improvement Project account.
- Following review, the Board voted 5-0 to award the bid for parking lot improvements at Palmer Center to Watts Paving & Maintenance, Inc.
- The project is scheduled to take place during Summer 2025.
Mr. Frye presented a proposal for approval to purchase Science textbooks and instructional materials for student use.
- The proposal would be for textbooks and materials from the Tennessee Book Company to be used for the next six years.
- Tennessee Book Company is the official State of Tennessee school book depository/distributor.
- The recommendation was to authorize the purchase for the science textbook adoption for grades K-5 in the amount of $390,000.00.
- Funding for the science textbook purchases would come from the current year School General Purpose funds ($195,000.00) and from FY 2025-2026 School General Purpose funds ($195,000.00).
- In addition, it was recommended a blanket order be issued for FY 2025-2026 to Tennessee Book Company in the amount of $275,000.00 to cover the K-5 science textbooks, freight costs for consumables, and Quavers.
- After review, the Board voted 5-0 to authorize the purchase of the science textbook and materials.
Mr. Frye presented Amendment #5 to the 2024-25 KCS Budget for review and approval.
- The Amendment included revisions to the Budget for additional revenues due to grants and donations, miscellaneous transfers, and school nutrition services revisions.
- Please click below for a full description of the proposed Budget amendment.
- Following review, the Board voted 5-0 to approve Amendment #5 to the 2024-25 KCS Budget.
Mr. Frye presented the proposed 2025-26 KCS Budget for review and approval.
- The presented budget includes a General Purpose School Fund of $105,002,300.
- To balance the budget, an appropriation from the KCS Fund Balance is proposed to fund a one-time bonus for classified employees and for teachers and administrative staff that do not qualify for the State bonus approved during the 2025 Tennessee legislative session ($631,000), as well as an appropriation to support the KCS special education program ($300,000). An additional $1,072,400 Fund Balance appropriation is proposed to balance the 2025-26 budget.
- The budget includes regular step increases and a 1% cost of living increase for all employees, at a total cost of $1,562,000.
- Click below to view the full budget presentation.
- After a lengthy review and discussion, the Board approved the proposed budget by a vote of 5-0.
reports
Mr. Frye presented the 3rd Quarter 2024-25 KCS Financial Report to the Board.
- Overall, expenditures are at roughly 69% of the annual Budget, which is in line for this time of year.
- The report provided updates on State and County revenue, charges for various services, and other sources of revenue. It also reviewed a status update on expenditures for the current year.
- Click below to view the full Financial Report provided this evening.
Board President Melissa Woods commented on the Board evaluation of KCS Superintendent Dr. Chris Hampton.
- The Board completes an annual evaluation of the Superintendent.
- Mrs. Woods spoke highly of Dr. Hampton's performance and level of satisfaction with his leadership of KCS.
- Further discussion, including any potential revision to the Superintendent's contract, will be discussed at a future Board meeting.
The next session of the Board of Education will be a meeting on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place in the Tennessee Room of the Administrative Support Center (400 Clinchfield Street).
Kingsport City Schools (KCS) is a student-focused, world-class public school district located in Kingsport, Tennessee, proudly serving students across Sullivan and Hawkins counties. The district comprises 13 schools, including a Pre-K facility, eight elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school, a high school program of choice, and an alternative learning program. With a total enrollment exceeding 7,600 students, KCS is dedicated to fostering educational excellence, empowering student success, and ensuring all students are college and career ready.
To learn more, visit
www.k12k.com tune in to WCSK 90.3 FM, The Voice of KCS, or contact the KCS Administrative Support Center at (423) 378.2100. Stay connected by following us on Facebook (
@kcsdistrict), Instagram (
@kcs__district), and YouTube (
@kcs__district).
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