BOE Meeting Notes - July 13, 2021 – 2021-22 Board of Education Meeting/Work Session Notes

The Kingsport City Schools Board of Education held its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, July 13, 2021. Several key items were discussed, including:

Swearing in of newly elected Board of Education members (Dr. Brandon Fletcher and Melissa Woods);
Review and reading of Board Responsibilities/Boardsmanship Standards;
An initial review of the annual School Board Agenda for 2021-22;
A discussion regarding approval of Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses for 2021-22;
Approval of an agreement with Frontier Health;
Approval of a Memorandum of Understanding renewal with Camelot Care Centers;
Approval of School Fees for the 2021-22 school year;
Approval of 2021-22 Budget Amendment #1; and
Initial discussion of Board Meeting/Work Session dates for 2021-22 school year.

Meeting Audio

Kpt BOE Regular Meeting - July 13 2021

Detailed Meeting Notes

CALL TO ORDER

The Pledge of Allegiance was led this evening by Jeremiah Wolfe. Jeremiah is a rising 8th grader at John Sevier Middle School. Jeremiah is the son of Rashad Wolfe and Kim McDavid.

BOE Membership

Angie Marshall, Deputy City Recorder, swore-in newly elected Board of Education members, Dr. Brandon Fletcher and Melissa Woods. Mayor Pat Shull also made a presentation to the new Board members, providing them a City of Kingsport commemorative print.

Following the swearing-in ceremony, the Board shared in reading aloud the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) Boardsmanship Code of Conduct - Policy 1.2021. This Board policy specifies that it be read aloud annually at the July Board meeting.

The Boardsmanship Code of Conduct describes appropriate Board relations to children, the community, teachers and personnel, other Board members, the Superintendent of Schools, and themselves.

Policy 1.2021 - Boardsmanship Code of Conduct

business items

Four items were pulled from the tonight's Consent Agenda for discussion and consideration:

The annual school board agenda for 2021-22 was pulled to review items regarding the specific date and time of Board meetings and wording regarding items for Board meeting agendas. By a vote of 5-0, the Board elected to table this item until revisions to the document could be made and resubmitted.
The list of Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses for 2021-22 was pulled to review details regarding the proposed honors Wind Symphony course. By a vote of 5-0, the Board elected to table this item until additional details could be provided to the Board.
Approval of an agreement with Frontier Health was pulled to allow staff to highlight the work and mental health services provided throughout KCS. Following the opportunity to share more about these services, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the agreement.
Approval of a Memorandum of Understanding renewal with Camelot Care Centers was also pulled to allow staff to highlight the services provided by Camelot. Following the opportunity to share more about these services, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the Memorandum of Understanding.

Dr. Andy True, Assistant Superintendent - Administration, presented the proposed school fees for the 2021-22 school year for review and approval.

Each year, the Board is responsible for approving all fees for the upcoming school year.
This year, the only new fee proposed for consideration is a middle school band fee of $40.
- This fee is being proposed to standardize and provide materials in the most cost-effective way possible for middle school band students. Materials to be provided using this fee include music books, band folders, student music stands, t-shirts, lyres, and flip folders.
After review and discussion, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the full list of fees for the 2021-22 school year.

7-13 School Fees List 2021-2022

David Frye, Chief Finance Officer, presented the 2021-22 Budget Amendment #1 for consideration.

Budget Amendment #1 proposes three main items and one item for the General Project Fund:
- A new General Project Fund project is established following the approval of an Energy Efficient Schools Initiative loan for replacement of lighting with LED lights and additional HVAC control upgrades.
- Item #1 revises/increases the amount of revenues expected based on a revised BEP fund estimate.
- Item #2 revises the amount of funding allocated for debt services for the purchase of space in the Press Building, as the amount was included in the original budget twice.
- Item #3 revises the amount of funding in the 2021-22 Budget for teacher salaries and benefits, adding additional funds to further decrease the difference between teacher steps and the step represented by actual years of experience.
  - The original 2021-22 budget funded one-fourth the number of steps needed to eliminate the differential for such teachers. Tonight's proposed budget amendment adds an additional one-fourth, decreasing the difference between teacher steps and the step that is represented by actual years of experience by one-half.
After discussion and review, the Board approved Budget Amendment #1 by a vote of 5-0.

7-13 Budget Amendment Number One - FY 2022

REPORTS

Jim Welch, Board President, led an initial discussion regarding the times and dates of the 2021-22 Board Meeting schedule.

At the July work session, Board members plan to further discuss the specific dates and time of Board meetings and work sessions, as well as a potential policy change should the current day/time change.

The next meeting of the Board of Education will be a work session on Tuesday, July 27, 2021 at 6 p.m. The work session will take place in the Tennessee Room of the Administrative Support Center (400 Clinchfield Street).

For more information on KCS, visit www.k12k.com, listen live on WCSK 90.3 FM, The Voice of KCS, read our blog, We Are KCS, download our mobile app for Apple/Android devices or call (423) 378.2100. We’re social too; follow us on Facebook (Kingsport City Schools), Instagram (@kcs_district), Twitter (@KCS_District), LinkedIn (Kingsport City Schools), and check out our YouTube Channel (KPTSchools).