Kingsport City Schools

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BOE Meeting Notes - February 22, 2022

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The Kingsport City Schools Board of Education held its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, February 22, 2022.  Several key items were discussed, including:
 
  • Board recognitions of Libby Russum (Dobyns-Bennett High School All-American swimmer), Zack Fleming (Tennessee High School Strength Coach of the Year), and Kennedy & Lincoln Elementary Schools (Gold Level RTI2-B Model of Demonstration Schools);
  • Approval of the purchase of student Chromebook devices;
  • Approval of the purchase of teacher laptop devices;
  • Approval to award a bid for technology network equipment;
  • Approval to purchase D-B activities vans;
  • Approval to award a bid for the purchase of TVs to be used in KCS schools;
  • Approval to award a bid for photography services at KCS schools;
  • Approval to reject a bid for lighting and sound upgrades at Dobyns-Bennett;
  • Approval to award a bid for career and technical education training and assessment equipment; 
  • Approval to pursue a contract agreement to perform a limited updated facilities study; and
  • Presentation of the 2nd Quarter Financial Report.
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Meeting Audio
Detailed Meeting Notes

CALL TO ORDER

The Pledge of Allegiance was led this evening by Quintin Bentley and Connor McGlothlin, students at D-B EXCEL.  Quintin is a 12th grader and Connor is a 10th grader.
 
Mrs. Twana Taylor, owner of Taylor's Marital Arts Academy, spoke to the Board during the time of public input.  Mrs. Taylor spoke to the Board regarding concerns with bullying. 

recognitions

Libby Russum, a Senior at Dobyns-Bennett, was recognized for obtaining All-State and All-American status as a swimmer.
  • Libby finished in 2nd place and broke the D-B school record in the 100 Fly at the Tennessee Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (TISCA) State Tournament on Feb. 11-12, 2022.   Her performance also resulted in All-State and National All-American Top 100 swims status.
  • She also came in 4th place in the 100 Free and received All-State status, as well as breaking the D-B school record.
  • Libby also broke school records as a teammate on the 200 and 400 Free Relay teams.  
  • After graduation from D-B this spring, Libby has committed to swim at the University of Tennessee.    
 
Zack Fleming, D-B Strength and Conditioning Coach, was named National High School Strength Coaches Association (NHSSCA) 2022 Tennessee High School Strength Coach of the Year, Region 1 Southeast.  
  • The award is given annually to a high school strength and conditioning coach in recognition for his or her coaching achievements and passion for the profession. 
  • Coach Fleming has been the strength and conditioning coach for Dobyns-Bennett since 2015.  The program emphasizes developing the complete athlete for sport performance - Strength, Speed, Agility, Conditioning, Nutrition, Mindset, and Leadership.  
  • Coach Fleming has over 750 high school student-athletes on his roster and is a member of the NHSSCA Tennessee Advisory Board, has spoken at multiple strength and conditioning clinics, and has been a guest speaker on several podcasts.
 
Kennedy Elementary and Lincoln Elementary Schools have been named 2021-22 Gold Level Response to Instruction and Intervention for Behavior (RTI2-B) Model of Demonstration Schools by the Tennessee Behavior Supports Project (TBSP) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 
  • There are over 1,800 schools across the state considered for Gold Level status each year and only a small percentage meet the criteria to become an RTI2-B Model of Demonstration School.  
  • This is the first time for Kennedy Elementary and the third time that Lincoln Elementary has received this recognition.
  • As Gold Level RTI2-B Model of Demonstration Schools, Kennedy Elementary and Lincoln Elementary can now serve as mentors to other schools across East Tennessee.

business items

David Frye, Chief Finance Officer, presented a proposal to purchase student Chromebook devices.
  • The proposal was to purchase 2,000 Chromebook 11 3100 at a unit cost of $202.50 and 1,000 Chrome licenses at a unit cost of $29.15.
  • The total cost of the proposed purchase was $434,150.00.  
  • It was recommended that KCS utilize state contract 49580 with Dell Marketing L.P. for the purchase of student devices.  Funding will be from the General Purpose budget.
  • After review, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the purchase of the student Chromebooks.
Mr. Frye presented a recommendation to purchase laptop devices for teachers.
  • The recommendation was to purchase 215 Dell Latitude 5320 laptops and active pens for KCS teachers.
  • The total cost of the recommended purchase was $217,416.60 utilizing state contract 49580 with Dell Marketing L.P.  
  • Funding for the purchase would come from Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) 3.0 funds.
  • After review, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the purchase of Dell teacher laptop devices.
Mr. Frye presented a recommendation to enter into an agreement regarding the KCS technology services.
  • The recommendation was to agree to purchase internal connections and basic maintenance of those connections utilizing state contract 68613 with Personal Computer Systems, Inc.  
  • This agreement was contingent upon receiving E-Rate funding, Board of Education approval, and Board of Mayor and Aldermen approval.
  • After review, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the establishment of the technology agreement.
Mr. Frye presented a proposal to purchase three 8-passenger vans for D-B Activities.
  • The recommendation was to utilize statewide contract 72318 with Lonnie Cobb Ford to purchase three vans at a unit cost of $34,335.00.
  • The total cost of the proposal was $103,005.00.  Funding will be provided by the D-B Activities internal account.
  • After discussion, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the purchase of the activities vans.
Mr. Frye presented a proposal to award a bid to purchase 130 smart TVs for use in schools across the district.
  • Bids were opened on February 2, 2022 for the purchase of 130 Samsung 69.5" or larger Smart LED-LCD TV - 4K with a Tizen Internal Operating System. 
  • After reviewing the two bids submitted, Mr. Frye recommended awarding the bid to purchase 130 Samsung TVs from Y&S Technology at a cost of $1,230.00 each.  
  • The total purchase would be $159,900.00, including carts, cables, delivery, and setup.  Funding would come from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) 2.0 and 3.0 funds.     
  • After review, the Board voted 5-0 to award the bid and purchase from Y&S Technology.
 
Mr. Frye reviewed a proposal to award photography services at KCS schools.
  • Bids were opened on December 7, 2021 for school photography services.  
  • After review and school administrative input, the recommendation was to award the bid for middle and high school photography to Lifetouch and elementary school photography to Photogenius.
  • After review, the Board voted 5-0 to approved the recommendations. 
Mr. Frye presented information regarding bids to perform lighting and audio upgrades at J. Fred Johnson Stadium at D-B.
  • Two bids were submitted for the project, one rejected due to being invalid and the other being significantly higher than originally anticipated.
  • Mr. Frye presented a recommendation to reject the bids in order to purse a rebid.
  • After discussion, the Board voted 5-0 to reject the bid in order to pursue a rebid of the project.
Mr. Frye reviewed proposals for the purchase of a training and assessment system for Certified Technician - Supply Chain Automation (CT-SCA) Certification.
  • Bids were opened on February 16, 2020.
  • One bid was received from Technical Training Aids for $68,540.00.  The price included programming software, workstation, and hand tool for this model.  
  • Funding for the system will be from the Carl Perkins Basic Grant and General Funds.
  • After review, the Board voted 5-0 to award the bid to Technical Training Aids.
Board Member Melissa Woods presented a proposal for KCS to enter into an agreement regarding an updated facilities study for KCS.
  • A previous facilities study was completed in 2015 and informed facilities decisions such as utilizing the former Sullivan North High School as a KCS middle school and using the current John Sevier Middle School as a KCS elementary school.  However, due to current and proposed residential growth information that was not available at the time of the 2015 study, it was proposed to engage in a study to factor in current projections.
  • After discussion, the Board voted 5-0 to pursue a limited facilities study with an outside consulting firm.   

REPORTS

Mr. Frye presented the 2nd Quarter 2021-22 Financial Update to the Board.
  • To view Mr. Frye's update, please click below.
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The next session of the Board of Education will be a meeting on Tuesday, March 8, 2022 at 6 p.m.  The meeting will take place in the Tennessee Room of the Administrative Support Center (400 Clinchfield Street).
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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).