The Kingsport City Schools Board of Education held its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, October 11, 2022. Several key items were discussed, including:
- Recognition of Dobyns-Bennett High School students who received a perfect Advanced Placement (AP) score;
- Recognition of Dobyns-Bennett High School students who have been named National Merit Commended students;
- Recognition of Dobyns-Bennett High School students who have been named National Merit Semi-finalists;
- Recognition of Dobyns-Bennett High School Boys Basketball Coach Chris Poore for being named the Basketball Coaches Association of Tennessee Class 4-A Boys Coach of the Year;
- Approval of Dr. Chris Hampton as KCS Interim Superintendent;
- Approval of an employment contract for Dr. Hampton as KCS Interim Superintendent;
- Approval of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Spending Plan and Safe Return to In-Person Instruction Plan Addenda;
- Approval of the purchase of Math Implementation Support;
- Approval of 2022-23 Budget Amendment #4;
- Approval of a lease agreement with the Tennessee Board of Regents;
- Approval of the 2023-24 KCS 12-month employee Designated Holiday Schedule (Decision on 2023-24 School Calendar tabled until the November 2022 Board meeting); and
- Approval of three revised Board policies on first reading.
CALL TO ORDER
The Pledge of Allegiance was led this evening by Dobyns-Bennett High School students Taj Ahmad, Parker Cox, and Jakub Stewart. Taj is an 11th grader and is the son of Abrar Ahmad. Parker is in 12th grade and the son of Courtney Baitz. Jakub is a 10th grader and the grandson of Allen and Sandra Gilliam.
Recognitions
- Board member Dr. Brandon Fletcher recognized Dobyns-Bennett High School students Ria Kothari and Noah Lee for earning a perfect score on a college-level Advanced Placement Exam in spring 2022.
- Ria and Noah are among an elite group of students in the world to earn every point possible on an AP Exam. Ria is a senior at D-B and Noah is a freshman at Duke University. They were two of only 306 students worldwide to receive a top score of 5 on the AP Research Exam. Ria is the daughter of Sachin and Ushma Kothari. Noah is the son of Brandon and Cherese Lee.
- Board member Jim Welch recognized nine Dobyns-Bennett High School students who have been named as Commended Students in the 68th Annual 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program.
- This program is designated to identify and honor the top high school students in the United States. Approximately 34,000 students throughout the nation have been named Commended Students. Although they will not continue in the 2023 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 students who entered the 2023 competition by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in 2021, which served as an initial screening of program entrants.
- D-B students named as Commended Students include:
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Elena Gould, daughter of Thomas and Brandy Gould
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Jessie Gu, daughter of Haifeng Guo and Weimin Gu
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Adam Heiba, son of Ibrahim and Sanaa Heiba
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Albert Li, son of Zhitao Li and Yu Du
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Tatum Metcalf, daughter of Aaron and Laura Metcalf
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Ella Miller, daughter of Steve Miller and Margaret Callcott
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Keely Morris, daughter of Jonathan and Ashley Morris
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Jackson Osterhus, son of David and Krista Osterhus
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Balagopalan Pushkas, son of Pushkas Gopalan and Manju Pushkas
- Board member Julie Byers recognized five Dobyns-Bennett High School seniors who have been named as semifinalists for the 68th Annual 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program.
- These five D-B students will compete with the top high school students in the nation for some 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $28 million that will be offered in spring 2023.
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High school juniors entered the 2023 competition by taking the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screening of program entrants. The national pool of semi-finalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors who enter the National Merit Scholarship Program and includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.
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Over 16,000 U.S. students qualified as Semifinalists this year. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship Award, Semifinalists must advance to the Finalists level of the competition by fulfilling several requirements. About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to advance to Finalist standing, and more than half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
- D-B students named as National Merit Semifinalists are:
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Alex Chen, son of Zhuo Chen and Zhu Xiao
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Hannah Estes, daughter of Robert and Michelle Estes
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Ava Hochstetler, daughter of Spencer and Keri Hochstetler
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Ria Kothari, daughter of Sachin and Ushma Kothari
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Zackary Newman, son of Geoffrey and Julie Newman
- Board president Melissa Woods recognized Chris Poore, Dobyns-Bennett High School Head Basketball Coach, for being selected as the Basketball Coaches Association of Tennessee Class 4-A Boys Coach of the Year for the 2021-2022 season.
- In the five seasons Coach Poore has been head coach of the D-B Boys Basketball Program, he has led the team to a winning percentage of 78.03% with a total of 135 wins and 38 losses. In addition, he has coached three district championships, two regional championships, five sectional appearances in the final 16, and one state championship.
- Coach Poore's most recent season resulted in the 2022 TSSAA Class 4-A state championship after a 69-60 overtime win over Bearden High School. This was D-B's first boys basketball state championship since 1945.
business items
Melissa Woods, Board President, presented a motion to name Dr. Chris Hampton as the Interim KCS Superintendent (effective November 1, 2022), upon the retirement of current Superintendent Dr. Jeff Moorhouse.
- Following discussion, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the motion and name Dr. Hampton as Interim Superintendent, effective November 1, 2022.
Following the vote naming Dr. Hampton as Interim Superintendent, Mrs. Woods presented a proposed employment contract for review and approval.
- The proposed contract outlines the compensation, allowances, and terms of employment for the Interim Superintendent.
- Following a review, the Board approved the proposed employment contract for Dr. Hampton by a vote of 4-1.
Dr. Rhonda Stringham, Assistant Superintendent - Instruction, presented the KCS Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Spending Plan and Safe Return to In-person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan addendums for Board approval.
- The plans were previously approved by the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) on September 22, 2022.
- Following review, the Board approved the plans by a vote of 5-0.
- These documents will be placed on the www.k12k.com website under Families - ESSER - "ESSER 6-Month Update" as required.
David Frye, Chief Finance Officer, and Dr. Stringham presented a proposed contract to purchase Mathematics supports for KCS students and teachers.
- The two-year agreement would utilize a statewide contract with SchoolKit to purchase Math Implementation Support at a cost of $142,500, funded by a state grant.
- After review, the Board approved the purchase of the Mathematics supports by a vote of 4-1.
Mr. Frye presented 2022-23 Budget Amendment #4 for review and approval.
- The Budget Amendment includes:
- Receipt of a donation from the John Adams Elementary School PTO.
- Additional funding for the current capital improvement project at the Tribe Athletic Complex for roof-top HVAC equipment, locker room HVAC, and lighting and ceiling tile replacement.
- Receipt of a grant from the Sullivan County Health Department.
- After review, the Board approved the Budget Amendment by a vote of 5-0.
Dr. Jeff Moorhouse, Superintendent, presented a proposed lease between the City of Kingsport and the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) for the use of space at the KCS facility at 2533 North John B. Dennis Highway.
- The lease outlines the terms of agreement for the use of a portion of the facility by TBR for a Tennessee College of Applied Technology site (TCAT).
- Following a review, the Board approved the lease agreement by a vote of 5-0.
Dr. Andy True, Assistant Superintendent - Administration, presented a draft 2023-24 KCS Calendar for review.
- The proposed draft calendar includes:
- A student start date of August 7, 2023
- Fall Break from October 9-13, 2023
- Thanksgiving Break from November 22-24, 2023
- Winter Break starting on December 22, 2023 with a student return-date for second semester on Tuesday, January 9, 2024
- Spring Break from March 25-29, 2024
- A final student school day on May 23, 2024
- The proposed 2023-24 Designated Holiday Schedule for 12-month employees was also presented to the Board.
- By Board policy, 12-month employees receive 10 paid holidays each year.
- After review, the Board moved to table approval of the 2023-24 KCS Calendar until the November Board meeting so that consideration could be given regarding potential conflicts with the Fall Break schedule, such as the Dobyns-Bennett football bye week. Information regarding the 2023 TSSAA fall schedule is expected to be received prior to the November BOE meeting.
- The 2023-24 Designated Holiday Schedule for 12-month employees was approved by a vote of 5-0.
Dr. True presented three Board policies for potential revision on first reading:
- 4.210 - Credit Recovery
- 4.603 - Promotion and Retention
- 6.202 - Home Schools
- Following review, the Board approved the Policy revisions by a vote of 5-0.
The next meeting of the Board of Education will be a work session on Tuesday, October 25, 2022 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 (
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KPTSchools).
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