Kingsport City Schools

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BOE Meeting Notes - October 15, 2024

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The Kingsport City Schools Board of Education held its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.  Several key items were discussed, including:
  • Recognition of Dobyns-Bennett High School students who have been named National Merit Commended Students and National Merit Semifinalists;
  • Presentation and approval of the 2024-25 Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) Accountability Report;
  • Approval of the 2025-26 KCS Calendar and 2025-26 Designated Holiday Schedule;
  • Approval of several revised Board Policies,
  • Approval of a resolution requesting the General Assembly amend Tennessee Code Annotated to prohibit mobile phone use in Tennessee Public Schools; and 
  • Approval to participate in a multi-state social media accountability lawsuit.
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Meeting Livestream and Audio
 
Click here to view the archived livestream of tonight's meeting.
Detailed Meeting Notes

CALL TO ORDER

The Pledge of Allegiance was led this evening by Lucy Marshall. Lucy is a 6th grader at Ross N. Robinson Middle School and is the daughter of Phillip and Virginia Marshall.

Recognitions

Board Vice President Dr. Brandon Fletcher recognized six Dobyns-Bennett High School students for being named National Merit Commended Students in the 70th Annual 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program.
  • National Merit Commended Students are among the top high school students in the United States, recognized for their exceptional academic achievement and potential.
  • Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 students who entered the 2025 competition by taking the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which serves as an initial screening of program entrants.
  • Merit Scholar students are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
  • D-B students named as Commended Students are:
    • Addison Arnold
    • Rishab Dey
    • Kaylah Lang
    • Lauren Maynard
    • Luke Musser
    • Cam Sewell
 
Board President Melissa Woods recognized two D-B students who have been named as Semifinalists in the 70th Annual 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. 
  • National Merit Semifinalists represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors 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.
  • Approximately 16,000 students qualified as Semifinalists, and about 95% of Semifinalists are expected to advance to Finalist standing. 
  • A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student's earlier performance on the qualifying test.
  • The National Merit Semifinalists from D-B are:
    • Liam Klug
    • Claire Li

business items

Michael Hubbard, Director of Performance Excellence, presented the 2024-25 Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) Accountability Report.
  • The TISA Act, which transitioned Tennessee's K-12 public schools to a student-based funding approach, was implemented across the state starting with the 2023-2024 school year.  
  • After the presentation, the Board approved the report by a vote of 4-0.
Dr. Andy True, Assistant Superintendent - Administration, presented a proposed 2025-26 KCS Calendar for approval.
  • The proposed 2025-26 calendar is largely unchanged from the 2024-25 KCS Calendar.
  • Components of the draft calendar include:
    • School would start the first full week of August (First student day:  Aug. 4, 2025)
    • Fall Break:  Oct. 6-10, 2025
    • Thanksgiving Break:  Nov. 26-28, 2025
    • Two full weeks off over Christmas/New Years (Dec. 22, 2025 - Jan 2, 2026)
    • Spring Break the last full week of March (March 23-27, 2026)
    • Spring Holiday: Friday, April 3, 2026
    • Last student day: Thursday, May 21, 2026
  • After review, the Board approved the 2025-26 KCS Calendar and 2025-26 Designated Holiday Schedule by a vote of 4-0.
Dr. True presented several proposed Policy revisions for review and consideration.
  • The potential Policy revisions discussed this evening are from Board Policy Manual Section 6 (Students).
  • The proposed Policy revisions are necessary due to changes in state law during the 2024 Tennessee legislative session.
    • 6.203 - School Admissions
    • 6.300 - Code of Conduct
    • 6.309 - Zero Tolerance Offenses
    • 6.316 - Suspensions/Expulsion/Remand
    • 6.318 - Admission of Suspended or Expelled Students
    • 6.4052 - Opioid Antagonist
  • After review, the Board approved the recommended Policy revisions by a vote of 4-0.
Dr. Chris Hampton, Superintendent, presented a proposed resolution requesting the General Assembly amend Tennessee Code Annotated to prohibit mobile phone use in Tennessee Public Schools.
  • The resolution was reviewed during the September Board work session and is being presented tonight for formal Board approval.
  • After review, the Board voted 4-0 to approve the resolution, which signifies the Board's support for such potential legislative action during the upcoming Tennessee legislative session.
Mrs. Woods led a discussion regarding a consideration to enter into a multi-state social media accountability lawsuit, which was previously discussed at the Board's September Work Session.
  • At the work session, Frantz Law Group attorney William Shinoff presented information and answered questions regarding the pending litigation.
  • During the discussion this evening, the Board discussed the merits of formally entering into the lawsuit.
  • After discussion, the Board voted 4-0 to formally participate in the social media accountability lawsuit.
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The next session of the Board of Education will be a called data retreat on Friday, October 18, 2024 at 8 a.m.  The Board's next work session will take place on Tuesday, October 22, 2024 at 6 p.m.  Both the data retreat and the work session will take place in the Tennessee Room of the Administrative Support Center (400 Clinchfield Street).
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KCS has been ranked the "#1 Best Place to Teach in Tennessee" by the 2023 NICHE Best Schools Ranking and the City of Kingsport has been voted as the "Nicest Places in America" in the October 2022 Reader's Digest.
 
For more information visit www.k12k.com, listen live on WCSK 90.3 FM, The Voice of KCS, or call the KCS Administrative Support Center at (423) 378.2100. We’re social too; follow us on Facebook (kcsdistrict), Instagram (kcs__district), and check out our YouTube Channel (@kcs__district).