School Board

BOE adopts 2024-25 calendar with early release days

The Union County School Board approved the 2024-2025 calendar at its November meeting. Most of the calendar was very similar to past years.
However, the addition of six early release days sparked some discussion. The early release days would close school at 1 p.m. rather than 3:15. Carolyn Murr, a Maynardville teacher and president of UCEA, voiced a concern for parents including teachers who would need to find additional daycare during the work day.

Grants, mowing, equipment on BOE agenda

Ashley Scurlock of Cumberland discusses
the Clean Bus Grant with the School Board.
The grant provides two electric buses.

Two grants, mowing bids, and audio recording equipment appeared on the special called meeting of the Union County Board of Education last month.
Spring has arrived, the grass is growing and the former mowing contractor has gone out of business.
The Central Finance Purchasing Agent bid out a new contract that was much the same as the previous one. But the BOE requested that the contract only be for a partial calendar year and asked if a better use of funds would be to add one or two maintenance employees to mow.

School Board recognizes school leaders and thanks legislators

A group of students talking to the school board members about leadership.

Big Ridge Elementary School Student Council explains the projects and responsibilities of being a member. Each student received a certificate for their participation from Dr. Lauren Effler on behalf of the Union County Board of Education.

The Union County Board of Education recognized two school leadership groups and two state legislators at the February meeting. Dr. Kim Turner organized the Big Ridge Elementary Student Council as a way to grow school leaders. The council began small, but this year grew to have representatives for each grade level.

Special Called BOE discusses funding new school

The Union County Board of Education met in a called meeting to discuss adding capital projects into the Five Year Plan.
Dr. Jimmy Carter, director of schools, distributed a list of the capital projects and their costs that had been completed over the last five years.
Finance Director Ann Dyer and Maintenance Supervisor Mike Johnson were present to answer questions. Carter informed the board that the current capital project of providing a heating and air conditioning system for the hallways of Luttrell Elementary had been placed on hold until after the meeting.

School Board approves incentive pay rubric for teachers

Dr. Jimmy Carter presented the incentive pay rubric for teachers who have participated in developing the videos for distance learning. at the regular October meeting of the Union County Board of Education The maximum stipend per teacher would be $1500 with the maximum cost to be $300,000. The funds would come from the Reopening Grant, the CARES Act Grant, and the Professional Development line at $100,000 from each source.

BOE discusses 2021 budget and completes work virtually

Chairman David Coppock called the first virtual meeting of the Union County Board of Education to order on April 9, 2020, with all board members present.
Director of Schools Jimmy Carter relayed a message from UCEA President Carolyn Murr. She thanked the BOE for the care and thoughtfulness shown during the pandemic, especially the distribution of food to the students.

Coronavirus, contracts, curriculum addressed at March board meeting

In opening announcements, Dr. Jimmy Carter addressed the current novel coronavirus concern and stated that if school is canceled for an extended period due to the novel coronavirus/Covid-19, students will be issued Chromebooks loaded with two weeks of assignments that teachers are already developing.
Chromebooks and any other educational materials would be issued before spring break.

School Board hears concerns over attendance letter language

At the February Union County Board of Education meeting, Sydney Jessee, a parent of two school-aged children, addressed the board during the workshop.
Jessee had received an attendance letter regarding his older child's absences due to flu and a stomach virus. He related that his child had doctor notes for all but one day and he had written a parent note for the stomach virus.

Board extends director's contract four years

At the September meeting, Union County School Board voted to extend Dr. Jimmy Carter's contract for four more years. School board attorney Mary Ann Stackhouse explained that his current contract would not have expired until 2020 since the same contract had been extended in 2013 to 2017, in 2017 to 2020, and with no changes, the current contract would be extended four more years to 2024. Brad Griffey from the Second District authored the motion. Casey Moore could not attend due to work responsibilities.

Board of Education Applauds Carolyn Murr’s Service

Photo by Chantay Collins

Chairman David Coppock called the August Union County Board of Education Meeting to order and recognized Jimmy Carter, superintendent of schools, to present an award to the Union County Clover Team, who took second place in the national competition. Then Carter asked Lucy Russell Freyer to pay tribute to Carolyn Murr for her 50 years of service to Union County Public Schools. Murr has served as a physical education teacher as well as a classroom teacher and a coach. She currently teaches fourth grade at Maynardville Elementary School.

School Board Meeting July 2019

The monthly workshop and meeting for the Union County Board of Education was held Thursday, July 11, 2019. Among many projects, transportation for students to sporting events was brought up as a recurring request from parents of the high school student community to Board Member Marty Gibbs. Dr. Carter said that it is a goal to own a bus for every route plus have a spare one for events like this in the future. It has been recommended that coaches begin retrieving their CDL’s in case this is an option in the future, so they can transport their own teams when and where possible.

Board Orders Guardrail Removal, Passes Budget

[Writer's Note: The Union County School Board meets the second Thursday of each month at UCHS. The Board uses a workshop prior to the meeting to discuss agenda items. After the workshop, the Board approves, rejects, or takes no action on individual items during the meeting.]

The Board discussed these agenda items during the workshop.

John Fugate requested approval for fifteen UCHS students to attend FFA Chapter Development Training from July 26-28 at Big Ridge State Park.