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Across the Board – March 27, 2017

Published March 28, 2017

District seven School Board member Sheila Cleveland was sworn into office by County Mayor Rogers Anderson prior to the start of the March 27, 2017, Williamson County Board of Education meeting. Cleveland was appointed by the Williamson County Commission to fill the seat vacated by Bobby Hullett who was appointed to the County Commission.

During the meeting, students from across the county were honored for their accomplishments. Three students were honored for achieving a perfect ACT score including Namrah Ajmal, Brentwood; Tyler Hart, Independence; and Stacey Xiang, Ravenwood.

Several students won first place state at the National Speech and Debate Association Tennessee District Competition. Andrew Brown from Brentwood won the Debate Sweepstakes Award in Extemporaneous Speaking (Domestic Topics). His coaches are Harriet Medlin, Matt Grimes and Bette Lordeman. Ravenwood’s Preston Johnston won the Debate Sweepstakes Award in Extemporaneous Speaking (International Topics). He also was named the Tennessee District Student of the Year. Adam Novak and Sudeep Ghantasala won the Debate Sweepstakes Award in Public Forum Debate, and Ravenwood won the District Sweepstakes Award. The coaches are Elise Dirkes-Jacks and Brian Kaufman.

Several students placed first in the Tennessee High School Press Association Awards. Brentwood High’s Bethany Foust, Ryan Tyler, Grant Perdue, Jack Burke, Christian Gilliam, Matthew Willoughby won for Best PSA; Grant Perdue, Madison Young, Reed Smith and Jack Burke won for Best Commercial; Reed Smith and Ryan Tyler won for Best Sports Show; the BHS Football Crew won for Best Sports Coverage of a Live Event; Jack Cerrato, Austin Collier, Barrett Hall, Cameron Johantges and Abbey Humel won for Best Audio for Video; and the school won for the Best All-Around TV Station. Their teacher is Ronnie Adcock. Franklin students Jacob Ferguson and Bryson Sams won in Best Video or Documentary, and Jacob Ferguson also won for Best Short Feature Story. Their teacher is Keri Thompson. Independence High’s John Lane won for Best Videographer and Best Television Reporter. His teacher is Matt Balzer.

Franklin’s Michelangelo Hooghkirk was awarded the JROTC Outstanding Cadet Award. His instructor is LT Colonel (Retired), Greg Hoover.

In staff spotlights, Franklin High’s Betsy Taylor was awarded the Dorothy Ludwig Excellence in Teaching Award at the Secondary Level for AATF (The American Association of Teachers of French)

Ravenwood’s Kristi Neuroth was named a National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions 2017 Grosvenor Teacher Fellow.

In addition, the Board was treated to a musical performance prior to the meeting by the Centennial High orchestra under the direction of Allison Cowan.

In the Superintendent’s Report, Dr. Mike Looney shared the loss of Summit student Max Hollis.

In the Board Chairman’s Report, Gary Anderson reminded the group of the first rezoning meeting at Independence High on Tuesday, March 28, 2017. He also reminded Board members to register for TSBA trainings.

In New Business, the Board:

  • Approved an amendment for the 2016-17 General Purpose School Fund for $16,000 in donations for the WILCO awards.
  • Approved an intra-category amendment for $674,202 for the Fairview High School renovation.
  • Approved the 2017-18 budgets including $343,675,334 for the General Purpose School Budget; $12,436,426 for the Central Cafeteria Budget; $6,520,149 for the Extended School Program; and $11,012,896 for the Capital Outlay Request.
  • Approved the Career and Technical Education Textbook Adoption Committee recommendation.
  • Approved the 2017-18 high school course list.
  • Approved the 2017-18 high school special course application requests.
  • Approved one policy on first reading Grading Systems and Report Cards.

In other business, the Board:

  • Approved recommended field trip fee requests.
  • Approved one editorial policy change to Ethical Practices for Administrators.
  • Approved the Encore 2017 Summer Enrichment Program.

The next regular meeting of the Williamson County Board of Education is scheduled for Monday, April 17, 2017, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Administrative Complex.

Board packet information can be found on the school district’s website old.wcs.edu. Select About WCS; select Board Meeting Schedule; and select the meeting date. Supporting documents are linked from the agenda.