School board reverses decision about hiring new director

The Haywood County School Board met in regular session Tuesday, May 13, and among other items of business, reversed its decision to conduct a search for a new director of schools. They voted 3-2 to stop the process and hire the Tennessee School Board Association at a cost of $8,500 to conduct the search for them.

Although the director of schools hiring process was not on the agenda, board member Harold Garrett asked to be added to the agenda under “other” business near the end of the meeting, and made the motion to stop the hiring process and hire the TSBA. He said it is important to ensure the community’s confidence in the board is in place. “We need to make sure the next director is not handicapped by a rushed process,” he said, asking the board to “reconsider the process we’re taking to find a director and consider the impact.”

A discussion among the board members followed. In the end, Pearlie Hess and Joe Barden IV opposed the motion, but it passed with Robbie Jarrett King and Board Chairman Patricia Gruenewald approving Garrett’s motion. Gruenewald then added that all previously announced called meetings are now cancelled.

Standard dress policy

On the agenda, in response to a request by elementary school principals, board members agreed to several changes in the recently adopted standard dress policy for all schools. Principals at Anderson Early Childhood Center and Haywood Elementary asked that they be allowed to remove the requirement for belts and suggest that elastic waist pants are preferred for children in pre-K, kindergarten, first and second grades. They also asked to not require these children to have shirts tucked in and that their students not be allowed to wear flip flops. Haywood Elementary also asked for leniency on skirt and short lengths and that “skorts” be added to the allowed dress. East Side Elementary asked for no changes to the adopted standard dress policy.

AFJROTC receives award

Lt. Col. Mark Avery, MSgt. Mark Parker and Maj. Delois Dailey were at the board meeting to receive a plaque that designates their HHS cadets as a Distinguished Unit in 2007-2008. The Haywood High unit has received this designation since the program was started in 1994.

Other business

In other business, the board opened bids for 11 pieces of surplus equipment – a van, buses and lawn mowers – and voted to accept the highest bid for each item.

A report on the Catherine Truss Calhoun Trust gave a fund balance of $319.404.28. This fund was left to the school system to provide scholarships each year for graduating seniors. The board agreed to give nine $2,000 scholarships this year. Since 1999, $108,900 has been awarded.

The board also granted approval to Nick Korn to use a school bus to transport the HHS Teen Advisors to the Kids Across America Leadership Camp in Branson, Missouri, in July. Likewise, HHS teacher and SkillsUSA sponsor Kenneth Emerson received permission from the board to take two students, Jamie Ferguson and Chris Rich, to the National SkillsUSA Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, in late June.

The next school board meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 10, at 6 p.m.