Board of Education - Regular Meeting

And I also want to acknowledge Boy Scout Troop 135 for being here tonight. Would you all stand to be recognized? Thank you for being here. OK. To get started, board members will record our attendance. I want to also acknowledge that board member Drayson Beasley is participating virtually due to a work commitment out of town. Mr. Beasley, can you indicate your attendance? Mr Beasley, can you hear us?

Yes, I can hear you perfectly clear.

Would you acknowledge your attendance for the record, please?

Thank you, President.

Thank you.

There are 12 members present.

All right, thank you. We'll now have our Pledge of Allegiance led by Mr. Jay Galbraith and followed by a moment of silence. Please stand.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

You may be seated. All right, the next item on our agenda is the items of particular public interest, which is our public comment period. We have six individuals who've requested to speak this evening. Each of you will have up to three minutes to make your comments. I'll advise you that there's a screen on the podium that will show your time. I would just ask you to be mindful of that and stay within the three minutes if you can. I'll call you up two at a time. The first two speakers are David Dunn and Charles Rathbone.

Good evening. So my name is David Dunn, and I am a father of a student at Centennial High School. And in my professional life, I'm a consultant who helps nonprofits use technology to protect and collect sensitive data. And I'm here to express my concern about the period tracking app that has been implemented at Centennial High School, and I don't know where else. Now, it's not called a period tracking app. It's called Securely. And it's a digital hall pass system. And that hall pass system logs when students are in the classroom and when they go to the bathroom and how long they take, which effectively does make it a period tracking app. Because when girls are on their periods, they tend to go to the bathroom a little bit longer. They tend to go a little bit more frequently. And that kind of data or that kind of information will show up in the data record. So this system is collecting proxy biometric information about students. This is also not to mention students with Crohn's or IBS, or even students who are having reactions to different kinds of SSRIs, some side effects. All of this can show up. And that makes this particular application dangerous. If you were my client, I would say that this is actually a lawsuit waiting to happen. And I would push you, I would urge you to consider whether the benefit of longitudinal data like this, which I can really appreciate, is worth the risk to students' privacy. If you were to insist on using it, then I would recommend four basic protections, which I urge you to consider. Namely, number one, a maximum data retention period of no more than three months. Second, the application has something called pass transparency, which can be used to lock down what teachers can access only to their own immediate classroom needs. Number three, strict written policies and logging mechanisms about who can access the reports. And then finally, requirement that all reporting data be de-identified so that this proxy biometric information cannot be connected to students. I've got to tell you, as a parent, this level of surveillance kind of creeps me out a little bit. I'm not sure I like it. But as a professional as well, I think, well, and as a community member, I think that some basic steps need to be taken to ensure that the privacy of our students when it comes to this kind of information can be protected. Thanks. Thank you.

First of all, I want to say thank you for letting me speak here tonight. And I want to, you know, in a lot of ways, we're, you know, I'm a football coach and we're common ground in that no matter what you all decide, you're going to be criticized. It could be the right decision, wrong decision, no matter what it is, there's going to be somebody criticizing you. And I appreciate that. But I've had three kids that go through Williams County. All of them graduated. All of them was very successful. One's playing football at Central Arkansas right now. And, you know, I love Williams County. Been here for 24 years. I love the kids here. And what I'm really here to talk about is the possibility of having an athletic period within Williamson County. You know, after we won the state championship this past year, one of the first texts I got was great. We'll never have an athletic period in Williams County because we show that a team can have success without it. And I just refuse to believe that's true. And I think we've got to look at it kind of in a little bit different lens. I know that you heard Coach Rodriguez and Coach Atkins talking here last month about the problems we have in retaining coaches. I lost three coaches myself, two of them to Rutherford County. The sole reason being they have an athletic period. They're able to get out by 4.30 every single day. I ran over here, flew over here, almost got a ticket. Two, make sure I'm dressed this way, okay, from practice. Our kids will not get out of practice until 5.30, 5.45, 6 o'clock. In fact, I'm going back after this to meet with the offensive line because, frankly, we're not very good up front right now, so we're going to go watch film. So it's time that we need. It really is. Every school around us has an athletic period. The big thing for me is safety. Living on Arnold Road over the years, I've been there long enough to where we've had a few deaths from students, and there's nothing that breaks my heart more. So if I can get those kids home before dark, it helps. In fact, if there is even a threat of a thunderstorm or snow, I cancel morning workouts. just so they don't have to drive in it. So I take it very serious about school safety, about kids' safety in general. But I want to approach it from a little bit different. I want to talk about AP. We're constantly getting pushed that we need to recommend more kids for AP. And one of the number one questions I get when I ask these kids, my football players, why do you not take AP classes? It's simple. I don't have time. With an athletic period, we can start with 47 minutes. We can get them home by an hour. I taught AP. about 13 years ago, thank God I don't do it anymore, but about 13 years ago, and they tell you in their training that you need 45 minutes to an hour of homework every single night in an AP class. Just by one athletic period, that's equivalent to one AP class at night of doing homework. So, I mean, it's really needed. We're the only school that doesn't have it. I think it will help us keep coaches. But more importantly, I really do honestly think it will help kids. I'm towards the end of my career. You know, I've got a couple years left, three or four years left. So I'm not going to see the true benefits of this. But I'm passionate enough about it to come speak to you all about it because I really do think it's best for the kids. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next two speakers are David Blackwell and Chris Hughes.

Glasses on the floor.

We have David Blackwell and Chris Hughes.

Hello.

How are you all? Hello. I know you all have been debating or talking about hiring an outside law firm here. I would like to know what specific conflict or limitation has led the board to seek a second independent law firm regarding all this. And I'd like to know if we hire that law firm, how much that's going to cost the taxpayers. And if we can find out, maybe that law firm can help us find out why Dr. Fauci got a pardon, why he needed a pardon, and why he pled the fifth 111 times in front of a Senate hearing committee. Because I'd like to know that. We here in Williamson County, we're at the center of that entire mask fiasco, I was the one escorted out of here. I left out of here on a Wednesday. I've been a nurse for 27 years. I drive for Uber now. I'm a board-certified case manager. Okay, I was escorted out of this building. On that Saturday, when I got to the hospital, my supervisor came up to me and she says, listen, I love you. I've worked with you for over seven years. I know you're right. But whatever you do, don't take your mask down today. She says, I got a call from corporate, and they're watching you. So I want answers. I went to the University of Mississippi Medical Center for my nursing. I know Mississippi School of Law and the lawyers there, and I know they settled the tobacco cases. And I'd like to think that whoever we hire here in this school board, if we go there, has taken classes in ethos, philosophy, and critical thinking. Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm Chris Hughes. I'm the head coach at Fairview. We haven't won any state championships, unlike Rathbone over there. But he better looking and nicer than he is. So I'd like to talk to the board about the athletic period as well. I want to share some thoughts about Fairview because it's a little bit different. But I think there's a lot of benefits to our athletic period. One, I think it'll help us keep up with Rutherford County, Sumner County, Wilson County. If you look at our surrounding Middle Tennessee counties, all the elite programs have it. That's one reason for the competitive nature of athletics. Two, players getting home earlier and being able to eat with their families, being able to study, being able to be around those people. I would like to get home and eat with my family. My wife's not a very good cook, but I'd still like to be there. Then three, the weight room. After school, I don't know about Paige, but we fight for facilities. We fight for the weight room. We fight for our football field. I got to make sure band's not on it, flag, all the other things. So this would give that hour where after school, those facilities would be more available. I think it would be very good for us to not be overbooked on our campus. The other thing, one of the other benefits I think would happen is I think it would improve attendance. Mount Juliet, Coach Perry, they practice at 6.30 in the morning and go right into block A, which is athletics, and those kids get to go home when the bell rings. His attendance at that school, was a 90% football player increase the next year when they did that. They're already there. They're at school, and they know they get to go home when the bell rings. So I thought, wow, that is really cool. How that affects me in Fairview is unlike the AP and the honors classes, some of our kids have to go home and watch their siblings. Some of our kids can't play because they got a little brother, and they live at the apartment. Other kids have to work and help their parents pay their bills. This is what Fairview kids are dealing with. It's a little different. And I think that athletic period, man, wouldn't it be awesome if 10 more people played because they were able to do those other things as well? And then the last one, I think you're going to find out it'll improve academic success. I'm a PE teacher. I was. Not now. But we all know that exercise helps with the learning process. It's required. So it's not taking away from academics. I think it's actually going to help academics. And we'll have more kids, like he said, with honors and AP. The concerns that I've always heard from Williamson County, because I have been working for the district 27 years, two more than him, even though I look younger, is that we've always said academics first. It's about academics. It's not about athletics. And I think with us having that, we already have P.E., So it's just taking that credit. You're still doing the same thing. You're just letting those same kids be in the same class together. So I don't think, and I humbly ask that you consider making this happen, even if it's on a trial basis, because I think if you did a little two-year study, you'd find that you could justify making the change, and then you could be proud that you helped make it happen. And I appreciate your time.

Thank you. Our final two speakers are Ron Binkert and Beverly Purvis.

Good evening. My name is Ron Binkert, and I watch your meetings all the time. I know your agendas are packed. Your time is always at a premium. But still, I'm going to ask you to slow up and pay attention to something, and that is this coming year's adoption of the social studies textbooks. Social studies, what is it? It blends history, math, I'm sorry, history, civics, geography, economics, for the purpose of teaching students how human society works. Think about that. Teaching kids how human society works. That's going to make a profound impact on the way our kids and grandkids approach society and live their lives. It's important. It makes a difference. I know in the past the board has taken varying levels of interest and frustration in the selection of textbooks. Well, maybe if all the textbooks all meet the standards, it's all the same, it doesn't make a difference. But in social studies, I believe it's different, because it's not just about meeting the standards. It's about the perspective that the topic is taught from. Let's think about two American historians. Maybe you've heard of one, not the other. But one is Howard Zinn, deceased. One is Wilford McClay, Still Living. They are both great American historians. They can both write a textbook that meets the requirements of eighth grade American history, US through 1887. They both can do that. But the experience students are going to have from reading those two different textbooks is going to be totally different because of the perspective. In social studies, perspective overrides academic standards. And I think that it's your job as a board to realize that and realize while the academic standards belong to the state, the perspective belongs to you all. So my suggestions are this. First, as a board, make a determination what academic standards you're going to teach, make that board policy, but also the perspective you're going to teach them from. Second, when you select committee members and outside experts, find the experts that are going to get you the perspective that you require. And third is don't be rushed. Don't let the deadline for ordering textbooks override the right decision for the kids. Thank you. Thank you.

Good evening. I'm Beverly Purvis, president of Williamson County Education Association. As we begin another school year in Williamson County Schools, I want to start by recognizing what a successful opening this year has been. Across our district, students have returned to classrooms ready to learn, families have settled into new routines, and educators have once again demonstrated the dedication and professionalism that make our schools among the very best in Tennessee. On behalf of WCEA, I want to thank the district leadership team, principals, teachers, education support professionals, transportation staff, nutrition workers, custodians, maintenance employees, and everyone who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure a smooth start to the year. Success is on the first day of school doesn't happen by chance. It happens because thousands of people work together with a shared commitment to our students. I also want to express our appreciation to this board and district leaders for their leadership that you demonstrated last year in securing meaningful salary increases for educators. We know those efforts require difficult conversations, persistence, and a willingness to advocate for the employees who make the student's success possible. These raises matter and educators noticed. As we look ahead, however, we hope the conversations around school funding can become more productive and collaborative. Too often the discussions about funding, compensation, and school needs seem to reach a critical point only at the end of the budget process. We encourage the board to work more closely and consistently with our county commissioners throughout the year, building relationships and addressing funding priorities before they become last minute challenges. Often during that process of talking with county commissioners of last year, they voiced wanting more collaborative conversations with school board members. When school leaders and county leaders communicate regularly and share a common understanding of district needs, we create a stronger foundation for students and employees and taxpayers alike. Early collaboration can help avoid uncertainty, strengthen the public trust, and ensure investments in our public schools are viewed as a shared community priority rather than last minute request. Our educators want what all of you want, great public schools, supporting students, and a district that attracts or retains the very best employees. Achieving those goals requires strong partnerships, not just within our schools, but across our local government as well. As this new year begins, WCEA stands ready to be a partner in that work. Together, we can continue building schools where students thrive, educators feel valued, and Williamson County remains the best place to learn, teach, and live. Thank you for your service, your leadership, and your commitment to the students and educators of Williamson County. We wish everyone a successful and rewarding school year.

All right, thank you. Thanks to all of our speakers. That does conclude our public comment period. We will now move on to approval of our agenda. We'll do this by voice vote. Do I have a motion? Motion by Ms. Wyatt. We have a second. Dr. Driggers. We will do this by voice vote. All in favor of approval of the agenda, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you, Mr. Beasley. Any opposed? Okay, motion carries. The agenda is approved. Next item is approval of the consent agenda. I want to ask again, does anyone wish to remove any item from the consent agenda? Okay, can we get a motion please? Motion by Dr. Dr. Second by Miss Wyatt. All those in favor of approval of the consent agenda say aye. Any opposed? Consent agenda is approved, and if you'll bear with me, I'm going to read what you just approved. Approval of the June 15th, 2026 school board meeting minutes. Approval of June 29th, 2026 special called school board meeting minutes. Board policies for first and final reading as follows. 1.400 school board meetings and work session, 1.403 agendas and public comment, 3.204 threat assessment team, 3.205 security, 4.213 family life education, 5.106 application and employment, 5.302, sick leave teacher. 5.303, personal and professional leave. 5.601, staff rights and responsibilities. 6.203, school admissions. 6.303, interrogations and searches. 6.304, student discrimination, harassment, bullying, cyberbullying, and intimidation. 6.312, use of wireless communications, 6.313, use of digital devices, 6.4081, safe relocation of students, and 6.506, students from military families. You've also approved recommendation for field trip fee requests, approval of City of Spring Hill right-of-way request on Prescott Way, approval of City of Franklin sanitary sewer easement request of Oakview Elementary, approval of building modification shade structure at Nolensville Elementary, approval of building modification storage shed at Centennial High, approval of building modification storage shed at Fairview Middle, and approval of building modification request video scoreboard at Franklin High School. All right, I need a sip of water. All right. We will move on to communications to the board and the superintendent's report. Dr. Webb.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. First, I want to thank our individuals who came tonight to public comment. Um, just so that, you know, our team makes notes as public comment is made each and every board member and board meeting. And we'll make sure that we follow up with our board members and give followup on the issues that were brought up tonight. Uh, I'll speak to a couple of those topics, uh, specifically on the securely hall pass. We do have several schools. throughout the district to have used the securely hall pass system. I know that it is new to Centennial High School this year. We've had several schools have used it for the last several years. The purpose is to identify students and when they're leaving class, how long they're gone, where they go. So as an example, a student leaves study hall and wants to go to a math tutor, then they check out that they're going to see the math tutor. It also allows the teacher to be able to identify how many students are in that location. So maybe there are already 20 students at the math tutor. So they may ask the student to wait or get tutoring with someone in the classroom. It also is the opportunity for them to track if they're going to the restroom, if they're going to the library, all those places. It is a system that we've had vetted through our instructional tech and our informational technology departments. The father that spoke tonight, thank you for sharing those additional details. We'll follow up to make sure those individual aspects were part of our vetting process as well. We'll follow up with the board on that topic. Thank you to Coach Hughes and Coach Rathbone for your comedic comments. We welcome you back anytime to speak as well. You guys will see that we have the athletic period as part of the superintendent goals of innovative approaches or new approaches to our scheduling. So that committee's actually already begun. So we'll be reporting to you on that very soon as well. So in regards to the start of the school year, I wanna share that it's been a tremendous, I agree with the statement that was made. It's been a wonderful start to the school year. I know that I gave a pretty detailed report at the school board work session. So for anyone who is here in the audience and didn't have the opportunity to attend that, you can see the slide deck of communication. in regards to all the great things that have taken place over the past school year that we celebrated and the data points that are helping us grow as we head into the planning for this academic year. You can access that on our school website, school district website. So you can see, you can actually even listen to the full meeting if you would like to, if you have time on your hands. I think probably our coaches will want to go back and listen to that and be entertained by that. So we'll let you look at that specifically. But I do want to share a couple things that we're really proud of as we go into this upcoming school year. First and foremost, I want to share with you that we received a communication from the State Department this summer recognizing and celebrating our high proficiency in grades three through 11. We were the highest proficient school district in the state of Tennessee. So we're super proud of that. An aspect of that success that I want to point out is that we were 30 percentage points higher than the state average when it comes to proficiency from grades three through 11. And that average is a number that we're a part of 30 percentage points higher than the state. So it takes a lot of hard, diligent work to be successful, regardless of what business or industry that you're in. It takes strategic work to stay at the top. And we're very proud of our teachers. and staff members across the district who've contributed to that great success. And we're very proud of our students and our families that that success continues to come our way. In addition, we were number one or number two in the state in 14 tested areas and saw improvements in 16 tested areas. That includes into the comment about social studies adoption. We're proud that we were number one in the state of Tennessee in every tested social studies category. especially as we celebrate the great tradition and foundation of history in Williamson County. That's something certainly to celebrate and we continue to do so. In regards to our college and career readiness, I wanted to share with you in this meeting as well, that we had this past school year, 11,739 exams passed from College Board AP. And so for those of you who are not familiar with AP College Board exams, passing with a score of three or higher means that you have the opportunity to take that pass score and get three hours of college credit in most colleges and universities across the country. In addition to that, we had 3,200 students take dual enrollment classes while they're in high school and earning semester credits. If you take all of those college courses that our students took and passed courses in, there were over 45,000 college credits that our students achieved in this past academic year. 45,000 college credits as high school students. I'm an English major, not a math major, but my English math, if you take the 300, approximately $355 course credit cost that it takes that it costs to take those college credits across our state of Tennessee. That's a savings of over $15 million in college credits that our students completed while in high school. That's pretty phenomenal. We know that not every student is headed to college, nor should they, because there are many industry certifications that students can obtain. There are great jobs that students may be ready for and prepared for right out of high school. We had 318 industry certifications from our high school students, and those are certifications in a variety of areas that they're prepared to go straight into the workforce. So we're super proud of those as well. One of our goals for this upcoming school year, as we'll talk about in a few minutes, is to increase those college and career readiness aspects for our students and give more opportunities for students to obtain those industry certifications. There are a lot of great jobs in our community. We want our students to be prepared for those. So I want to celebrate not only the individual students and the teachers that taught those courses, but really our success starts in Pre-K, early childhood, kindergarten, all the way through the time that students finish high school. So we celebrate all the great work that our teachers are doing every day. And it's good people who fill Williamson County Schools. We have a lot to be proud of. Hope you all are proud. I'm certainly proud as we kick off the school year. Speaking of pride, we have Corey Mason who's here with us tonight. We're gonna talk about some great spotlights from around the district.

proud of tonight as we celebrate our student and staff spotlight award winners for the month of August. And we are going to kick things off with our Army Academic Bowl national, yes, national champions from Ravenwood High School. You see this group of JROTC students here made up of Devin Liu, Anish Kadali, Darsh Srivastava, and Alex Crane. Now they competed against more than 2,000 teams in nationwide in Washington, D.C. this summer, and they came out on top. Congratulations to them, their instructor there at Ravenwood High School, Russell Hayes. We also had eight students who earned perfect ACT scores this summer, beginning with Brentwood High School's Liam Marasa, got that 36, and Aryan Sant from Page High School, Ann Cherry, And Jackson Garland, also the ACT, from Ravenwood, Eva Godisara, Anish Kodaly, and Vivian Rakhlani also got that perfect 36 on the July exam. And Arman Simwal from Summit High School got the perfect ACT score on the June test. From Brentwood High School, Eliza McKnight. She is our Gatorade Tennessee Volleyball Player of the Year. Gatorade has this really cool awards program where they recognize one student from 12 different sports, one student from each state, 12 sports. Eliza is the Gatorade player for Tennessee. Her coach there at Brentwood High School is Sarah Rucker. Congrats to her. And then Simon Hetrick. the Gatorade Tennessee Boys Soccer Player of the Year from Ravenwood High School. He led Ravenwood to their first state title in boys soccer. His coach there is Michael Reed. We have several staff spotlights tonight, beginning with Harriet Medlin. Now, Harriet, if you'll recall, she retired in May from teaching after 57 years in the district. Fifty-seven years. But she did not retire from coaching speech and debate. And we're glad she didn't because she continues on a great tradition there at Brentwood High School with Matt Grimes, one of her former students. Together, they are just a juggernaut. But this summer, she was given the National Speech and Debate Diamond Coaching Award which is given to educators who reflect excellence and longevity. And those are two things that Harriet absolutely personifies. So congratulations to her. And then our final five staff spotlights tonight. We're going to do something a little different. Dr. Webb is down here. We want to recognize our five school board members who are in the midst of their final school board meeting. So as I read off the names, Dr. Webb is going to present each one with a plaque signifying their years of service. So we begin with Mr. Dan Cash, District 2. Thank you, Mr. Cash. From District 4, our chairman, Josh Brown. Thank you, Josh. From District 6, we have Jay Galbraith. Mr. Eric Welch from District 10. And then he is not here in person, but we are not going to leave out Mr. Drayson Beasley joining us on Zoom. We will get that plaque to you, Drayson, I promise. But I just want to take a moment and just say thank you all for your years of service to the students and the families of Williamson County. We appreciate you guys. And that concludes tonight's Students and Staff Spotlight Awards. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Mason. We have over 46 years of experience rolling off the board tonight. Thank you all for your service to Williamson County Schools. On behalf of the students and the faculty and the staff, thank you for your service. The policies that you've created, the dedication that you've made, the decisions that you've made in your time on the board have left we'll leave a lasting legacy on our school district. So thank you for that experience. And, hey, new school board members, I mean, 46 years, that's a lot of experience. We've got a lot of work ahead of us. So congratulations on your service to the district, and thank you for stepping up to serve your community in this. pretty stellar way. We invite you afterwards to come up and take photographs with your family, and we would love to facilitate that for you all. And one last reminder for school board members, we did ask for textbook adoption parent nominees. If you haven't done that yet, you can send those to Miss Glenn any time this month. I'll also share that if you're a rolling off school board member and if you have recommendations, you can certainly communicate those to Ms. Glenn or directly to the school board member who's going to be filling your seat. We want to make sure that we have all those districts represented. That concludes my report. Thank you.

Thank you, Dr. Webb. So for my board chair report, I'm going to just open the floor to questions. The board members who are leaving the board to see if anyone wishes to make any comments, this might be the appropriate time to do that if anyone desires. We don't have to punch in necessarily unless we need to turn mics on. Really, no one?

I guess somebody's got to start. THIS HAS BEEN ONE OF THE GREATEST JOBS, IF YOU WILL, THAT I'VE EVER HAD, EXPERIENCES, BEING ON THIS BOARD, MEETING THE BEST DISTRICT CONSTITUENTS IN DISTRICT TWO, FIRST OF ALL, BUT WORKING WITH SO MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE, SO MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS OF EDUCATION, AND JUST THIS HAS BEEN AN EDUCATION IN ITSELF. Every meeting, every month, you learn something different about Williamson County Schools. And I just always reflect on the last 40 years or so and the dedication that has come out of the teachers, principals, staff members, and parents that collectively have made Williamson County the number one school in the state. And I've just been proud and honored to serve as a board member. Thank you.

Anyone else?

Yeah, it's been 12 years we've been through. If anybody's been here for the last 12 years, we've been through a lot. But really, really grateful for the opportunity to serve. Anytime you go on a ballot and get people to vote for you, it's a humbling experience if you haven't experienced it. And I've really taken it to heart. over the last 12 years to try to make decisions reflecting everyone's interest, the interest of the schools, the students, their families, and just the district as a whole. And just reminded by a comment today that kind of, encapsulated what I want people to take away from my time on the board is the ability to have disagreements with people but find common ground and be able to debate and come away and not be disagreeable and really respect each other at the end of the day. So I just it's unlike anything that I've done before. We'll definitely remember it for my lifetime and consider it an honor to have been called to do this. So thank you.

Mr. Beasley, you're up.

Oh, thank you. Well, good evening, everyone. I'm sorry I couldn't be there tonight. But this has definitely been a highlight of my life to be able to stand in the gap and support families all over the district. I really, really appreciate the leadership that we have there on the school board is also with our administration and I just want to say thank you for giving me an opportunity to represent families and children well. Thank you so much for letting me serve.

Yeah, thank you. 16 years ago that started here and It doesn't seem like it. It truly is. The days are long sometimes, but the years fly by. I started doing some calculations today and how many board meetings, work sessions, policy committees, special called meetings. Yes, I used to go to policy committee when I was on there. figured out somewhere in the 330 to 340 meetings that I've done in those times, 16 years. And I said, well, you know, let's say it's an average of three hours each, which sometimes they're shorter than that, and sometimes we go to 1 a.m. in the morning trying to figure out zoning, and that came up to a little over 1,000 hours or 42 days that it was. And I thought, you know, even, my goodness, even our Lord and Savior only did 40 days in the desert and called it quits. So it's time to wrap up. I will say of those 42 days, I think I only took eight of them, me speaking, so I won't try and ramble too long, maybe nine, ten at the most. Those are mine. And I started to make a list of everyone I wanted to thank and just individuals, and it went far too long. We'd be at 43 days by the time I was wrapped up. But I did have some groups that I just wanted to go through and thank, you know, sort of the top. All the voters, no matter who you voted for, thank you for participating in democracy, especially local elections. Far too few people participate anymore, and it's not a good thing. So those that do, thank you, no matter who you voted for. Thank you to all the candidates as well. As we all know, it takes a certain something to put yourself out there. No matter what side you are issues, it's going out there and standing in front of people in the public that way. I want to thank the three superintendents that I have served with, three excellent superintendents. Dr. Looney, who came in and really changed things up. you know, put us on a good track. You know, Mr. Golden, who guided us through one of the most difficult times that any school district anywhere has been through, a really tough era. We came out on the other side even better before. And then Dr. Webb, who in even this short time, I think, has demonstrated what a pro you are. And I hope you'll continue to lead us into the future. I want to thank all my board colleagues that I've served with over the years. There's been a lot of them. They're counting up those. Especially my predecessor, General, I want to call out Mr. Bill Peach, who we started off running against each other and just really, I think, demonstrated what it's like, you know, class and gentlemen and everything else, and has really set an example that, you know, I tried to strive for, and I know I always fell short, but I tried to strive. And then Ms. Cohen, who I'm excited about, follow me. You make it easier for me to walk away. So thank you to all that. Our central office staff and building leaders, just what a bunch of pros. Just smart, caring, dedicated, hardworking people. So many times I felt like a fraud around you, honestly, being in a leadership role and just seeing what you are doing and how can I be in charge when, you know, these are the people. And then our building teachers who, you know, and all the support staff who just love the kids, make such a difference in their life, you know, and make positive outcomes for human beings. You know, what a wonderful, God-graced profession. All of our parents, and of those parents, especially our volunteers, that we couldn't do this with. I want to thank my family, who this has been tough on over the years. You know, we all get the slings. And, you know, I was an Army guy, and so I got pretty thick skin. But the way they do get you is, you know, when the nasty comments and you see your spouse reading those and that upsets them, that's where it gets you. And you feel like, you know, am I doing the right thing by upsetting that? And to my kids, you know, I know they were always in the spotlight because of that when they went there and everything else. And so many times, you know, they were slowed down at, the grocery store or practice or something like that because someone had to talk to dad. Dad's ticking, they would call it, you know, pile ticking. You know, besides that, they've always shown me support. and backed me on that, and I appreciate that. And then last and most importantly, you know, last but most importantly, the students. You're our why for all this, and if we could just keep you as our North Star, things would work so much better. And think about all the biggest, most contentious, nasty debates that we've had. they've never been at the center of it. The issues have been dressed up to try and make it about them, but it never is when you look at what those things are. If we could just keep them as that guiding principle, things would go so much smoother all the time, even when we disagree on the issues. Think about legacy on this, and I hope My legacy on it, and it's tough because, you know, we're a team. We don't do our individual things. We all decide. We all need seven votes to do it. But I would hope the legacy that I would leave behind is, you know, when thought of, and I know I won't be thought of much. you know, move and its footprint's in the sand, but, you know, when we are. Whether you agreed or disagreed, I hope and thought of as someone who truly cared and loved this district and just wanted the best for it and was willing to fight for it without personal consideration or benefit or cost. I think it's what I've always tried to do. and not weigh outcomes or anything else. I just wanted this to be a great district and I hope Williamson County Schools is better for my time here. I know I'm better for my time here and I'm so grateful and humbled and appreciative to all the wonderful relationships and building leaders and staff and teachers and everyone, and the opportunity just to see the amazing things that our kids do all the time from the inside. That I will truly miss. So thank you.

I'll wrap it up here. If you'd asked me in 1991 as I was graduating from Page High School if one day I'd be sitting up here as a school board member for the same district, I would have probably said, you're crazy. I remember coming to a school board meeting when I was in high school in support of someone who was the subject of a particular vote that was happening in this in this very room. And again, to think that 35 years later, I'd be here serving on the same school board. You don't really ever know what's going to happen, but it's been an honor to serve. It's been A privilege to serve a district that's got the recognition and the status and the quality of people that this district has. So just want to say thank you to everyone. The voters in District 4 who elected me to come and do this. The colleagues I've worked with on the board, the administrators, the principles, the teachers, everyone who's made our jobs easier. Just say thank you and I know the districts in good hands with all of you and. Look forward to see what happens from that side of the room. All right. We will. All right. Let's move on with new business, unless there's anything else for the good of the group. Okay. Our first... Item is 26, 2026 27 school board budget. We have three items to vote on. Um, first is approval of general purpose school fund amendment. Zero 8.2, six carry forward reserves in the amount of $81,614 45 cents. Dr. Webb.

Yes. This amendment reallocates funds donated for, uh, donated for designated for specific purposes in the prior year carried forward to the budget. Um, for expenditure, we do recommend approval.

Okay. We do have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion? All right. We were ready to vote. She, she, she said recommend approval.

Yeah.

Mr. Beasley, I need your verbal vote, please.

Yes.

The vote is 12. Yes. Zero. No.

And the amendment is approved. Item two is approval of general purpose school fund amendment zero 8.2, six transition grant carry over in the amount of $41,280. Dr. Webb.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We've received funds for several years for a transition grant that pays a portion of a transition teacher's salary. And for three mentors, it operates from October to September. throughout the year and this amount places the carryover funds and the accounts needed to reflect the expenses not yet covered in the 2627 budget. I recommend approval.

Alright, thank you. We do have a motion in a second. Any discussion?

OK, we're ready to vote.

Mr Beasley. Yes.

The vote is 12 yes, 0 no.

The amendment is approved. Item 3 is approval of General Purpose School Fund Amendment 08.26 State Special Education Preschool Grant in the amount of $665,232. Dr. Webb. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We were approved for a recurring special education preschool grant to help support our special education preschool classes. This amendment places the grant in our budget. We recommend approval.

Thank you. We have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion? OK, we're ready to vote. Mr Beasley.

Yes.

The vote is 12 yes, 0 no.

OK, that amendment is approved. Next item is approval of outstanding purchase order for activity school funds. Dr Webb.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, this is an annual agenda item mandated by our governing state manual to provide information related to school-level open purchase orders, and we recommend approval.

All right, thank you. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Okay, we're ready to vote.

Yes.

Thank you.

The vote is 12. Yes. Zero. No.

Okay. That item is approved. Item C is board policy for first reading. This is policy 6.415 applied behavior analysis, private pay in schools. Dr. Webb.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, we had Tennessee public chapter 11, 12 new this past this summer requires all LEAs to allow a private pay provider who's under contract with a parent or legal guardian of a student. with autism disorder or developmental delays who's enrolled in the LEA to access to the student during the school day to provide these services. This is first reading, and we do recommend approval of first reading.

All right, thank you. We do have a motion and a second. Mr. Galbraith, any discussion on a policy committee?

Yeah, it's first reading. This is required by law, by new law that we're going to do. And the discussion at the policy meeting and just a little at the work session was just that they're going to go ahead and the people that need this are going to use it right away. And we're just going to see, well, the board will see over over the next month to see if there's any tweaks that they need to make. Largely, it's kind of written in law, but if there's any procedural things that need to be put in to manage it, then they'll do that. But otherwise, it's kind of something that we have to do. We just got to manage it the best we can.

OK, thank you. So as a reminder, this is first reading. This will go back to policy and come back to the board for second reading. Any further discussion? OK, we're ready to vote. Mr. Beasley?

Yes. The vote is 12 yes, 0 no.

Okay, that policy is approved on first reading. Next item is approval of change to early release day from November 11th, 2026 to November 18th, 2026. Dr. Webb? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

This recommended change affects elementary schools only. It's the change from one early release day from November the 11th to November the 18th. We're requesting this change due to the transportation conflict that we're going to have on that day due to the number of students that will have being transported by our buses, uh, to the veterans day assemblies and veterans day parades around the county. That is a veterans day. Um, so we do recommend approval of moving that early release day from elementary from November 11th to November the 18th.

All right, thank you. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Okay, we're ready to vote. Yes. Thank you.

The vote is 12 yes, 0 no.

All right, that change is approved. Next item is approval of additional course on the 2026 course list. Dr. Webb.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. These are courses that are already approved by the State Department of Education. Since we brought the last list of approved courses to you for approval, In February, we've continued to develop some additional courses at the honors level. These are career and technical education courses that have been developed at the honors level, many of which were needed in response to the great turnout that we've had at the Innovation Center and to meet the demands of our students' interest. And so we do recommend approval of these additional state-approved courses at the honors level.

All right, thank you. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Okay. We're ready to vote. Yes.

Is that a question real quick?

Oh, you have a question? Yeah.

I'm sorry. Dr. Webb, I just wanted to, if you could take just a second on the Innovation Center. Would love to hear. give you an opportunity to say just a little bit about it. Specifically, I was just thinking about the number of students that are enrolled in the classes that are being taken there. But you've got an audience, and it's brand new. And so I just wanted to let you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Galbraith. So with the ribbon cutting of our new innovation center, we have over 400 students, high school students that will be utilizing the innovation center for our new programing. As a reminder, that programing is hospitality and tourism. Our students will also have culinary arts as a part of that program. Columbia State is working with us so that those students can have access to dual enrollment credit. We'll also have students in internships with Harpeth Hotel, Halifax Properties, Marshall Hospitality, Chartwell Hospitality, and Jim and Nick's as a part of that program. We have Advanced Power and Machinery, and that's a partnership that we have in this upcoming school year with Thompson Cat. We'll also have students with Tennessee College of Applied Technology who will receive certification on off-road diesel and electrical power. So several students in that program will teach fire management or fire science. The City of Franklin Fire Department will lead the instruction again this school year for those students. We'll also have students who will reserve an EMT certification through Columbia State and will be workforce ready, ready to go straight into the fire department upon completion of that program or be ready to move on to a four year university to study fire science. We have cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, and we have a partnership with Columbia State, MTSU, and Belmont for the dual enrollment credits that our students will be receiving there. And one of our most popular new programs, aviation and flight, and we'll have students also receiving dual enrollment with MTSU with the potential of earning up to 12 college credits before they complete that program. So we have 400 students from all across Williamson County high schools who will participate. but we also have students in middle school who will come over for field trip experiences as well as elementary students in this upcoming school year. Many of those same 400 students will elect to take courses at our Entrepreneurship Center and learn to figure out how they can take their skilled trade and maybe have their own entrepreneurial spin on the skills that they're learning. Additionally, we'll have on that same campus, um, off of Franklin high school, we have our, um, Vanguard high school where we do have some of our students who are participating in the innovation center, taking one or two online classes so that they can extend their school day. And, um, based on travel and spend additional time on the hands-on programming there at the innovation center.

Thanks for walking us through that. Sure. OK, any other discussion on this item? OK, we're ready to vote. Mr Beasley.

Yes.

The vote is 12 yes, 0 no.

All right. Those additional courses are approved. Next item is approval of sick bank trustees. Dr. Webb.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is an annual agenda item. This is our nomination of Dennis Driggers, along with Donna Clemens, who's previously served on our sick bank committee as Mr. Drayson Beasley rotates off. So we recommend approval. Thank you to Dr. Driggers for volunteering to participate.

All right. Thank you. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Okay. We're ready to vote. Mr. Beasley?

Yes. The vote is 12 yes, zero no.

Okay, that item is approved. Next item is approval of the annual agenda. Dr. Webb?

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. This is our annual agenda, and we recommend approval. Many of these calendar dates for each month of the year are similar to years past, and we recommend approval.

OK, thank you. We have a motion in a second. Any discussion on the annual agenda? OK, we are ready to vote.

Mr Beasley, yes. The vote is 12 yes, 0 no.

The annual agenda is approved. The next item is approval of Superintendent and district goals for 2026-27. Dr Webb.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Golden, uh, proposed back in June, uh, a list of five superintendent slash district goals for the upcoming school year. My recommendation is that we keep those same goals as we transition. Uh, you'll see though, that we've added some additional detail, uh, to those goals. They include the data dashboard for, uh, board member access, um, that we hope to have up and running sooner than, uh, June of 2027. Uh, but you'll see the action steps and evidence of success there. The second goal is in regards to our salary study implementation. By February, we'll be bringing back a three-year implementation plan for your review. The third goal is in regards to innovative programming and delivery methods. We mentioned earlier this evening in regards to high school scheduling, athletic periods, but we also want to continue looking at expanding the least restrictive environment for our students who are served with an individual education plan. also look at other innovative approaches to how we deliver education to our students. And so we look to bring some recommendations to you by the first of February. The fourth goal is in regards to student achievement and growth, which is main thing that we want to see with our students right that they're succeeding in the school district so you'll see that this goal has been expanded to include math and ela for this upcoming school year with some measurable indicators and the last goal is in regards to how we engage our family and the communities all all together and with the work that we're doing how we're going to involve them and have them implemented into our decision-making process for the upcoming school year. So with that, I do recommend approval.

All right. Thank you for walking us through those. Um, we have a motion and a second, any discussion of the 20, 26, 27 district and superintendent goals. Dr. Johnson.

Um, I just wanted to say thank you for putting these into smart goal format and then. even providing the evidence of success. I mean, I just know that in May when I have to do an evaluation, it's going to make it so much easier, and also adding the student achievement goal. So I just wanted to say I thank you for doing that.

Thank you.

Any other comments or discussion?

Yeah, Josh.

Oh, sorry, Mr. Cash.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, I go along with what Margie says. You know, there's a lot of folks in this room that have been working for technical training to be brought back into the school system for many years. We're seeing it happen with the Innovation Center, and I'd like to see it continue. I know I brought it up earlier, but I'd love to see another Megatronics lab at Summit High School. We've got the room for it. These kids are learning mechatronics from 9, 10, 11, and 12 and getting a degree from Columbia State. It's worthwhile, and I think the student outcomes is going to show that more and more as the years go on. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Welch? Thank you. I'm going to kind of be quasi on subject here. It's my last one, so bear with me and deal with it, I guess, a little bit. But as we're talking about superintendent goals, I just want to, I don't really see where else to do this, but I want to share kind of my experience with our superintendent real quick, and not from here, but early on. Going back to my first term on the board, we, you know, student at Centennial, and back then we kind of felt like, you know, the redheaded stepchild of Williamson County Schools, Centennial community a little bit. Dr. Looney removed our principal, and we had a new one come in. Things seemed to feel a little bit better for a while. There were some good things happening. And then there was a very bad incident involving some inappropriate behavior, and our principal was removed again, and we had an interim, and we were going to get a fourth one in about two years. And it felt like, you know, we take two steps forward and three steps back and everything else. And I had a conversation with Dr. Looney at the time, Mike, you've got to get this one right. You know, you just can't miss on this one. And Dr. Looney was going to appoint this assistant principal from Ravenwood, who had never been a principal before, who was finishing up her Ph.D. at the time. So her attention was being taken away, coming in inexperienced to the hardest. hardest job we had at the district at a time where parent and student and teacher morale was really low. And I said, I don't know about this. But that principal came in and very energetic and sweet and nice and southern. but she also chopped heads, that if you weren't cutting it, she did everything she could to get you up to par, but if you weren't cutting it, you were gone. And I remember talking to one of our former district teachers of the year about this, and he said some people were nervous, and it made them, and she had to call everyone, and she said, look, if I haven't talked to you, if you're still here, don't worry about it, but these are the changes that need to be made. And I asked him, I said, how do you feel about that? How did you feel about it? And he said, I loved it, because high-achieving people want to be around high achievers. And it needed to happen, and it wasn't, and she got it done. And this principal came to this very, very difficult situation that I wasn't sure. But two years later, she was the Tennessee Principal of the Year. She turned around that fast. She was so good, in fact, that Dr. Looney stole her from us, made her head of HR. which wasn't her background, but she went in and she crushed it and did a great job with it and did such a good job that they made her assistant superintendent for secondary schools. A couple other things you might not know about Dr. Webb, if you haven't figured that out yet. Dr. Webb was a college athlete, played basketball, and then afterwards she was a referee. And she was a pioneer there, too. She was one of the referees for the state boys' championship game. And I had the opportunity to ask her about that one time and, you know, what was that like? She said, you know, there was a lot of go-get-back-in-the-kitchen comments from the crowd or things like that. Trailblazer. One part of the first all-women's crew to... coach an NCAA men's basketball team. Interesting tidbits. Trailblazer. Crushed it. While she was our principal, I was here late one night. I don't know why. It was a PTO meeting or a football practice or track practice or soccer practice or cross-country practice or soccer practice or something else. Dr. Webb, as usual, was there late in her office work. I was talking to her about what she was doing. She said, you know, Eric, we You look at our scores and you compare them to, and she mentioned one of the expensive private schools in the area. I won't say which, but it's one of those ones that charge tuition about the same that I paid at UT Knoxville. And you said you take the top 80% of our kids, not the top 10 or 20 or 30, take the top 80, and you compare it to their SAT scores, and we're right there with them. It's that bottom 20% that drags us down. And we're failing those kids, and that's what she was working on right there. And she told me a story. She said, we had a young lady in a community who, she was so smart and brilliant, and she was a representative of it. And I went and I talked to her, and I said, you need to start taking more AP classes. You're so bright. You can be so much more. And the young lady said, you know, Dr. Webb, I can't. My parents work two jobs, and I go home and I take care of my siblings. We don't have Internet access at home. She was there that night trying to figure out how do we take care of that kid. And I remember at the time it was, I think, trying to develop Internet buses and things like that, we're going to go to that neighborhood and provide for those kids. But even from the beginning, that's what it was, is we're going to take care of every child. We've got our eye on the goal, and we're not going to leave any of them behind, and we're going to make them all succeed. And I think that's the attitude and care and dedication and hard work that we've seen carry through in everything that you've done, Dr. Webb. And so I know we've got a superintendent search committee. I voted for it, but I just want it to be on the record. I'm sorry if it's tangent, but I want to say it. I think it's a waste of time and money because we already have the best person for the job sitting in the chair, respected by our parents, by teachers, by staff, by our county commissioners. Franklin High School community knows her as a great teacher. The Ravenwood High School knows her as an amazing principal. Centennial community knows her as our best in the state principal. And everyone else in the district knows her as well for the fabulous work she's done here. So sorry for that tangent. I know it doesn't align exactly, but I want it to be set on the record before we go. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other questions or any other discussion? All right. We are ready to vote on the 2026-27 Superintendent District Goals. Mr. Beasley? Yes.

The vote is 12 yes, 0 no.

All right, those goals are approved. Our final item for tonight is approval of the new board attorney. So just a little bit of context for this for the reminder to the board and for the benefit of the public. So we began a process a few weeks back putting out an RFP, RFQ rather for the services of a new board attorney. We received two applicants for that position. The board has subsequently interviewed both of those attorneys and we had a discussion last week at the work session about where we as a board were how we felt about those two candidates. The consensus certainly was that Mr. Sam Jackson, who was with the Spencer Fain law firm, is the preferred choice. So before we proceed to a vote, I do want to take a pause and say thank you to Bobby Cook. We appreciate all that you've done to serve this board, the guidance, the advice you've given us, your commitment to this district and to this county. Appreciate all that you've done for us. Thank you so much. But I would like to recommend and make the motion that we extend an offer to and begin negotiations with Sam Jackson with Spencer Fane Law Firm to be the board attorney effective September 1st, 2026. So I think we have a motion and a second. Do we need to do that differently since I made the motion? for the record okay all right so we have a motion from myself second by dr reeves any discussion about the board attorney process okay we are ready to vote mr beasley yes Is it not recording his vote? He said yes. He voted yes.

The vote is 12 yes, 0 no.

Okay, with that vote, the board has authorized the district, Dr. Webb, to begin the process of reaching out to Mr. Jackson to make an offer and to begin negotiations. And you and I as the executive committee can initiate that process. All right, with that, we've reached the end of our agenda. I want to say thank you to the board, to everybody who attended tonight. We are adjourned.

Thank you.