A clean bill of health is always an item to take pride in.
Much can be said about the financial situation with the Elizabethton City Schools System. The Board of Education met inside the Mack Pierce Board Room Tuesday evening and approved the Blackburn, Childers, & Steagall audit reports in regards to the school system with no findings reported.
The report was commended by the BOE with Director of Schools Dr. Corey Gardenhour adding the “clean audits” have been occurring 2007.
BOE member Susan Peters took time out to thank the efforts of ECS Director of Business and Fiscal Management Beth Wilson and her staff for the work put in to continue a successful financial management situation for the school system.
“It’s always nice to receive the calls saying the audit is clean … we appreciate your work and this means a lot to the community,” BOE Chair Rita Booher said to Wilson during the meeting.
Vice-chair Grover May added the consistency of the reports is a testament to the work of the staff and the school system.
Along with passing the audit report, the BOE approved the recommendation of tenure for teachers in the school system, including: Kristin Barnett, Jason Elliott, Lucas Honeycutt, Joy Jarrett, Shaun Julian, Sara Beth Kerr, Robin LaPorte, Phillip Ledford, Dan Mills, Amanda Sullivan-Righter, Rhonda Taylor, Kristin Waite and Nataly Woodward.
In other business, the BOE:
• Approved the ECS school calendar for 2017-18
• Approved the purchase of FastTrack employee application software from Skyward with an annual recurring fee of $1 to go along with the recently passed Skyward resolution.
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During the director’s report, Dr. Gardenhour added the school system officially acquired land adjacent to Harold McCormick Elementary School and work will continue in the future to help get the land for usage by the school. Along with an update to the telemedicine contract, Dr. Gardenhour praised the efforts of ECS Public Relations Coordinator Bekah Price for her work on the school’s snow page, which will be utilized during inclement weather on the school’s website. Visit ecschools.net to stay up to date with all potential school closures for the city school system.
The Bartley Project also received national acclaim once again by being featured in a documentary by USA Today – expected to be released as early as this week.
A topic of discussion that lingered into the new year is possible renovations of T.A. Dugger Junior High, which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary of operation within the city.
Dr. Gardenhour provided an update for possible work to the school, adding that bonds are currently being looked at to allow the school to begin financing the project. When going through the details, Dr. Gardenhour thanked the efforts of Elizabethton Mayor Curt Alexander and the City Council for the support with the motion.
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In other business,
• HME Principal Eric Wampler provided an update on work and initiatives underway at the elementary school, including the school’s PTAC raising $7,000 for a walk-a-thon and $5,000 being raised during a book fair.
• The Elizabethton High School Betsy Band, CSI students, Color Guard, football and cross country teams were each recognized at the start of the meeting for their accomplishments during the school year.