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The Elizabethton Board of Education voted unanimously on Thursday to give all Elizabethton School employees a raise in fiscal year 2022-2023.

Director of Schools Richard VanHuss made the recommendation during the May board meeting.

“The budget has raises for every employee based on what role they fulfill,” said VanHuss. “Those raises represent a $1.2 million increase. It’s all about the people and how hard they have worked.”

Other actions by the board included:
– Approving $353,174 from the ESSER 2.0 funds to purchase roof top HVAC units for Harold McCormick Elementary. The plan is to take the boiler at Harold McCormick and replace one of the aging boilers at Elizabethton High School. VanHuss said with the volatility of construction and materials, that if these units are not purchased soon costs could increase 15%. There is a four to five month lead time to get the units once ordered.
– Approved $66,864 for a software program for Chrome Books that allows teachers to monitor and control students’ website access. The money will come from the $200,000 received for Best of All Districts grant funds.
– Approved a bid submitted by Summers-Taylor for the construction of a new parking lot at Eastside Elementary School that will host 50 spaces in front of the school. The original bid was $330,000 but was lowered to $248,979. The plan was to start after bid approval and could take up to 45 days or a little longer to complete due to material availability.
– Agreed to a contract with Physical Therapy Services to continue providing services to the school and its athletic programs. The contract is renewable for four years with no rate increase.
– Approved the RFP with G&K Lawn Care who has been providing lawn services for the last two months to an annual contract of $92,595.

Prior to the business portion of the meeting, many students from the high school’s CTE programs were recognized for their achievements in business, health care, aviation and agriculture.

The T.A. Dugger Jr. High golf teams were recognized. The girl’s team went 8-0 in regular season, finishing first in the district, and the boy’s team 7-1, finishing second in the district. Both advanced to regionals.

Also, Elizabethton High School football coach Shawn Witten recognized senior quarterback Bryson Rollins for his four-year contribution to the program setting numerous records and leading the Cyclones to two state championships and a state runner-up. Rollins’ jersey was retired and will be placed in the school’s trophy case.

The next Elizabethton BOE meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. on June 16 in the Mack Pierce Board Room.