Board approves out-of-county tuition increase, extends mental-health contract and OKs summer testing plan

The Henderson County Board of Public Education approved several routine and program-level motions during its Feb. 10 meeting, including an increase to the out-of-county tuition rate for students attending Henderson County Public Schools, a one-time contract extension to expand school-based mental-health coverage, and the district's summer testing plan for 2024–25.

Board members first approved the meeting agenda and later the consent agenda by voice vote. The board then voted to increase the out-of-county tuition rate for nonresident students to $2,580 for the 2025–26 school year; the motion was presented by district staff and approved by the board. The board also approved a staff recommendation to extend a contract with Blue Ridge Health using dedicated hurricane-relief mental-health dollars. The one-time payment of $92,000 is intended to expand school-based therapy so that, beginning March 1, each school will have at least two days of on-site services; staff described the payment as a lump sum to hire and train additional providers.

Separately, the board voted to approve the 2024–25 summer testing plan the district must submit to the state. The plan covers summer testing windows and second administrations for Read to Achieve assessments and other end-of-grade/subject retests; district staff said new state science norming means no elementary- or middle-school science testing results will be reported this year.

All votes reported were taken by voice; meeting minutes did not record individual roll-call tallies in the transcript. The meeting concluded after routine business with a motion to adjourn.