Maury County board updates drug-and-alcohol workplace policy and adopts superintendent evaluation tool amid concerns about enforcement and strategic plan

The Maury County Board of Education on Tuesday approved a revised policy on alcohol and drugs in the workplace and voted to adopt a superintendent evaluation tool, after public comment and several board members voiced concerns about enforcement and missing district planning required by state statute.

A member of the public who identified themself as a teacher urged the board to clarify how new policies would be enforced and to address staffing and attendance issues. The speaker said a student currently has “68 attendance infractions” and said enforcement of existing policies has been inconsistent: “We are losing teachers. We are in February and cannot keep our schools staffed,” the speaker said. The speaker identified the stress on teachers and urged the board to hear directly from classroom staff and building administrators.

Board members debated two agenda items: Policy 1.804 (listed in the packet as the drug- and alcohol-in-the-workplace policy) and the superintendent evaluation tool. Board member Carter moved to approve the workplace policy; McGee seconded, and the board approved the item. The final packet uses the title "Alcohol and drugs in the workplace," and the version before the work session used the phrase "director of schools," which was changed in the final draft to "superintendent." The board approved the superintendent evaluation tool on a separate vote; Moore moved and Brown seconded that motion.

Several board members said the evaluation tool is a short-term measure to satisfy current policy requirements but lacks the metrics they want. "The only thing I wanted to say was ... evaluation after an entire year. That's the first thing that I'm troubled by," said School Board member Stephanie Stevenson, who said she would vote no because the district does not yet have the five-year strategic plan and measurable objectives required by state statute. Stevenson later said the lack of a strategic plan left the district out of compliance with the statute requiring a multi-year strategic plan with measurable objectives.

Board member Daryl Carter urged colleagues to treat the evaluation tool as a starting point: "I will feel exponentially more comfort trying to find a different way forward knowing that we're at least following our policy in the short term," he said. Other members echoed both views: some favored approving the tools now to meet policy deadlines; others said they would withhold support until metrics and a strategic plan are in place.

The board chair asked that completed evaluations be returned within a week so the chair could compile the numeric results for the next work session. Members were told written comments on the evaluation form would become part of the public record.

The board did not supply a roll-call vote tally in the transcript for either item; minutes recorded that both motions "pass." Several members announced they would vote no on the evaluation tool during discussion (Stevenson, Martin, and Babcock stated opposition), and other members voiced support or urged using the tool as an interim measure. The transcript does not contain a complete named vote tally for either action.

The superintendent evaluation tool and the workplace policy update will both return to the board for follow-up: the chair asked to receive compiled evaluations by the following Tuesday, and the board plans to schedule strategic-planning discussions at a future work session, likely after budget season.