Loudon County School Board approves routine agenda items, adopts Ridgeview Riverhawks name; hears student and director reports

The Loudon County School Board approved a series of routine agenda items, voted to name a school team the Ridgeview Riverhawks and heard reports from a Loudon High School student representative and the district director during its meeting.

The board voted to approve the meeting agenda and multiple consent items including approval of a non‑faculty coach, out‑of‑state travel requests, textbook committee appointments and routine budget adjustments. The board also approved the Local Education Agency (LEA) compliance report. Separately, the board approved the recommendation to name the Ridgeview teams the Riverhawks; board member Newman recorded a no vote on that motion.

The approvals were taken by roll call votes on each item. Several routine motions passed without recorded opposition in the roll calls held during the meeting. The naming motion for Ridgeview was made by Mr. Newman and seconded by Mr. Cusick; roll call recorded Mr. Cusick and Mr. Presley voting yes and Mr. Newman voting no, and other board members voting yes.

Loudon High School student representative Miss Hatcher provided a school update. "This year's homecoming queen crowning was a shocking event, celebrating the first ever crowning of 2 queens," she said, and summarized recent student activity: the Interact Club held a homecoming dance, seniors took the ACT, juniors took the ASVAB, the band placed third and earned a fan‑favorite award at a recent competition, and culinary students raised funds for a planned competition trip to Disney. She also noted upcoming events including senior nights for volleyball and football and a suicide‑prevention awareness walk supported by Interact Club and Key Club.

In his director's report, the district director told the board, "I wanna report to the board that we have sold our third house." He also said the district has received no credible threats so far this quarter: "We've had none of those to this point in the school year to this quarter." The director said the board earned recognition under the Tennessee Healthier Schools Challenge, a Platinum distinction, and that the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth county profile ranked the county sixth in the state.

Board members used brief roll calls to record votes on each consent and action item. Several motions were moved and seconded by board members during the meeting; where a mover or seconder was not recorded on the transcript, the item passed by roll call without further discussion.

The meeting closed after brief acknowledgments from members and the student representative.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of meeting agenda: approved by roll call (unanimous in recorded roll call). - Non‑faculty coach approval: approved by roll call. - Out‑of‑state travel(s) / out‑of‑state filter item: approved by roll call. - Textbook committee appointments: approved by roll call. - Budget adjustments / "budget moving": approved (motion seconded by Miss Bridges; roll call yes votes recorded). - LEA compliance report: approved (motion moved by Miss Barber, seconded by Mr. Disney; roll call yes votes recorded). - Name adoption: Ridgeview Riverhawks — motion by Mr. Newman, second by Mr. Cusick; roll call recorded Mr. Cusick yes, Mr. Presley yes, Mr. Newman no, and other members voting yes; outcome: approved.

Meeting followups and items to watch

- The director said the district will continue quarterly reporting on credible threats as required by new state law. - Culinary class fundraising and the planned All‑Star fundraiser for a staff member (Oct. 18) were noted; the director asked the community to support events. The director and board also noted the upcoming Tennessee School Boards Association conference where the board will receive the Healthier Schools recognition.