Director reports progress on Dave Rodgers Center; district readies for Aug. 4 in-service and back-to-school events

Director Van Hesse told the Elizabethton Board of Education at its July meeting that construction on the Dave Rodgers Center for Athletic Performance is in its final month and a half and that exterior walls are largely complete. He said the district expects site work in the next week or two ahead of paving and installation of turf and a gym floor.

“We should be approaching some, you should be seeing a lot of site work in the next week or 2, in preparation for new paving and things like that, as well as installation of the turf and the gym floor,” Van Hesse said.

Van Hesse said fundraising for equipment has gone well and credited athletic parent organizations and community donors for contributions. He also reported that preliminary testing results for the district were “very favorable,” citing the work of teaching staff and students in recovering from last year’s flood-related challenges.

On calendar items, Van Hesse said the district’s opening in-service for the 2025–26 school year is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 4, with lunch served at 11:30 a.m. and a program at the high-school gym to follow. He encouraged board members to attend the TSBA Summer Law Institute beginning Friday (travel to the conference on Thursday night) and promoted a back-to-school event at Elizabethton High School described in the meeting as a “Back to School Bash” from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.; the transcript does not specify the exact July date for that event.

Van Hesse said the district expects its student liaison to join the board in August.

The board’s next regularly scheduled meeting was set for Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. in the same location.