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Hamblen County schools secure almost $5 million state energy loan; district reports TCAP gains while some federal funds are delayed
Summary
At its July 2025 meeting, the Hamblen County Board of Education heard a director's report that the district received a $4.98 million state energy-efficiency loan, projected first-year savings of more than $300,000, improved TCAP results across subjects and subgroups, and a temporary hold on roughly $830,000 of federal education funding.
At the July 2025 meeting of the Hamblen County Board of Education, the district announced that a state energy-efficiency loan application was approved for $4,980,000 and that initial state estimates show first-year savings greater than $300,000.
Director's report: why it matters. The loan, which the district and county must sign before work begins, is intended to fund energy-efficiency upgrades across schools; district leaders said signing and contractor work could begin in late August or September. The director also told the board that the Tennessee TCAP dashboard showed districtwide gains in English language arts, math, science and social studies and improvements within subgroups including students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students and English learners.
In his report, Mister Bunch, director, summarized budget and staffing developments and described an unexpected delay in some federal funds. "We applied for and received $4,980,000, so we almost got right to the $5,000,000 threshold," Mister Bunch said about the loan award. He said the paperwork has been shared with the county and with the district attorney so the district can proceed quickly. The district’s estimate — described in state paperwork and cited by Bunch — projects first-year savings of more than $300,000.
Federal funding hold. The director reported that on June 30 the state notified districts that specific federal funding categories would be held pending a more thorough review. The affected categories for Hamblen County were Title II-A, Title III-A and Title IV, and the director said the total affected for the district is "just over $830,000." Bunch said the district had already budgeted those funds for programs and is monitoring the state review but was not asking the board for action at the meeting.
Student assessment and summer-school results. The district said the statewide TCAP dashboard went live the day of the meeting and that Hamblen County showed overall improvement across tested subjects. The director described summer-school and retake outcomes tied to state waivers after a catastrophic event: 54 students passed a spring retake, 27 additional students passed after summer school, and 15 students showed "adequate growth" during summer instruction. Bunch said those combined results added about 91 students who would not be placed into mandatory tutoring under prior rules.
Staffing and operations. The director told the board staffing remains a work in progress: at the time of the meeting the district reported about 3.5 open elementary-teacher positions, two middle-school teacher openings, and four high-school teacher openings; the transportation group remained short about five bus drivers. He also said, for the first time in recent memory, all speech therapist positions were filled.
What comes next. The district said it will finalize loan paperwork with the county and its attorney and expects to begin procurement and work in late summer; it will also continue to track the state’s review of federal funds and report back to the board when the status changes.
