Blount County Board of Education approves teacher MOU, district budget, playground donation and Education Freedom Act resolution

The Blount County Board of Education voted on multiple staffing, budget and program measures during its April monthly meeting, approving a memorandum of understanding with the local teachers' association, adopting the proposed fiscal-year 2025–26 budget for multiple funds, approving a privately funded inclusive playground at Mary Blunt Elementary School and passing a resolution to permit teacher participation in the Education Freedom Act incentive program.

The board approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) reached through collaborative conferencing with the Blount County Education Association. Rebecca Dickinson, Blount County Education Association president, thanked the board and central office staff for the collaborative process: "Most of the language covers working conditions ... and regarding salary, teachers are very appreciative of adding steps through 30 and moving our salaries closer to our comparable nearby districts." The roll-call vote on the MOU recorded board members Phil Porter, Randy Early Howard, Brian King, Joe Lindsey, John Lovett, Erica Moore and Chris Pass as voting yes.

The board also voted to adopt the district's proposed FY 2025–26 budgets for multiple funds, including the general-purpose school fund (Fund 141), federal projects (Fund 142), central cafeteria (Fund 143), ESP (Fund 146) and education capital (Fund 177). During budget discussion, district and county officials said the plan…