Loudon County School Board approves employee bonuses, budget amendments and facility spending

The Loudon County School Board on an all-yes roll call approved employee bonuses, budget amendments and several facility expenditures during its meeting, and members used the director’s report to recognize student and staff awards.

Board members approved a $1,000 bonus for full-time employees and $500 for part-time employees who began work before fall break; approved a $12,000 purchase for a scoreboard; approved a $75,100 item described as a “Philly baseball field” expense; and adopted budget amendments as presented at the prior workshop. Each action passed by roll call vote with all members voting yes.

The approvals affect the district’s operating and capital outlays. The bonuses were described by board members as a one-time payment for eligible employees who were on staff before the district’s fall break. The scoreboard and baseball-field items were listed on the agenda as capital purchases; the meeting record does not specify funding sources for those purchases.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of the meeting agenda: motion by Miss Barber, second by Miss Harvey; result: approved by roll call (unanimous yes).

- Consent agenda: motion made and seconded; result: approved by roll call (unanimous yes).

- Employee bonuses: motion moved by Miss Browder, second not specified on the transcript; motion described as $1,000 for full-time employees and $500 for part-time employees who began prior to fall break; result: approved by roll call (unanimous yes).

- Scoreboard purchase (listed at about $12,000): motion moved by Miss Disney, second by Miss Barber; result: approved by roll call (unanimous yes).

- Baseball-field item (listed in the transcript as about $75,100): motion made and seconded (mover/second recorded in the transcript); result: approved by roll call (unanimous yes).

- Budget amendments: motion to adopt the budget amendments “as presented by the chancellor at the workshop,” motion seconded; result: approved by roll call (unanimous yes).

Director’s report and recognitions

During the director’s report the board recognized district honorees and VFW contest winners announced by visiting veterans. John Cardwell, quartermaster for Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5150; Alvin Wagner, commander of the post; and Rudy Haney, junior vice commander, presented local Patriot’s Pen and Voice of Democracy winners. The Patriot’s Pen post-level winner was Scott Stewart of Fort Wyland Middle School; the Voice of Democracy post-level winner was Tyler Newbert of Loudoun High School.

The board also recognized educator awards cited in the director’s remarks. The transcript identifies Miss Ambridge (named as East Tennessee Principal of the Year by the Tennessee Department of Education), and names listed as district teachers or teachers of the year included Becky Davis (Philadelphia, elementary), Amanda Baird (North Middle, middle school), Robin Young (Loudoun High School, high school), Holly McCanless (Greenback, new teacher of the year), Kayla Grama (North Middle), and Brad Abernathy (Loudoun High School). The transcript also names Cindy Crawford, Kathy Wicker and Catherine Carlson as VFW-recognized teachers; the record states those VFW winners will move on to district/state consideration.

The director’s report also included recognition of Melissa Williamson, a paraprofessional at Greenback, who the transcript says performed a maneuver that staff credited with saving a third-grade student. The transcript records the superintendent or director saying the district had closed school for the following day and that additional scheduling decisions for Monday were “not promised.” The transcript also referenced a gas leak incident and named Wally Brakeman for handling the situation.

What the record does not specify

The agenda and motions list dollar amounts for the scoreboard and the baseball-field item in the transcript (approximately $12,000 and $75,100 respectively) but do not specify the exact funding source (for example, whether purchases will come from the capital budget, insurance, a grant or fund balance). The budget-amendment motion references a previous workshop presentation by the chancellor; the chancellor’s full proposal text and line-item changes were not included verbatim in the transcript.

Next steps

The board adjourned after completing the listed votes. The transcript does not record subsequent follow-up deadlines, contract numbers, or implementation dates for the capital purchases and bonuses; those details were not specified during the meeting and will need to be confirmed in the posted minutes or purchasing records.