Blount County Board grants tenure to educators; dozens of students honored for ACT and school achievements

Blount County School Board members voted to grant tenure to the educators the board recognized earlier in the meeting and heard reports from student representatives about recent school achievements.

At the start of the meeting administrators and the board recognized educators who qualified for tenure under district rules — a minimum of five years of service and evaluation scores of 4 or 5 — and invited them forward for pictures. Later in the meeting Human Resources requested formal board approval of tenure for those educators; the board approved the recommendation by voice vote.

Separately, Mr. John Young highlighted high-achieving seniors who scored 30 or above on the ACT across the district and read a long list of students by school. Student representatives from Eagleton College and Career Academy, Heritage High School, Samuel Everett School of Innovation and William Blunt High School reported on homecoming, fundraisers, FFA activities, athletics and CTE competition results.

"Each of these members of the class of 2025 have earned a 30 or above on their ACT during their high school career," John Young told the board while calling students to the front. The board praised the students and educators and approved tenure for the previously recognized teachers.

The meeting also included routine business: approval of the consent agenda, an interim director contract and an approved timeline for the district director search with the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA), which will begin stakeholder meetings on Feb. 20 and aims for a hiring decision around May 1.