Bradley County Board approves construction bids, contract transfers and policy updates; elects new officers

The Bradley County Board of Education on Sept. 9 approved a series of contracts, bids and policy updates and elected new board officers.

The board accepted the low bid for the Parkview Elementary expansion, awarding the contract to Integrated Builds of Chattanooga for $3,200,000. The contract amount, the board was told, includes a 10% contingency and a 310-day completion window. Staff said they received seven qualified bids and recommended accepting the lowest responsive bid; the board approved the recommendation by roll call.

The board also approved awarding the North Lee Elementary paving contract to Wright Brothers Construction after a staff recommendation that the firm met the district—s qualifications.

In another personnel-related action, the board approved the transfer of two bus routes (routes 4 and 29) to Teresa Phillips. Transportation supervisor Terry McElhaney told the board the district experienced the recent death of long-time contractor Robert Phillips and that Mrs. Phillips volunteered to continue servicing the Taylor-area routes; the board moved to transfer the routes and the motion passed.

The meeting included several policy actions to bring district rules into alignment with state law. The board approved policy 1.407 (school district records), which removes fax as an acceptable records-request method following a law change and deletes a named employee in favor of the title "human resources director." Policy 3.204 (incident reporting), which implements a law requiring parental notification within 48 hours when the district reports an incident to law enforcement and requires a quarterly incidents report at board meetings, was approved on first reading. Policy 4.601 (reporting student progress), which requires report cards for K—8 to include the most recent universal reading screener score and dyslexia screener results when applicable, was approved on first reading. Policy 5.11 (compensation guidelines and contracts), which reflects a law permitting boards to determine whether to compensate a teacher's estate or designated beneficiary for unused leave time, was approved on first reading. The board also approved policy 3.202 (emergency preparedness) on first and second reading, noting the district already met the clarified state requirement on fire drills.

The board approved extended contract procedures for the 2025—26 school year (25 extended contracts) and gave permission to begin a safety and beautification project at Bradley Central High School. Patrick Spangler told the board the campus project will focus on entryways, curbs and lighting, will include student design participation, and requires no district funding.

During elections, the board appointed Vicki Beatty as chair by acclamation after a nomination from Ted Bryson. Ted Bryson was later elected vice chair following a nomination and the withdrawal of Josh Taylor—s nomination; board members reported six yes votes for Bryson. Nancy Cason was approved by acclamation as the district—s Tennessee Legislative Network (TLN) representative.

The board conducted roll-call votes on the various motions; where vote counts were reported in the meeting, motions were recorded as passing.