Hamblen County school board approves grants, purchases and capital projects including $500,000 opioid-recovery grant

At its July meeting the Hamblen County Board of Education approved a package of consent and action items that included grants, vendor contracts, instructional purchases and several capital projects.

Among the items approved: a rental agreement with the Boys & Girls Club of Morristown for pool and gym use ($5,000 for 2025–26); acceptance of an ATSI grant for Meadowview Middle School ($100,000); acceptance of a district improvement grant from the Public Schools Districts Opioid Recovery Trust for $500,000 (presented by Jamie Green and described as a three-year grant); and a Lexia Core5 literacy purchase/renewal for $118,930 to support tiered reading and dyslexia interventions.

The board also approved maintenance and premium care for district video surveillance for $71,826.01 (Bunch said this is a renewal of existing coverage), and awarded contracts for fencing ($64,360), a large roofing project at Hillcrest Elementary ($798,594), a canopy for Meadowview Middle ($93,400) and a $34,200 wall repair at Morristown East High School.

Many of the items were presented with brief explanations and passed by voice vote with little extended discussion. Questions from board members focused on clarifying scope and whether projects or renewals were continuations of existing services; Bunch and other staff provided those clarifications.

The board also approved first readings of several policy updates and adopted a five-year strategic plan covering the 2025–26 through 2029–30 school years. The meeting adjourned; the chair set the next meeting date for Aug. 12, 2025.

Items approved at the meeting will be reflected in contract files and budget reports; several will require routine vendor coordination and standard reporting back to the board.