The Elizabethton Board of Education voted unanimously to approve a one-time suspension of board policies so a teacher may receive a portion of a $100,000 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools award.

Richard Van Huss, identified in the meeting as director, told the board the grant — written by teacher Jerry Egan — included a provision asking that the instructor receive part of the award. Van Huss said two board policies could conflict with that request (identified in the meeting as Policy 5.1/5.11 and Policy 5.605) and recommended suspending them only for this award so the district could comply with the grantor's request. "The one recommendation is for this particular situation that we suspend policy 5.11," Van Huss said during the discussion.

Van Huss explained the board had precedent for temporary suspensions (for example during the COVID-19 emergency) and cited Board Policy 1.6, which the director read as allowing suspension either by a unanimous vote of members present or by a two-thirds vote of the total membership. The board moved, seconded, and approved the suspension specific to the Harbor Freight award; meeting minutes record the motion carried with no opposition.

The board did not detail how the grant funds will be distributed beyond noting the instructor would receive a portion as requested by the grant. Questions about exact dispersal mechanics, whether the payment is treated as direct compensation, and any payroll or tax treatment were discussed in general terms but the board did not provide a granular accounting in the meeting record. Van Huss characterized the suspension as a narrow, single-instance accommodation tied to this award.

Next steps noted in the meeting included carrying out the distribution consistent with the grant terms and with the board's temporary suspension; the motion and vote in the meeting were the formal actions authorizing that path.

Ending: The board adopted the temporary suspension and the motion carried unanimously; no further action on this item was recorded at this meeting.