Hamblen County board approves bids, contracts and grants; public urges posting meeting packets online

The Hamblen County Board of Education on Feb. 10 approved multiple routine business items, including procurement bids and contracts, a capital replacement project at East Ridge Middle School and several state grant awards.

Doctor Drennan provided a construction update, saying framing is complete for phase 2 at Lincoln Middle and Meadowview Middle; Lincoln Middle passed a wall electrical inspection and drywall can begin, Meadowview had inspections scheduled for Thursday, and phase 2 remains on track for early April. Drennan said the John Hay bid packet was being finalized with the Lewis Group and an anticipated bid opening is March 31.

On capital projects, the board approved item 10.2 to replace the cooling tower at East Ridge Middle School in the amount of $282,556 from J and F Mechanical. Finance items presented by Jared Ladd included a 2025–26 general purpose budget amendment (number 7) in the amount of $88,600; the board approved the amendment and accepted December 2025 financial reports.

The board accepted multiple grants from the Tennessee Department of Education: a Tennessee Comprehensive Literacy State Development grant of $90,000 per year for fiscal years 2025 through 2029; early literacy tutoring grant funds of $14,000; and AllcorP Tutoring Innovation grant funds of $74,600. Board members moved and approved these items by voice vote; recorded roll-call tallies were not provided in the transcript.

Personnel and policy items were also approved. The board completed a second and final reading of board policies (item 11) and approved them. The board moved to approve tenured certified teachers (item 12); one member stated they would abstain from voting on that item due to a conflict of interest regarding a candidate.

During public comment, Miss Snowy asked the board to make meeting packets available online so community members could access agenda materials without calling district staff. "I ask you tonight to please put on your agenda for next month and let the people know whether you're gonna put your packets on or not," she said. The commenter referenced the district's budget, saying "You have, like, a $130,000,000 budget at this point," and urged greater transparency.

Motions on bids, contracts and contracts a–f (10.1), consent items and field trips were moved and seconded and approved by voice vote; Harold Jones and other staff were cited as presenters for procurement items. The meeting concluded with brief board comments and adjournment until March 10, 2026.