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Civil Miller-Watkins warns of $3–$3.5M shortfall for Fayette County Schools, urges survey before bus-schedule changes
Summary
At the April 2 Fayette County Board of Education meeting, public commenter Civil Miller-Watkins said the district may face a $3–$3.5 million budget shortfall and urged the board to survey families before consolidating bus routes or moving to a single bell schedule; she also asked for additional ACT fee waivers and noted classroom and clock concerns at East Junior High.
Civil Miller-Watkins told the Fayette County Board of Education on April 2 that the superintendent had informed East Junior High families the district "may face a budget shortfall of approximately $3–$3.5 million," a gap she said could lead to larger class sizes and staff retention challenges.
"Teaching a class of thirty students is already challenging," Miller-Watkins said, urging the board to consider teacher workload and pay when weighing budget decisions. She warned that multiple classes of that size, combined with current pay, "could make it difficult to retain quality teachers." She also asked the board to survey the community before implementing a single bell schedule that would have elementary, middle and high school students ride the same buses.
Miller-Watkins raised several other concerns during public comment: social-media posts suggesting that Nashville and local government were attempting to close Fayette County Public Schools, the continuing problem of nonworking clocks at East Junior High (she suggested buying simple battery-operated clocks so students can practice analog time), and the need for additional ACT fee waivers beyond the two currently provided so more students have opportunities to reach target scores.
The board did not take an immediate policy action in response to the public comment. In the superintendent’s report later in the meeting, Dr. McPherson said the district recently participated in an accountability hearing before the Tennessee State Board of Education and that a corrective action plan was issued; he said the state board’s feedback was to continue the work already underway. No budget vote or new transportation directive was recorded at the April 2 meeting.
The board approved its consent agenda and other routine motions at the meeting; any future budget actions would be scheduled for committee review and formal board consideration, according to meeting procedure.
