Hawkins County board forwards draft 4 of the 2627 school budget after debate over staffing cuts and a virtual‑education revenue proposal

District administrators presented draft 4 of the 2627 school budget and asked the Hawkins County Board of Education to forward the draft to the county commission's budget and education committees for consideration.

"We are at 4.9, proposed draw from the fund balance," an administrator reported, describing staff efforts to identify savings, place affected employees and reduce the projected draw down from earlier estimates. Administrators said they have placed 15 of the 36 educational‑assistant positions originally identified for reduction and are continuing efforts to fill and reassign others through attrition and reorganization.

Administrators also outlined a potential annual revenue source of $255,000 from a private virtual‑education partner that would use Hawkins County as a regional hub and guarantee a payment to the district even if enrollment targets are not met; that agreement would also include staffing and data‑management support to reduce district costs. The budget draft also records a multi‑year donation of $50,000 from Cardinal Glass toward a scoreboard, with the first payment received.

Board members pressed for certainty and cautioned about changing personnel plans midstream. One member said the repeated shifts in which positions were at risk were disruptive to employees and urged the board to try to finalize personnel decisions more quickly so affected staff can move forward. Another member noted the budget committee on the county commission lacked a quorum in an earlier vote and that forwarding a revised draft could secure approval on a second pass.

After discussion the board moved and seconded a motion to forward draft 4 to the county commission; the motion passed with no recorded opposition. Board members said they would continue to refine personnel placements and return with additional detail as needed.