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Resident tells Alcoa board she’s received no follow-up on staff concerns; board approves routine MOUs and transportation contract
Summary
During public comment Elizabeth Clark said she received no meaningful follow-up on concerns she raised about administration and staff safety; the board said it had met with counsel and stood by prior decisions. The board also approved MOUs for private duty nursing, SROs, Boys & Girls Club and a transportation contract with Rocky Top Tours.
A resident told the Alcoa City Schools board she had received no follow-up to concerns she submitted to district leadership and warned that unresolved staff fears could prompt a wave of employee departures.
Elizabeth Clark, speaking during public comment, said she submitted several questions last month and had not received “meaningful follow-up,” asked the district to reach out to faculty and staff beyond a simple survey and urged consideration of third-party checks to restore trust. “You have a lot of terrified people ... that think they're going to lose their job for no cause,” Clark said, adding that many community members want answers and that unresolved issues could lead to staff leaving.
Board chair Kirk replied that the district had held an executive meeting with legal counsel and decided to stand by the decision previously reached; the board did not detail additional follow-up in the public record at the meeting.
Separately, in a bundle of routine approvals the board unanimously approved: an MOU with Private Duty Nursing Services to clarify responsibilities of privately paid nurses who provide in‑class medical support; the annual MOU with the City of Alcoa Police Department to place four school resource officers (funded by a grant outside the general fund); a 2026–27 MOU with the Boys & Girls Club for use of AES facilities; and a renewal transportation contract with Rocky Top Tours covering 10 buses. During the transportation discussion district staff said six of the 10 buses currently have monitors and a board member urged adding monitors to all buses; the contractor (Mr. Claybo) and district negotiators said monitors are a negotiable contract item.
Why it matters: The public comment raised unresolved personnel and trust issues that board members acknowledged but did not address with a new public plan on the record. The MOUs and transportation contract affect student supports, safety personnel and daily transportation services.
The board took the votes during its June meeting and recorded unanimous approval for the listed MOUs and the transportation contract.
