The July 13 board meeting was newly appointed Superintendent Joey Hassell’s first meeting. All board members were present except Olivia Farrington. The first order of business was the approval of the 2017-18 yearly agenda for the monthly school board meetings. Secondly, Board members approved athletic practice that occurs during regular school hours. This must be approved each year.

Krista Parker, director of the Ready to Read project held in conjunction with the Boys and Girls Club, reported on the success of the program and the impact of it on the students who participated. They had 45 participants and more on a waiting list in the 28-day program. The program had six themes for their study, utilized many community members to read to the students and participate in the theme days, and 13 supporting community organizations.

The Tennessee School Boards Association submitted recommendations for approval of policy additions/revisions for 14 policies. These policies were approved on first reading by board members: 1.407 – School District Records, 2.703 – Audits, 3.202 –Emergency Preparedness Plan, 3.400 – Student Transportation Management, 4.210 – Credit Recovery, 4.301 – Interscholastic Athletics, 4.402 – Selection of Instructional Materials (delete this policy), 4.600 – Grading System, 4.700 – Testing Programs, 5.200 – Separation Practices for Tenured Teachers, 5.201 – Separation Practices for Non-Tenured Teachers, 5.701 – Substitute Teachers, 5.203 – Recommendations and File Transfers – (new policy), 5600 – Staff Rights & Responsibilities.

Chief Student Services Officer Art Garrett gave a Bullying Case Report for the year. “Our numbers are decreasing every year,” he said, “due to training of teachers and students.” Garrett said with a caring staff and a better definition of bullying, more students are reporting bullying. From 43 cases reported in 2013-2014, Haywood County Schools were down to only 12 cases reported in 2016-2017.

Superintendent Hassell presented to board members his new organizational chart. Several titles have changed as well as the placement of positions. Please see the chart below.

Chief Financial Officer Larry Livingston reported on the federal allocations in the budget. He reported no change in the budget, only that the line items were listed. This was approved by the board.

The Superintendent reported that in his few days in office, he has held many meetings with staff members and visited the schools. He said there would be many more meetings as he continues to familiarize himself with the system, the policies and the staff. He did announce that he was adding a new assistant principal to the staff at Haywood Middle School, replacing the Instructional Facilitator at Haywood Elementary School, and replacing the Chief Special Services Officer Position.

Chief Human Resources Officer Toni Eubanks gave a report on the hiring process for the upcoming school year, and Chief Academic Officer Yvette Blue reported on several programs going on in the schools.

August 3 is the community-wide in service day for teachers and staff members, and August 7 is the first half-day of school for students. There will also be a business fair on the in service day in the Haywood High School gym, and any businesses who want to participate can call the Board of Education at 772-9613 to get more information.

The next school board meeting will be held on August 10, 2017.