A new calendar year brought many changes to the Knox County Board of Education.
Kay Powers was sworn in as the newly elected board member by the Honorable Judge Skip Hammons. Powers replaces Carrie Runyon Smith who did not run for re-election.
Next up for the board was the election of a new chairperson and vice chair for the next year. A motion was made and passed that Jimmy Hendrickson would assume the role of chairperson and Dr. Tom Ashburn would assume the role of vice chair.
Board members were recognized by Superintendent Jeremy Ledford for their service and focus on kids. January is school board recognition month in Kentucky and several other states.
The board also set its meeting calendar for the upcoming year. All meetings will continue to be held on the fourth Thursday of the month, 6:30 pm, at the Board of Education Annex building. Exceptions were made for the months of February (due to basketball tournaments), May (Memorial Day holiday), June (to close out the fiscal year), July (due to the administrative meeting held by KASA), November (due to Thanksgiving), and December (due to the Christmas holiday). A complete list of dates is available on the KCPS website at www.knoxkyschools.com under the Board of Education section.
Several items relating to district facilities and operations were discussed and/or approved by the board including submitting a revised BG-1 application for Girdle r HVAC and Roof replacement, Lynn Camp HVAC and Roof Replacement, and Knox County Middle School HVAC and Roof replacement.
The board entered into an agreement with Lynn Camp Site Base Decision Making council (SBDM) to purchase auditorium lighting and a sound system where the district would pay upfront the total cost and Lynn Camp would pay back the cost over a period of set time. A similar agreement was approved for Knox Central High School to purchase strength and conditioning equipment for their programs.
The purchase of five new school buses was approved using federal ESSER funding. The purchase of two Kubota tractors for Knox Central and Lynn Camp agriculture programs was approved using career funds from the state.
Amendments were made to the classified and certified travel policies to continue to follow the government’s per diem rates for locations travel but remove the percentage of reduction if a meal is provided for by the hotel or conference. This was the second reading of the policies and it is now approved.
School classifications for the 2023-2024 school year were approved as presented by the board. All elementary schools that feed into Knox County Middle then later Knox Central would be reduced to pre/K through 5th grade. Knox County Middle School would become a 6-8 school. No changes were made to Lynn Camp as their configuration already follows the new changes approved.
Promise Neighborhood and Full Service Community Schools, once coordinated by Berea’s Partners for Education are now approved for an extension under the Partners for Rural Impact. Promise Neighborhood will continue for two years and the Full Service Community for five years.
Other actions approved by the Knox County Board of Education include the following:
- Accepted the financial audit report that was presented in December by Cloyd and Associates;
- Issued payment for Flat Lick Waste Water Treatment Plant (pay application four);
- Approved agreements for Title I-D funding for Knox County Day Treatment and an amendment memorandum of agreement increasing funding for Family Resource and Youth Service Centers through the end of FY24;
- Established a board member scholarship account if a board member wishes to donate towards a scholarship;
- Took action to approve the Superintendent to pursue an option to purchase property; and
- Solicit proposals for network servings and auditing services.
The opening moment of silence and prayer was conducted by Bro. Jimmy Siler, pastor at Roadside Baptist Church.
A complete list of all board actions will be available in the January 27, 2023 minutes that are approved at the February 16, 2023 meeting.
Video from the meeting is available for viewing at www.kcps.media