by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

“It will end up costing the taxpayer,” said Board Member Sara Liechty in a discussion prompted by an update on the proposed Freedom Scholarship Act at the Nov. 11 board meeting. The board also learned about a new emergency response app on teachers’ cell phones and received a report on energy cost savings resulting from TRANE upgrades.

Last year the state house and senate could not agree on the provisions of the voucher-like Freedom Scholarship Act, said Board Member Sarah Marhevsky in her Legislative Update, but the two chambers of the Tennessee legislature have now submitted matching versions of the bill. If the proposed legislation becomes law, state funded scholarships will pay $7,075 toward the tuition of students attending private schools. The $7,075 per student allocation is the same for public schools, an amount set by the TISA funding formula. However, for private schools the state pays the full amount. For public schools a portion of the $7,075 allocation must be provided by the local school district’s tax dollars, typically 25 percent ($1,768) or more per student. Citing other inequities of the proposed legislation, Marhevsky noted private schools receiving scholarship money were not required to adhere to state hiring, curriculum, and testing mandates imposed on public schools. The legislature has already allocated $141.5 million to fund 20,000 scholarships for the first year, 10,000 to students qualifying for free and reduced lunch and 10,000 to students of any income level. By the provisions of the bill, next year the state will offer 5,000 more scholarships.

Similar voucher-type programs proposed in other states were voted down in the recent election, Liechty insisted. “Tennessee can’t support two systems of education without it impacting your personal taxes and revenue for roads and services. [A voucher-type program] about shut down the state of Indiana. The cost went from $50 million to several billion in a couple years. [The voucher system] is struggling and floundering everywhere it is [implemented]. I don’t know how much success you have in contacting your legislators. It did not come to a vote in Tennessee, and it should have.”

School Health Coordinator Chris Hawkersmith provided an overview of the Rave Panic app. The press of a button can alert the principal, law enforcement, fire fighters, and, if necessary, the entire campus depending on the nature of the emergency. For an active shooter or fire, notification goes out to 911 and all school personnel. Notification varies depending on the type of crisis. A medical emergency alert, for example, would notify the principal and school nurse.

Hawkersmith also explained the capabilities of the vape monitors soon to be activated in restrooms at North and South middle schools and Franklin County and Huntland high schools. In addition to detecting vape products in use, THC, and changes in CO2 levels, the monitors detect loud noises, screaming, and auditory disturbances. “The vape stuff is marketed to our kids. It gets kids addicted for life. Stopping the vape problem is not possible, but [the sensors] are a huge deterrent,” Hawkersmith said.

With the hardware portion of the TRANE energy-savings installations complete, the district is earmarked to receive $10,000 more in rebates from TVA than the $131,000 initially anticipated. Performance tracking also showed a higher than anticipated savings in energy costs, said Adam Cavender, TRANE measurement and verification engineer. Analysis of data revealed $267,000 in energy cost savings, $156,000 more than projected. The TRANE guarantee promises the TRANE upgrades will yield savings, Cavender said, and if not, “TRANE will make you whole. The district’s energy costs would have been a quarter million higher [without the upgrades].”

The board approved an MOU agreed upon by representatives from the Franklin County Education Association and the board of education management, addressing teachers’ wages, grievance procedures, insurance, working conditions and benefits. Liechty took issue with granting teachers personal leave days to reward years of service. Teacher absences “chip away from student learning,” Liechty stressed. “I wish we could look at another way to celebrate longevity.” Human Resources Supervisor Roger Alsup acknowledged Franklin County was only one of six districts in the state offering this benefit. “We’re pioneers in this area. It’s hard to get teachers. We need to do something to recognize longevity.”

The board meets next Dec. 11, the second Tuesday of the month, rather than the second Monday, to accommodate a meeting with the Franklin County Education Committee prior to the regular board meeting.