At the Aug. 14 meeting of the Franklin County School Board, the board granted the request of Franklin County High School Principal Roger Alsup and Huntland High School Principal Kenneth Bishop to hold senior graduation a week before the official end of classes.

“When graduation is held on the last day of school, seniors and their teachers are still working while other students and their families are celebrating Memorial Day weekend and beginning their summer vacations,” Alsup said.

“Early graduation would give guidance counselors time to record final grades and send transcripts,” Bishop explained, stressing this was especially important “for students who choose to attend summer school. It’s very hard to get everything taken care of for the seniors when graduation is on the final day of classes.”

If the school district switched to early graduation, seniors would take their final exams earlier as well, the principals said.

School board representative Adam Tucker asked if the state minimum requirement for instructional days would be met if the school system opted for early graduation.

“We go extra days anyway,” Bishop pointed out.

Director of School Stanley Bean said he researched the question, and “It’s not a problem.”

Alsup and Bishop cited other Tennessee school districts where seniors graduate a week before the end of school.

“Franklin County used to do this,” Board Chair CleiJo Walker pointed out. The early graduation model also makes it more convenient for rising eighth graders to visit the high school during the last week of school, she said.

The board voted to amend the calendars for the 2017–18 and 2018–19 school years to accommodate the early graduation request.

Reporting on the student enrollment for the 2017–18 school year, Bean said attendance data for the fourth day of school showed 194 fewer students than the same day in 2016, with a total of 4,976 students present this year.

Assistant Superintendant Linda Foster expressed concern there were 48 fewer seniors than students graduating from 11th grade last spring.

“We’re trying to identify the people and the reason they didn’t return for their senior year,” Foster said.

Tucker asked if the difference could reflect a reporting inconsistency.

The report was “based on attendance,” Foster acknowledged. She said a full enrollment report would be available at a later date.

The board resumed discussion of the Interscholastic Athletics policy recommended by the Tennessee School Board Association. The policy states student athletes are not required to attend athletic events “if the event is on an official school holiday, observed day of worship, or religious holiday. The student’s parent or legal guardian shall notify the coach in writing three full school days prior to the event.”

Board member Chris Guess took issue with excusing students for non-religious holidays like Presidents’ Day.

“The law requires we include this in the policy,” Walker said.

“It’s the state’s roundabout way of protecting students’ rights,” observed board member Lance Williams.

In prior discussion, the board questioned whether the language parents “shall notify the coach” implied a consequence in the absence of notification.

“The state code says ‘may notify,’” Walker pointed out. State code also waives the need for notification “in emergency situations.”

While interpreting this to mean the state encouraged leniency, the board sympathized with coaches need to know if student athletes would be present.

To make the policy “a little stronger,” Tucker recommended amending the policy to read parents “should notify the coach.”

The board approved the policy in the amended form.

The board also approved the new Local Agricultural Products Compliance Plan which affirms the district’s commitment to make more “local agricultural products” available and to allow “flexible bidding to assist farmers to bid competitively.”

“Does this mean local people can sell to cafeterias?” asked board member Gary Hanger.

Foster said they already did. The South Cumberland Food Hub based in Sewanee routinely coordinates sales between area farmers and the Franklin County Schools.

Board member Christine Hopkins expressed gratitude to the team of teachers responsible for the recent $267,318 grant award for equipment for the Career and Technical Education program. The teachers who collaborated in writing the grant were Alsup, Suzanne Mitchell, Rita Sliger, Diane Spaulding and Derrick Swager.

Representing the Friends of Townsend Coalition, Floyd Blackwell asked the board to retain ownership of the Townsend School property. Blackwell said neighboring residents supported demolition of the old portion of the school, rather than spending money refurbishing the aging structure, but recommended honoring the heritage of the Townsend School by establishing a park on the grounds with a memorial erected from the bricks.

“The citizens of the community paid for and laid those bricks,” said Blackwell, former assistant principal at FCHS.

The board has received two requests to purchase the property and a third request to establish a Head Start program at the old school.

“We would like to be involved,” Blackwell insisted.

The school board meets next at 5:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 11.