School Board Approves New Honors Requirements; Tennis in Jeopardy
Thursday, July 12, 2018
by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer
At the July 9 meeting, the Franklin County School Board approved changes to the requirements for graduating with honors. The board also entertained a request on behalf of the jeopardized Franklin County High School tennis program.
Under the new honors requirements, a student must earn a 4.0 grade point average and take at least 12 honors courses. In conjunction with the change, Franklin County High School (FCHS) will give honors and advanced placement (AP) courses more weight than regular courses. The value for honors courses will increase by one half a point and AP courses by one point. For example, an A grade in honors English would be valued at 4.5 rather than 4.0.
FCHS Principal Roger Alsup recommended the changes “to benefit students when they apply to college.” Previously, the maximum grade point average a student could earn was 4.0. Students from schools with weighted grading report grade point averages up to 5.0 on their college applications. With no extra credit for the extra work, “students were dropping AP classes,” Alsup said.
Huntland High School will wait until the 2019–20 school year to adopt weighted grading.
Chris Barnhill addressed the board on behalf of the FCHS tennis team, which practices and hosts matches at the Winchester City Park’s four courts. Faced with refurbishing the courts at a cost of $114,000, the city has decided to close them.
“The only other courts in the county are in Sewanee,” Barnhill said. He argued refurbishing included lights, which weren’t needed. He quoted an estimated cost of $5,000-$6,000 per court for surface repairs.
“The parents and kids will fundraise, but they don’t have the authority,” Barnhill said. He appealed to the board to act as a partner in the fundraising effort—“Please don’t kill the team.”
The board recommend Barnhill contact school district Athletic Director Mark Montoy.
“We don’t have the money,” explained board member Lance Williams. “And, we’re not a fundraising body.”
In other business, the board approved the Code of Conduct for the 2018–19 school year and several policy revisions.
The Code of Conduct has three changes from last year: contact information for transportation issues; the state mandated zero-tolerance policy for students who assault teachers, administrators and school employees; and the state mandated requirement that for students with disabilities, written parental permission is required before corporal punishment can be administered.
The school system already has a policy stating corporal punishment shall not be administered unless parents return a signed consent form authorizing its use.
Accommodating state mandates to include achievement test scores in the final grade, the Testing Programs policy adopted the lowest allowable percentage for grades nine-12 (15 percent) and grades six-eight (10 percent) and a 5 percent weight for grades three-five.
The amended Background Investigations policy requires all employees to be fingerprinted and undergo background checks every five years. At a cost of $30 each, the 120 employees hired before the background check policy went into effect in 2000 will be processed. An additional 240 employees not checked in over five years will also be processed.
“It will cost money, but we need to do it,” said Assistant Superintendent Linda Foster.
Wanda Spencer appealed to the board to name the band room at FCHS after retiring band and choir director Tommy Isbell, who served 42 years. The board will consider the request. A celebration honoring Isbell is planned for 2–6 p.m., Saturday, July 21, at the Decherd Church of the Nazarene.
On July 16, the County Commission will vote on the board’s $1.8 million request to fund design plans for the new middle schools.