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Hickman County School District board meeting, Jul 6, 2026

1 h 43 min

School closures ▶ 1:23:18Budget cuts and layoffs ▶ 28:58

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 1 h 43 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Hickman County school board weighs two FY27 salary schedule options 28:58

  • Motions were made to approve a letter of interest and to approve revised board policies on first reading. 25:20
  • A district staff member presented two FY27 certified salary schedule options, saying Option A saved about $180,000 and Option B would save an additional $126,000 or so. 28:58
  • On a roll call on a motion on the '26-'27 salary schedule, each member called answered yes. 43:52
  • One board member said it would be judicious to start setting a plan in place to close schools, and another board member said closing buildings was extreme but agreed a plan was needed. 1:19:24

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (15)
  1. Opening and routine approvals 6:50
    • The chair called the meeting to order and said no one had signed up for public comment. 6:50
    • Motions were made to approve the agenda, the June 1st, 2026 regular meeting minutes and the consent agenda. 7:51
  2. Hospitality conference trip request 9:22
    • A staff member described a requested trip September 28th and 29th to the Hi-Dolly Hospitality Industry Conference in Pigeon Forge at Dollywood, with 10 total students attending. 9:33
    • The staff member said the bookstore at East Hickman High School would cover the cost of the trip. 10:51
  3. Football camp request 11:34
    • A speaker requested permission for the high school football team to attend football camp the 27th to the 30th of July. 11:44
  4. Tenure recommendations 12:36
    • A staff member said 3 additional personnel may be eligible for tenure when level of effectiveness scores return in the fall. 12:40
    • Brandon Tidwell asked about eligibility requirements, and a staff member said employees need 5 years of experience in the county and a level 4 or 5 on their level of effectiveness for the last 2 years. 13:18
  5. Item 14:37
    • A staff member said the personnel decisions included lists compiled by principals, with one from each school and one for the central office. 14:37
  6. District strategic plan 16:13
    • A staff member presented the mission, vision, core values, goals and action steps, saying the action steps included input from central office staff. 16:16
  7. Cell tower letter of interest 17:28
    • A staff member said a company was interested in building towers and leasing a small portion of district property on specific school grounds, and that the letter of interest was non-binding. 17:28
    • Brandon Tidwell asked how much area the company was looking for, and a staff member said the example given was 50 by 50 lease space. 20:16
    • A speaker asked whether a one-time site payment of $30,000 was for each site, and a staff member said it was. 22:17
  8. Apex Bank school agreements 25:28
    • A presenter described an agreement for Hickman County Middle School to bank with Apex Bank, with the bank giving back to the school system. 25:41
    • The presenter said the intermediate school agreement would provide an annual monetary donation instead of sports-related items. 27:22
  9. FY27 salary schedules and pay scales 28:42
    • A staff member said Option B would provide no increases for steps 16 to 30 and that $2,500 retention bonuses would not be part of the budget this year. 28:58
    • Brandon Tidwell asked about the projected fund balance, and a staff member said $2.4 to $2.6 for FY26. 38:58
    • A speaker said that speaker's thought would be Option A. ~43:25
  10. FY27 budget amendments 44:12
    • A staff member said the amendments added ISM carryover and a DLT USDA grant to the budget and were revenue-neutral. 44:13
    • On a roll call on budget amendments 1 and 2, each member called answered yes. 48:09
  11. Closeout budget amendments 48:42
    • A staff member said budget amendments 40 through 43 cleaned up line items, were all non-personnel and stayed within the same program. 48:42
    • On a roll call on closeout budget amendments 40, 41, 42 and 43, each member called answered yes. 51:57
  12. Federal placeholder budgets 52:13
    • A staff member said IDEA Part B carryover would fall from $190,000 to somewhere around $60,000 to $40,000 and that the district is not receiving Title V funds for '27. 52:14
    • Brandon Tidwell asked about carryover dollars, and a staff member said certain federal programs allow 27 months to spend funds. 56:26
  13. Board policy revisions 59:46
    • A staff member recommended waiving the second reading on 4.213 because it requires a plan by August 1st, 2026, and Jane Herron moved to approve 4.213 and waive the second reading. 1:05:22
    • Brandon Tidwell asked how a policy on drones on school property would be implemented and whether it applied only during school hours or during sports. 1:08:59
  14. Announcements 1:17:11
    • A speaker announced that the next board meeting was August 3rd, a fall meeting was September 17th, 2026 in Lawrence County, and a leadership conference was November 5th through 8th at Gaylord Opryland Resort. 1:17:11
  15. Budget outlook and school closure planning 1:19:05
    • A staff member said the operating portion of fund balance would be about 5.7 if the district hit 2.4 this year and that the state minimum is 3%. 1:20:18
    • One board member said they were not advocating closing schools but having a plan in place. 1:32:18
    • A staff member said closing schools was the last thing the staff member wanted to do and that everyone should be brought to the table. 1:38:39

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “HCBOE July School Board Meeting - July 6th, 2026”