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Jefferson County School District work session, Sep 28, 2026

1 h 52 min · 3 public speakers

Reading and test scores ▶ 7:08

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 52 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
  6. Doug IbbetsonBoard member
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Jefferson County school board hears Jefferson Elementary project bid timeline 1:03:36

  • Doug Ibbetson announced committee appointments and said surplus resolutions would be added to the consent agenda. 47:26
  • A district staff member previewed business session items, including a board meeting schedule, a TISA state plan, the 2027⁠-⁠2028 school calendar and a change to the board rules of procedure. 48:00
  • The staff member said the Jefferson Elementary project was set to go out to bid October the 13th, with bids due November the 12th. 1:03:36
  • A speaker asked for a vote on the removal of certain library books, and Doug Ibbetson said the item would be placed on the agenda under new business. 1:43:56

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

Item by item (15)
  1. Opening and recognitions 0:00
    • Doug Ibbetson opened the work session, and Paul Hardy led the Pledge of Allegiance. 0:00
    • A district staff member recognized members of the youth leadership class who attended. 0:57
  2. Public comment 1:18
    • A speaker at public comment asked the board to withdraw from the Tennessee School Board Association, saying $8,130 of taxpayer money went to the organization this year from Jefferson County Schools. 1:34
    • A speaker at public comment asked the board to start its meetings with a prayer. 5:49
    • A speaker at public comment asked the district to evaluate a pilot cohort of 12 educators, one from each of 12 schools, receiving advanced Orton-Gillingham Academy training. 7:23
  3. Presentation on ABA therapy 11:32
    • An invited speaker described applied behavior analysis therapy and said it works well in schools when teachers collaborate with the clinicians providing the service. 11:57
    • Paul Hardy asked about a reasonable caseload, and the speaker said the speaker's organization typically does not allow a clinician more than 12-ish kids. 22:53
    • Doug Ibbetson asked who employs the therapists, and the speaker said most services are paid through insurance, with schools allowing private companies to provide services if they are willing. 27:37
  4. Building maintenance committee report 28:52
    • Paul Hardy said the committee met September 15th and reviewed projects including Talbot Elementary School, Maury Middle School football field lighting and the Jefferson Middle School HVAC project. 29:17
    • A district staff member said the Jefferson Middle HVAC work would go into February-ish, with control fine-tuning into spring. 31:36
    • Dr. Mark Finchum asked whether a punch list included a trail behind the school, and a staff member said it was not on the list and was being looked into. 35:17
  5. Joint committee with county commission 37:18
    • Doug Ibbetson said the joint committee invited the commission on a tour of capital improvement projects instead of holding a meeting. 37:18
    • Doug Ibbetson said the next joint meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 14th, 6:30 at the Patriot Academy. 40:28
  6. Board committee appointments 40:28
    • Doug Ibbetson said they had been on the 5-year strategic plan since it started and would represent the board on it. 46:48
    • Doug Ibbetson announced appointments to the policy committee, TSPA delegates, legislative liaison, building maintenance committee, joint committee and 5-year strategic plan. 47:26
  7. Meeting schedule and state plan 47:26
    • A district staff member reviewed the proposed board meeting schedule, including a board retreat in February. 48:00
    • The staff member said the district must produce a TISA state plan that goes before the board and out for public review, and would post it for at least 2 weeks. 48:00
    • Doug Ibbetson said the board would vote on the plan Thursday. 52:33
  8. 2027-2028 school calendar 53:16
    • A district staff member said the calendar went out to all school employees and no major input came back. 53:16
    • Paul Hardy asked whether August 5th would be a half day, and the staff member said yes. 59:30
  9. Invocation rules change 59:53
    • A district staff member said Rule 2B and Rule 3B of the board rules of procedure would be up for consideration. 59:53
    • Doug Ibbetson said the change would come up for a vote at the business meeting. 1:00:58
    • Doug Ibbetson said the legislature now allows boards to open meetings with a prayer and that nobody can be forced to take part. 1:01:45
  10. Talbot and Jefferson Elementary projects 1:03:36
    • A district staff member said the Jefferson Elementary project would go out to bid October the 13th, with bids in November the 12th, and that around $19.7 million is available for the board's scope of work. 1:03:36
    • The staff member said the target start date is around January the 4th with a time frame of 510 days, and that a 50,000-gallon water tank is being added for fire suppression. 1:07:39
    • Asked whether there was a dollar amount, Doug Ibbetson said it was around $1.1 million. 1:14:39
  11. Surplus resolutions on consent agenda 1:17:30
    • One board member proposed adding surplus resolutions to the consent agenda under Rule 3 to streamline meetings. 1:17:30
    • Doug Ibbetson said members could still question or pull items from the consent agenda. 1:19:27
    • Doug Ibbetson asked for objections and then said the change would go ahead starting with the next surplus resolutions. 1:19:27
  12. Bleachers, baseball complex and gym restrooms 1:20:27
    • A district staff member said the Maury gym bleachers are scheduled for November the 23rd and the high school install for early November. 1:20:38
    • The staff member said the baseball complex restroom project needs an architectural stamp before bidding, and the turf circle at home plate was awarded to the low quote. 1:23:00
    • One board member said they want to put remodeling the gym restrooms on the capital improvements list. 1:24:07
  13. Digital message boards and retreat 1:25:45
    • Doug Ibbetson said they would request authorization at the business meeting to get bids for digital message boards for the 8 schools that do not have them. 1:25:45
    • Doug Ibbetson asked members to start thinking about topics for the February 20th retreat. 1:27:20
  14. Fuel and utility costs 1:27:42
    • One board member asked whether money should be reallocated given fuel increases and Jefferson City going up 16%. 1:27:42
    • A district staff member said the electricity budget increased $84,400 and natural gas increased $12,200 over last year. 1:28:27
    • The staff member said the district now pays $1.79 a gallon for propane, compared with about $3.79 a gallon last time at market price, after adding its own tanks. 1:29:47
  15. Library materials review 1:33:38
    • A speaker said the speaker found 32 books in the high school or Patriot Academy libraries that the speaker said violate state law, and asked for a vote on their removal. 1:36:30
    • A district staff member said librarians have reviewed books and the district pulled books from a list produced by Knox County. 1:45:03
    • Another speaker said the speaker would like a process and to hear from the librarian before voting. 1:49:18
    • Doug Ibbetson said the item would be placed on the agenda under new business. 1:44:09

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 “School Board Work Session - 9-28-2026”