Monroe County Board of Education

10 meetings on our record, 5 of them from the past year and 5 with unconfirmed dates · 5,011 students · 10 members on our roster

Latest · Sep 10, 2026: Monroe County school board rejects state land offer, asks $250,000 for Niles Ferry project Play 55:39
Newest meeting we have: Sep 10, 2026 · District's board page ↗ (it may list later ones)

On the board: Lon Shoopman, Chairman · Mitch Avery, Board member · Richard Bettis, Board member · Jo T. Cagle, Board member · Sharin Freeman, Vice Chairman · Mark Ingram, Board member · Freddie Kelley, Board member · Bryan Kyle, Board member · John Ridgell, Board member · Dean Williams, Board member

Recent meetings

What the board took up lately

Board meeting · 1 h 21 minThursday, September 10, 2026Monroe County school board rejects state land offer, asks $250,000 for Niles Ferry projectEnrollmentReading and test scoresSpeakers: Lon Shoopman, Dean Williams, Sharin Freeman, Mitch Avery

Play 55:39

Board meeting · 1 h 14 minThursday, August 13, 2026Monroe County board votes to require schools to display Ten Commandments, founding documentsSpeakers: John Ridgell, Dean Williams, Sharin Freeman, Jo T. Cagle and 1 more

Play 28:43

Board meeting · 22 minThursday, May 14, 2026Speakers: John Ridgell, Dean Williams, Jo T. Cagle, Mitch Avery

Watch

Board meeting · 49 minThursday, February 12, 2026Speakers: John Ridgell, Dean Williams, Mitch Avery

Watch

The board

Who talks on this board

Minutes speaking per full board meeting · 5 board meetings, Jan 8, 2026 – Sep 10, 2026 · talk time only, never tone or stance

Listed by seat5 board meetings on our record; we rank members seated for 8.

Coverage: about 68% of members’ speaking time named (57%–69%)

Minutes = time we heard them speak per meeting, from the speech we have named so far, so each is a floor: at least that much.

Runs the meeting

Lon ShoopmanChairman · 2nd District · runs the meeting, not ranked7.5min, at least1 of 3meetings heard, of those while seated—runs the meeting, counted apart—no question counted

Members · listed by seat

Richard BettisBoard member · 1st District · Seated for 5 board meetings on our record; we rank at 80.0min, at least0 of 5meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked1.0questions asked per meeting, at least

Bryan KyleBoard member · 1st District · We haven't identified their voice at a full board meeting—min per meeting—We haven't identified their voice at a full board meeting—not ranked—no question counted

John RidgellBoard member · 1st District · Seated for 5 board meetings on our record; we rank at 80.3min, at least4 of 5meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked0.0questions asked per meeting, at least

Mark IngramBoard member · 2nd District · Seated for 5 board meetings on our record; we rank at 80.0min, at least0 of 5meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked1.0questions asked per meeting, at least

Dean WilliamsBoard member · 2nd District · Seated for 5 board meetings on our record; we rank at 86.2min, at least4 of 5meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked2.9questions asked per meeting, at least

Jo T. CagleBoard member · 3rd District · Seated for 5 board meetings on our record; we rank at 80.6min, at least2 of 5meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked0.0questions asked per meeting, at least

Sharin FreemanVice Chairman · 3rd District · Seated for 5 board meetings on our record; we rank at 80.4min, at least3 of 5meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked0.4questions asked per meeting, at least

Freddie KelleyBoard member · 3rd District · We haven't identified their voice at a full board meeting—min per meeting—We haven't identified their voice at a full board meeting—not ranked—no question counted

Mitch AveryBoard member · 4th District · Seated for 5 board meetings on our record; we rank at 83.8min, at least5 of 5meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked1.1questions asked per meeting, at least

Minutes speaking per full board meeting held while seated; a meeting they missed or stayed silent in counts as zero · bar = minutes named so far · talk time only, never tone or stance · Hamlet

Meetings on our record

All 10 meetings on our record

Meeting time

Where the board's meeting time went

Budget and finance14%3%–26%

Ceremony and recognition0%0%–1%

Safety and discipline0%0%–1%

Public comment0%0%–23%

The two readers didn’t agree on 38% of the time; it counts toward no topic, so every share above is a floor.

Not shown: facilities, closures and enrollment, curriculum and instruction, student services and special education, labor and personnel, governance and policy, routine business, other subjects, whose checks haven’t passed

Public comment

Of the 10 meetings on our record, we counted public speakers at 9; 3 had at least one.

1 speaker1 speaker0.3 a meeting on average

Federal district ID 4703000 · student count from the federal 2023-24 count · meeting videos posted by the district