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MSD Martinsville Schools board meeting, Aug 20, 2026

43 min · 4 public speakers

Chronic absenteeism ▶ 7:24Reading and test scores ▶ 7:24Safety, weapons and police ▶ 4:05

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 43 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Martinsville school board approves agreement with ISBA to conduct superintendent search 16:19

  • A district administrator reported that the district's iREAD 3 average was 93.7%, compared with a state average of 88.7%. 7:24
  • The board approved a superintendent search service agreement with ISBA after Luke Jackson said the superintendent had decided to retire. 15:40
  • The board approved a Bell Intermediate Academy student handbook revision and a set of donations. 18:49
  • Speakers at public comment raised placing the Ten Commandments in schools, a requirement that students wear ID lanyards at Martinsville High School and rules on headphones. 24:07
Item by item (10)
  1. Opening and consent agenda 2:01
    • Luke Jackson introduced the board and led the Pledge of Allegiance. 2:01
    • The consent agenda included minutes, payroll claims, the payroll report, check claims, budgetary claims and the personnel report. 3:22
    • A staff member said there were no student field trips. 3:56
    • The consent agenda passed. 3:51
  2. School safety and academic report 3:57
    • The district's deputy chief of police said staff were reviewed on safety plans, emergency procedures and radio use, and that all schools had completed required fire drills. 5:28
    • A district administrator reported a district iREAD 3 average of 93.7% against a state average of 88.7%, with 6 of 7 elementary schools above the state average. 7:24
    • The administrator said the district was focusing on attendance and that Parrigan Elementary had the top attendance last week at 98.22%. 11:49
  3. Policy and financial reports 12:41
    • A staff member presented Policy 5200 on attendance as a first read only, along with budgets and the ECA fiscal year 2026 financial report. 12:41
  4. Construction projects update 13:30
    • A staff member said the new school was on target, that contractors had recaptured 2 weeks lost last winter and that the deadline to start the fall of '27 was expected to be met. 13:37
    • The staff member said the locker room facility at the high school complex was targeted to be ready for the Bloomington South game at the end of the month. 14:21
  5. Superintendent search service agreement 15:40
    • Luke Jackson said ISBA would conduct the search and that a posting would go live within the next couple of weeks. 16:22
    • The motion to approve the superintendent search service agreement passed. 17:20
  6. Permission to advertise budget and plans 17:49
    • A staff member presented a request for permission to advertise the 2027 budget, capital projects plan and bus replacement plan. 17:49
    • The motion passed. ~18:22
  7. Intermediate academy student handbook revision 18:25
    • A staff member said the Bell Intermediate Academy student handbook update reflected the school's move to a traditional schedule, mirroring the middle school. 18:25
    • The handbook revision passed. 19:13
  8. Donations 19:16
    • A staff member read donations to MHS Cheer, including $500 from the Classroom Teachers Association and $1,800 from American Legion Post 230, and an anonymous $2,000 donation to Brooklyn STEM. 19:16
    • The motion to accept the donations passed. 20:32
  9. Public comment 20:32
    • A speaker at public comment asked the board to place the Ten Commandments and moral education back into schools. 24:07
    • A speaker asked what security purpose the ID lanyard requirement at Martinsville High School serves that carrying identification could not. 25:08
    • Other speakers raised unclear rules on wired or wireless headphones under the cell phone policy and thanked elementary teachers for reading scores. 28:28
  10. Board comments and adjournment 32:11
    • A speaker who identified as a board member said the attendance policy needed balance and that some families face $80 copays to get a doctor's note. 37:27
    • Luke Jackson said registration was open for the United Way Read Up partnership and that volunteers were needed. 41:41
    • The meeting was adjourned. ~42:16

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 “MSD of Martinsville School Board Meeting - August 20, 2026”