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White County School District board meeting, Oct 8, 2026

2 h 35 min · 0 public speakers

Reading and test scores ▶ 1:54:55
Meeting video · YouTubeWhite County School DistrictOct 8, 2026Watch on YouTube ↗Opens at 1:11:29 in a new tab

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 2 h 35 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
  2. John SmithMember
  3. Lisa OfficerMember
What happened

What happened at this meeting

White County school board approves new health insurance contribution formula 1:39:22

  • The board approved a new calculation model for district contributions to employee health insurance premiums after a district staff member said the district would pay the same percentages toward a limited PPO plan for support staff and teachers. 1:26:30
  • The board also approved the Tennessee Together Mental Health and Substance Abuse Survey and the TESA accountability report. 1:48:08
  • The board approved a correction to the master's degree category of the teacher pay scale, which a district staff member said would affect 121 teachers and cost $114,669.96 annually. 1:50:01
  • A motion to place Policy 6204 on attendance of nonresident students on the November agenda was made and seconded, and no result was announced. 2:16:29
Item by item (15)
  1. Work session policy review 3:24
    • A district staff member said the payroll policy would be changed to state that substitute teachers are paid semi-monthly on the 15th and the last day of the month, and that a reference to 20 pay periods should read 24. 8:01
    • A district staff member said the vacation and holiday policy would move one Easter day to Labor Day and let vacation accrue monthly in the first year. 15:38
    • The chair said the board would forego second reading on Policies 2802 and 5110 and present 5302 and 5310 as first reading. 18:20
  2. Budget report and budget amendments 18:20
    • A district staff member said first-quarter revenues across all funds reached almost $7.3 million while expenditures and encumbrances reached almost $10.9 million, with an estimated fund balance of $14,124,000 from a beginning balance of $17,706,000. 19:01
    • John Smith asked what indicators would show the school system was in less than good financial health and later asked why carryover funds had not been spent during the year. 23:26
    • The chair said the amendments included almost $80,000 in new money from grants. 35:08
  3. Work session reports and requests 35:08
    • A maintenance staff member said school administrators now submit work orders through a work order system instead of relying on periodic school surveys. 36:16
    • A district staff member said only the first JROTC field trip request needed board approval because it involved out-of-state travel, and the chair said it was for a rifle competition in Anniston, Alabama. 43:50
    • A district staff member said the strategic plan was presented for its required annual review and that the 2026 LEA compliance report would be sent to the state. 45:01
  4. Opening, disclosures and agenda 46:43
    • John Smith, Lisa Officer and Chandel Thorpe each said there was no conflict of interest on the agenda and disclosed that a spouse works for the district. 1:05:33
    • The chair said a fundraising request and a travel request had been added to new business since the agenda was published. 1:06:50
    • The agenda was approved. ~1:07:27
  5. Consent agenda 1:07:27
    • The chair summarized the consent items, including about $78,000 in new money within the budget amendments. 1:07:27
    • John Smith moved to forego second reading on Policy 2802 and 5110. 1:10:23
    • The motion on second reading passed, and the consent items were adopted by unanimous vote as presented. 1:10:30
  6. High school spotlight and recognitions 1:10:30
    • The high school principal recognized the girls golf team, which finished tied for 4th in the state finals. 1:11:29
    • Four teachers were recognized as spotlight educators for building relationships with students. 1:11:29
    • The principal said 197 seniors took the ACT and 611 underclassmen took a practice ACT this week. 1:14:44
  7. Health insurance premium contributions 1:23:25
    • A district staff member said the district had funded support staff with a flat dollar amount and teachers with a percentage plus a flat amount, and would now pay 90% of an employee-only limited plan, 75% for employee child, 70% for employee spouse and 68% for family. 1:26:30
    • A district staff member said the change fell within what was budgeted. 1:34:08
    • A district staff member said some employees' premiums still went up this year. 1:37:08
    • The motion to approve the calculation model for health insurance passed. 1:39:48
  8. Student substance use survey 1:40:35
    • A presenter said the anonymous state survey would be given to students in 8th, 10th and 12th grade every 2 years and requires active parent permission. 1:41:13
    • A speaker asked whether anyone would help 10-year-olds understand questions about prescription drugs, and the presenter said teachers would get a copy of the survey to go over questions. 1:44:40
    • The motion to move forward with the survey passed. 1:48:08
  9. Teacher pay scale correction 1:48:44
    • A district staff member said a state differentiated pay report flagged that the master's degree category started too low, and adding one step raise would fix the errors. 1:50:01
    • The chair said a budget amendment would be needed to cover $114,669.96. 1:52:31
    • The motion to approve the pay scale passed. 1:54:38
  10. TESA accountability report 1:54:55
    • A district staff member said the district did not reach its goal for 3rd grade ELA scores but came very close. 1:55:37
    • The motion to approve the accountability report and goals for fiscal year 2027 passed. 1:57:07
  11. District and student updates 1:58:02
    • A district staff member said schools will be closed for fall break October 12th through 16th and that next year's calendar will be presented for approval next month. 1:58:23
    • During the student board member update, a speaker said the goal was for every senior to have a FAFSA completed by October 31st. 2:01:21
    • The chair said no one signed up to speak at public comment. 2:06:43
  12. Nonresident student attendance policy 2:06:43
    • A district staff member asked for the board's guidance on whether to move forward with exploring the policy and said a White County version could be drawn up for the next month. 2:09:14
    • A district staff member said about 10 students in 9 families currently attend under a hardship clause and would likely be grandfathered in. 2:13:21
    • A district staff member said following the Putnam County model would put tuition at about $2,000. 2:14:48
  13. Historical documents display design 2:17:51
    • The chair said Policy 4806 calls for displaying the Ten Commandments, the Declaration of Independence and the preamble to the U.S. Constitution in schools. 2:17:51
    • A district staff member presented design options and later said students would be given the parameters to weigh in, with results brought back next month. 2:19:17
    • The chair said no formal motion was needed. 2:27:38
  14. Fundraisers and theater club travel 2:27:38
    • The Project Graduation fundraisers included a refreshment tent at a local church gathering, a candle sale and a pickleball tournament. 2:28:34
    • The theater club requested travel to MTSU in January. 2:29:38
    • Motions to approve the Project Graduation fundraisers and the theater club travel request passed. 2:29:38
  15. Announcements and upcoming meetings 2:30:57
    • The chair said the board will meet November 12th with a work session at 5 o'clock and the regular meeting at 6, and that the TSBA annual conference in Nashville is the week prior. 2:32:56

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 “White County School Board Meeting 10/8/2026”