JMCSS Board members recognized for development

The Jackson-Madison County School Board meeting for October on Thursday lasted 26 minutes.

The majority of that time was spent recognizing Rose Hill Principal Tiffany Green and the majority of the school board for their accomplishments this year.

Green was recognized after she received the annual Distinguished School Administrator Award at the 2023 Tennessee Association of School Librarians conference earlier this year.

The board members were recognized for achieving various levels of status in professional development.

There are five levels the board members could achieve. Janice Hampton achieved level 5 status, and Chairman James “Pete” Johnson achieved level 4 status.

Five other board members earned somewhere between levels 1 and 3, some of them multiple levels.

Sherry Franks was honored for having achieved all three levels, and she said after the meeting she actually came up just short of getting level 4 also.

“It’s a lot of work and a lot of learning,” Franks said about the process. “There re a lot of classes learning how boards work, how government works in general, and it gives you a good perspective on things coming up.

“Everyone has been putting forth an effort to get at least two levels, and we’re all striving to catch up with Janice. This will help us make better judgement calls when votes come up. It’s hard to make good decisions if you don’t have fundamental knowledge in your back pocket.”

Debbie Gaugh also achieved three levels, 2-4.

As far as the business of the school board goes, the district’s plan for Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA), which is the mechanism to determine how much school districts receive in state funding, was approved.

The board also approved a differentiated pay plan schedule as well as upcoming construction on Malesus School as it prepares to become the cyber hub for JMCSS in the south end of the county.

The board also approved an accounting services agreement as Superintendent Marlon King decided in the spring to have an outside firm handle the district’s accounting starting this fiscal year.

The board also approved all of the committee appointments for the coming year.

King had a short Superintendent’s report this month, but the main point he made is he has a proposal in the works for an upcoming meeting that will provide more financial support for the district’s teachers.

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news