By Karen Hall

Editor

September is the month when the school board traditionally organizes itself for the next 12 months, choosing a chairman, vice chairman, and chairman pro tem, and setting the date and time of the monthly meeting.

Having announced this, chairman Mike Keny handed the meeting over to Director of Schools Jackie Abernathy, and she accepted a motion to nominate Keny for another term. This was unanimously approved, and Keny resumed charge of the meeting.

Kristen Gold, who was absent, was named vice chairman, and Randy Perryman is the chairman pro tem.

Board members also decided to keep the second Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. as the date and time of their regular monthly meeting.

An exception to this rule arises immediately: due to fall break (Oct. 11-18), next month's meeting will be held on Oct. 21.

School board members unanimously approved a proposal from Marshall County High School Athletic Director Kevin McGehee for a swim team.

"I'm in total support of it," said Abernathy. "We have a lot of younger swimmers coming up,"

McGehee explained he had five swimmers who had been competing for a while, and would like to compete at the high-school level. He said all swim team activity would take place after school, with practices in the Rec Center pool. The expenditure would not be huge in the first year, McGehee said. He asked for permission to conduct a quick fundraiser selling barbecue to raise $300 to help offset the cost of swimsuits, entry fees, and transportation. McGehee's written proposal noted there are students at all three county high schools who want to participate. Competitors for Chapel Hill and Cornersville would ride to meets with swimmers from MCHS, but compete for their own schools.

When she presented her Director's Report, Abernathy got the board's unanimous approval of a letter she intended to send to Gov. Bill Haslam.

"I don't think our commissioner (Kevin Huffman) understands our needs," she said. We need things in our schools that Huffman is not recognizing, Abernathy said.

"They just don't listen, that's the bottom line," she said. "I want to say: 'Please listen to us, and give us a voice.'"

Abernathy said she has invited Huffman to visit Marshall County schools, but the last time they met, when she pressed him about the lack of a student management system, he exclaimed, "You're stressing me out."

Barbara Kennedy agreed with her.

"I think there's a disconnect between the Department of Education and the public schools," she said.

"A lot of the ideas (from the state) are good," said board member Donnie Moses. "But 30 pieces of legislation about education were passed in one year -- that's too many."

"I don't have a problem with the Common Core standards," said Abernathy. "I have a problem with having so much to do so quickly. There needs to be time to think this through. It will be difficult to find teachers in Tennessee if we continue this way," she added.

In Marshall County it is already difficult to find school bus drivers.

"We're desperate," Abernathy admitted. She told board members they are constantly advertising for bus drivers, but get few applicants, and some of those can't pass the background check.

"People don't realize what a tough job that is," Abernathy said. "We're lucky to have the ones we do have."

"Should we look at their pay?" asked Kennedy. "Offering health insurance should be a draw, or maybe we could pay for their CDL training if they agree to stay a year."

Abernathy said Marshall County's pay for bus drivers was in line with neighboring counties, but agreed this might have to be reconsidered.