The Chester County Board of Education met in regular session Monday, September 14, 2026, at West Chester Elementary School.
WCES student Driq Woods led pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem was performed by Jacob Young.
All members were present; this was the first meeting for newly elected member Jeremy Snider.
The Board unanimously elected Ben Cupples Board Chairman and Kim Scott Vice-Chairman. Legislative Representative for this year will be Becky Hutcherson, approved unanimously.
The evening’s meeting spotlighted West Chester Elementary, which is a Reward School for this year, Director of Schools Troy Kilzer, II, said.
WCES Principal Amy Wooley welcomed the Board and introduced the school, sharing a short clip of West Chester students giving daily student announcements. Wooley also highlighted “Eagle Bucks” and other incentives for students, as well as telling about STEM programming and more.
Director of Schools Kilzer shared updates on recent state accountability data, comparing local accomplishments with others around the state, stating that Chester County exceeded state averages in all grades of ELA, Math, Social Studies and Science. He continued to say that third grade science ranked 25th in the state and seventh grade ranked 21st in state. Kilzer noted Chester County has the lowest per pupil expenditure rate in West Tennessee. With a $.06 reduction of property tax allocation, that number has fallen even more. The average in West Tennessee is $13,000 per student, Kilzer said, while CC is $3,000 under that and yet exceed the state and West Tennessee average in all grade bands for ELA, MATH, Social Studies and Science.
“Our Staff work really hard with limited resources,” Kilzer said, “And we still get the work done because we are committed to the best for our students”
This meeting may be viewed online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-mlc1t7T5Q
Read the Chester County Independent next week for a recap of the October school board meeting.
