The Chester County Board of Education met in regular session Tuesday, July 21, at the Board of Education office. Brandy Cherry was absent.
The spotlight for the evening was the Back to School Bash held at Chester County Junior High on Saturday, July 18. Troy Kilzer II expressed his gratitude toward the churches and community leaders who came together to provide items for the event. Kilzer also expressed appreciation to Amy Wooley, principal at West Chester Elementary, who played a large part in orchestrating the event.
The board voted unanimously to approve several policy revisions recommended by the Tennessee School Boards Association.
The board voted unanimously on a recommendation from the district office for revision of special usage of school vehicles. These vehicles were originally purchased during the COVID-19 pandemic to transport COVID tests. Since then, they have been used to transport clubs and small teams to offset the need for a bus. This policy change will allow the rental of three of the vehicles at a time for certain events and require a two-week notice to reserve the vehicles.
A policy revision regarding a Title IX coordinator was approved unanimously, replacing the previous coordinator following her retirement. The new coordinator is Dr. Steven Marise.
The board gave a few updates:
• There are some maintenance updates. Included in these, the high school has brand new flooring. The lockers in the East, West and North halls have been removed, and the walls have been repainted. With the added space in the hallways, the board hopes there will be less congestion between classes. West Chester Elementary has new HVAC units. Finally, the School Zone signage has been upgraded.
• The district has received the final allocation for the fiscal year. It is a 3.5% increase from the previous year’s funding. Kilzer spoke about the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) model of funding, which is a student-based funding approach. He wishes to raise awareness of this model among teachers and school leadership. This model provides more funding when a student achieves highly in his or her classes, which in turn benefits the school and the students. Kilzer made it clear that the Board and the district are working hard to use the allocations in the best way for students and faculty.
• Kilzer shared his reflections on the most recent superintendent review and stated that he will continue to strive to improve that which needs improving, as well as maintaining that which is working.
This meeting may be viewed in its entirety on the Chester County Schools YouTube page. The next school board meeting is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, August 18. The meeting will be held in the Chester County Board of Education conference room.
