Geoff Hicks was in the spotlight at the LSB (Lakeland School Board) meeting tonight (5.6.19) as the Board member suggested a resolution, explained the state school voucher bill and announced his resignation.
Meeting in a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall, the resolution of support by LSB was one of three items on the agenda. https://lakelandk12.org/res/web/05.06.19%20SC/05.06.19%20Special%20Called%20Meeting%20Agenda.pdf
Mr. Hicks said in the five years of the Board’s existence, there have been three attempts to move forward with a high school: 2014 – 2015, 2017 and now in 2019. He said he looked through minutes and found the original plan in 2014 into 2015 was to build a middle and high school. “I want to dispel any thought that this was whimsical, not thought through.” He added that for the last five years, the Board has repeatedly and unanimously supported construction of a high school in Lakeland. He said the resolution will be delivered to be read at the next BOC (Board of Commissioners) business meeting. (See feature video of the resolution).
Link to the resolution: https://lakelandk12.org/lss/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/LSS-RES-19-05-01-Support-for-HS.pdf
School vouchers – No impact on LSS
During the work session at 5:45 p.m. which followed the special meeting, Mr. Hicks explained the school voucher or educational savings account which is awaiting Gov. Bill Lee’s signature.
Link to work session agenda: https://lakelandk12.org/res/web/05.06.19%20WS/05.06.19%20Work%20Session%20Agenda.pdf
https://vimeo.com/334565382
Mr. Hicks said in the four years he has served on the LSB, there has been a school voucher bill in the legislature. This year, he said, he promised a resolution would be forwarded to all Tennessee legislators noting LSB was against the bill.
As written, the bill will impact severely underperforming schools in the Shelby County Schools system, not schools in Shelby County, (like the Lakeland School System – LSS) along with Metro Nashville Public Schools. He said it is based on household income. For example, he cited a two-person household with an annual income of $42,800. He said the bill is 24 pages long with lots of requirements.
The LSS does not meet the criteria of the bill and does not have open enrollment, he said. There are no students to which this bill would apply. No students to lose, no money to lose, he said. Mr. Hicks said the bill does not require adherence by private schools to rules which are imposed on public schools. And he said, as an extra kick in the pants, school systems may not sue over the bill. “They are taking public money to private, there are no rules and you can’t sue.”
He expects a challenge and said he hopes it is dead in the water before it is to begin in school year 2020-21.
Resignation
As the meeting closed, Mr. Hicks announced he is resigning from the Board effective May 31st. He said he will no longer be a resident of Lakeland and it was not an easy decision to make. He commented he is blessed to be surrounded by talented and hard-working teachers and administrators and Board members. “It’s been an amazing experience.”
And the rest of the meetings
A revision to the Fiscal Year 2019-20 original budget was approved unanimously. Dr. Ted Horrell, LSS superintendent, said the budget had been previously approved by the Board but he has since received new numbers on BEP (Basic Education Program) and he now recommends a 2% raise for all certified staff including teachers. Dr. Horrell said teachers received a 2% raise for the 2018-19 school year.
The number two discussion item at the special meeting was to update salary schedules for 2019-20 based on the 2% salary increase. The Board voted unanimously for the update.
Chairman Floyd thanked Mayor Mike Cunningham and Commissioner Gonzales for attending the meeting and praised the Fine Arts Department at LMPS (Lakeland Middle Preparatory School) for seven trophy wins at a Pigeon Forge competition last weekend. Board member Deborah Thomas said the LMPS Band and Orchestra have concerts this week.
In his report to the Board, Dr. Horrell said state testing at both schools went well and he looks forward to getting results. He added however that LSS students are about more than a test result.
Construction on the classroom addition at Lakeland Elementary School is expected to be finished by July 15th, he said, and bleachers for LMPS are to be shipped June 7 with construction beginning after that. Chris Woods Construction is handling some drainage issues on the athletic complex.
All seven items for discussion were moved to the consent agenda for the next meeting which is at 5:45 p.m. May 13th at City Hall. Board members agreed the July work session on the 6th should be deleted from the calendar.
The Board has posted notice of a public meeting for that date: Link: https://lakelandk12.org/res/web/05.13.19%20BM/Notice%20of%20Public%20Meeting%20-%20Contract%20Extension%2005.13.19.pdf
Link to Livestream: https://livestream.com/lakeland/events/8672286
… Photo, videos by Jim Willis, Lakeland Currents
