Among other things, the Cheatham County School Board presented its current sustainability plan at its regular February meeting, which was held at Sycamore High School. Chris Cooper, the district’s coordinator for career and technical education and STEM, explained the program’s fundamentals to the school board as part of the district’s 2023–2027 Five-Year Plan update.
“The Cheatham County School District will expand opportunities to be better citizens through the use of sustainability practices.”
The timeline for the sustainability plan includes:
By 2024, have a district-wide recycling programme in place. By adding one electric bus to the fleet by 2024, analyze the effects of electric buses. By 2026, put in place a strong farm-to-school initiative. By 2027, extend the Sycamore Solar Panel Program to more district schools as necessary for the facility.
You are welcome to check out the following links, which are relevant to other counties and have been provided for your convenience:
- Farmers and Allies are Demonstrating Tonight at the Niagara County Courthouse
- In a Collision in Delaware County, a Mother and Two Children Died
- Madison County Commissioner Donates $65,000 to Three Homeless Nonprofits
By 2027, every K–8 instructional programme will have a lesson on the advantages and advancement of sustainable practices. The US Department of Agriculture awarded the district a farm-to-school grant in the sum of $48,592 in July. In October, the district hosted its initial farm-to-school community sampling event.
The “Farm 2 School” projects work to build relationships between local farmers and public schools in order to provide healthier school lunches, boost the local agricultural industry, and inform students about the origins of their food.
Afterward, Director of Schools Dr. Cathy Beck disclosed that a grant from the federal government’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund had enabled the district to construct a new welding shop at Cheatham County Central High School. Beck claimed that all the program really needs is an instructor.
A resolution endorsing Beck’s previous and future work on the ESSER federal grant program was then approved by the board by a vote of 5-1. Even though Beck’s work was completed after hours, was approved by the State Department of Education, and complied with federal documentation requirements, payment for her services, which totaled $9,000, was cited in the State Comptroller of the Treasury’s annual audit of the Cheatham County government because it hadn’t been approved by the school board.
Tim Ray, a board member representing the third district, was the lone member to vote against the motion. He said,
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to go back and approve what was a mistake. We have a responsibility. We should know any time someone is personally making money, tax money. I understand this was federal tax dollars filtered down through the state to us, but if an individual is going to make money off that, we should know, and we should know ahead of time. And it doesn’t matter to me what the auditor says. That’s what I believe.”
The acquisition of nutrition tables for the following schools—Cheatham Middle School, Kingston Springs Elementary School, Pegram Elementary Fine Arts Magnet School, Pleasant View Elementary School, and Sycamore Middle School—for a total of $331,057.56 was subsequently overwhelmingly approved by the board. This will swap out the current nutritional tables.
The board then overwhelmingly authorized a new reward for district teachers who consistently have perfect attendance, with a focus on those who hold jobs that call for a replacement. Tim Adkins, director of communications, stated that it would be in place from January through May of the current academic year.
For a teacher who has perfect attendance, each school in the district (Pegram Elementary Fine Arts Magnet School and Riverside Academy count as one) will earn $100 per month. The district’s general purpose fund will be used to provide the funds.
The board also unanimously agreed to spend $1.5 million on new mathematics textbooks. The Tennessee Book Company will be used to purchase the new textbooks, which will be available for all grade levels. Every month on the first Thursday, the school board convenes.
