The Cheatham County school board meeting started on time with a full house. Tammie Lavender was not present for this meeting.

The school board considered a request to increase the day care fees and to redirect the part of the income to the school board for other uses. Stan Curtis requested the increase because the fees have not been increased in several years and they are approximately $15 below market prices. He also recommended that 15% of the income be used for upgrades and 5% be used for operational activities. A motion was made to increase the extended care fees by $5/week and summer care by $10/week. Tim Williamson made a motion to split the previous motion into two separate votes for the fee increase and the fund redirection. No one seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken on original motion. The motion passed with a vote of 4-to-1. The current day care fund contains over $600,000, and the day care generated a profit of over $190,000 last year at the current fee rates.

The board voted on a revision to Policy 2.802 Payroll Procedures.  The first reading passed with a vote of 5-to-0. The second sentence on line 14 shall read:

Upon resignation, retirement, or termination of school personnel, final salary payment shall be withheld until all records and assets in custody of the employee are satisfactorily transferred to his successor or another designated person.

 
According to the Frequently Asked Questions page on the TN Department of Labor and Workforce Development website:

Can my employer hold my paycheck until I return my uniform, etc.?
No. An employer cannot hold your paycheck for any reason.

Can my employer withhold the cost of my uniform, equipment, company loans, shortages and negligence, etc. from my paycheck?
No. Your employer cannot make any deductions from your paycheck without your consent to the deductions.

 
Board Policy 5.310 Vacations and Holidays was on the agenda for revision. The motion to amend failed due to lack of a second on the motion. Diane Proffitt is going to send this back to a work session for further review. Greg Horton wants to amend the policy so that employees are paid their earned vacation as long as they are not terminated for cause.

The board passed a motion with a vote of 4-to-1 to give the Cheatham County Education Association (CCEA) 90 days to “firm up” their guidelines. The CCEA has recently elected their two representatives for the trustee board. Further research will be done on whether the two board representatives can be standing board members or representatives.

The board also passed a motion to terminate one teacher at Sycamore High School. Stan Curtis originally brought the request under the topic of “Course Changing”. He wants to remove the course from the SHS curriculum because the class in question only has 3 students. The students need the course to complete their studies; however, they can take the course through the A+ program. We were not able to find any documentation on the A+ program on the district website.

Greg Horton read a prepared statement at the end of the meeting. He was apologetic to the students of his district because “the north cluster is still overcrowded.” He stated that he had been physically threatened during his tenure. While not mentioning the new 6th district member by name, Horton did make comments about Brian Chase’s association with district teachers, and he questioned whether Chase was here to “follow orders”.