MIDDLE TENNESSEE NEWS

Six years ago, a young family hoping to move to Williamson County, Tennessee faced a real estate market where the median home sales price was $521 thousand dollars. Today that number has exploded to $1 million.

Education advocacy organization Tennesseans for Student Success created Tristar Reads to encourage children to read during their summer break.

The new contract approved Thursday includes a 17 percent raise in the first year and 2.5 percent in each of the following three years.

Rutherford County Schools has identified 12 buses it can purchase from nearby dealers for roughly $2 million. Board members will consider approving that purchase on Thursday.

Under the original plan, school bus service would have been eliminated for students in grades K-5 who live within a mile of their school and students in grades 6-12 who live within a mile and a half, forcing parents to find other ways to get their students to class.

Rutherford County Schools Director Dr. Jimmy Sullivan posted a video Wednesday afternoon to let parents know he’s now hopeful the potential school bus driver strike will be limited, if it happens at all.

Leaders of Rocketship Public Schools and Novus SMART Academy (K-8) have the option of submitting an amended application for approval this summer.

Legislation that prevents Tennessee counties from switching to a caucus for local partisan elections passed a House vote Monday and now heads to Governor Bill Lee, despite pushback from Republican Party leaders.

The board voted Thursday to pull more than a dozen titles from library shelves, despite receiving a report that the district’s libraries aren’t meeting state standards when it comes to the number of books available.

The lawmakers are proposing legislation that ensures every county that currently uses a primary for local partisan races continues to do so and prohibits them from switching to a caucus or convention.

Senator Todd Gardenhire’s, R-Chattanooga, legislation would expand the Education Savings Account (ESA) pilot program implemented in 2022 to include students in Montgomery, Knox, and Rutherford Counties.

Rutherford County is one of the fastest growing areas in the state and school officials there are weighing how to handle an influx of students while trying to maintain a community feel.

Under the proposed change for the Tennessee school district, librarians would be required to develop a “Mature Materials List” identifying materials within the library collection that have mature content. 

School board members voted to remove “Assassination Classroom” volumes 1 through 8 and 11by Yusei Matsui, “Catch 22” by Joseph Heller, “Perfect Chemistry” by Simone Elkeles, “Water for Elephants” by Sarah Gruen, and “Yolk” by Mary H.K. Choi from school libraries.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, requires local boards of education and public charter schools to adopt a policy prohibiting students from using any wireless communication devices during instructional time, with some exceptions.

Novus SMART Academy is among the 11 new start charter applications that met this month’s filing deadline in five school districts across the state.

Members of the Rutherford County School Board took an unusual path to deny Board Member Caleb Tidwell’s resolution opposing educator diversity goals during hiring, by first approving it and then voting it down.

The Rutherford County Schools (RCS) Board of Education passed a resolution Thursday urging state leaders to “expedite the closure of the nation’s borders” as the county’s English learner population continues to grow.

The Sumner County Board of Education gave its special recognition Tuesday to Sumner County Schools Director of Instruction Frankie Skinner after she was recently named a national finalist for the District Administration Leadership Institute Woman of Distinction Award.

The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (CMCSS) Board of Education voted Tuesday to take a “neutral stance” on Gov. Bill Lee’s proposed school voucher program that would allow more families across the state to use public funds for private school enrollment.

Williamson County Schools Superintendent Jason Golden told district leaders and community members at Tuesday’s school board meeting that the district is currently working to finalize its proposed budget for its upcoming budget process.

Williamson County Schools (WCS) leaders recently recommended allowing over 40 of the district’s 50 schools to have open zoning next school year.

Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, named former teacher, Senator Dawn White, R-Murfreesboro, as chair the Senate Education Committee that’s expected to play a big role in the legislative session and upcoming special session.

The book ban debate continued to rage at Thursday’s Rutherford County Schools Board of Education meeting, when school board members ultimately voted to remove several more books from school library shelves.

Rep. Mike Sparks, R-Smyrna, has proposed reducing the minimum age for school bus drivers from 25 to 21 to help school districts find more qualified bus drivers to cover routes.

CMCSS Director of Opportunity Culture Lisa Baker provided an overview of teacher residency programming within the district at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting.

The Rutherford County Schools Board of Education approved new zoning rules for high schools in the county at Tuesday’s school board meeting.

The Williamson County Board of Education voted Monday to ban three books and restrict access to two others at Monday’s school board meeting, following months of debate between parents and educators about K-12 book bans throughout the state.

Several local residents spoke to Rutherford County Schools (RCS) Board of Education members Thursday to continue voicing opposition to recent book bans within the Middle Tennessee school district, after district librarians received an email instructing them to pull 150 “sexually explicit” books from school library shelves.

Five Tennessee school districts across the state received letters of intent for 17 proposed new public charter schools by last week’s deadline. Letters of intent are the first official step in next year’s new start charter application process.