New School Year Starts Monday with Higher Pay for DeKalb Educators and Support Staff

August 4, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

The first full week of school begins Monday, August 5 and with it comes pay raises for DeKalb County teachers and support staff for the 2024-25 year.

In June, the county commission adopted, as approved by the board of education and county budget committee, the school budget for the new year which includes salary increases of $2,000 to $6,000 for employees based on years of service. The cost of the pay raises with matching benefits, according to Director of Schools Patrick Cripps comes to $1.72 million dollars which will be absorbed in the school budget from available funds and reserves along with projected increases in employee health care insurance premiums.

The new school budget provides for a $2,000 pay increase to employees (certified educators and support staff) with up to 9 years of service (155 employees); $5,000 for those with 10-19 years (104 employees); and $6,000 to staff with 20 or more years (108 employees).

In addition to an annual local option sales tax allocation from the county, a total of 0.5298 cents of the county’s $2.51 property tax levy per $100 of assessed value goes to help fund the DeKalb County School District. That equates to around $62,000 per one cent of the tax rate

The county budget committee’s original proposal was to increase the total property tax levy for schools by 10 cents (generating $630,000 in new money) but prior to adoption of the consolidated budgets in June, the county commission instead opted to appropriate to schools another $370,000 from the local purpose (sales tax) fund giving schools a total contribution annually of $1,910,000 which is an increase from the $1,540,000 the county had been allocating from the sales tax fund each year for school operation.

In late May, Director of Schools Cripps addressed the county budget committee asking for more funding to help with pay raises, saying the local school system was losing veteran teachers to other districts that pay better.

Cripps explained that while starting pay for local teachers at $50,000 per year is among the highest in the state, DeKalb County lags behind in pay for teachers with longer years of service. Because of that, Cripps said several local teachers have left to take jobs elsewhere like the Rutherford County school district where they can earn more money. The pay increases in this budget Cripps explained would “get that back end pay up to where we are at least competing with counties surrounding us”.

“A couple of years ago the state mandated that in the year 2026 all starting salaries for teachers had to be at $50,000. We are at that point currently. We are in the top seven for starting salaries,” said Director Cripps. “But when you look at back end pay for our educators, those with 20 plus years, we are ranked at 70th in the state,” said Cripps.

“Starting teacher pay right now is about $50,200 but a teacher with 20 plus years of experience is at about $59,000. There is a shortage of teachers across the state and what we are seeing is the days of keeping home grown teachers here is about over. Everybody is now going after their top five. What that means is when a teacher gets to look at their retirement they look at their highest five years of consecutive employment. When you look at Rutherford County, a person with an Eds and 20 plus years makes $86,000. We (DeKalb) are way short of that at $66,000. We are battling keeping our experienced teachers with us, those that can groom the new teachers. What we are now seeing is we are getting new teachers but losing back end (veteran) teachers. What we did with our budget this year is to stair step it so we can start increasing that back end pay because after 19 years on our pay scale there are no more pay raises for teachers or 10 years for non-certified personnel unless it comes from the county,” said Cripps.

Meanwhile, another new school resource officer position has been added for the DeKalb County School District filled by a female officer starting with the 2024-25 school year bringing the total number of SROs locally to six. The other current five SROs, funded by the state, are all men assigned one each to Smithville Elementary, Northside Elementary, DeKalb West, DeKalb Middle, and DeKalb County High School.

“We plan to put this female deputy as an SRO at the DeKalb Middle School/DCHS complex. She will be a rover between those schools unless an SRO is absent on a given day at one of the other schools, then she would substitute for that SRO there,” said Sheriff Patrick Ray.

This new SRO has been working for some time as a deputy for the sheriff’s department and her base pay this past year was $50,601 plus benefits according to her salary tier level with the sheriff’s department.

August 4, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A Classroom Hunter Education Course will be held Saturday, August 17 at the DeKalb County Fire Department’s Main Station at 782 King Ridge Road, Dowelltown.

TWRA Officer Tony Cross said the class will be held from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. The course is offered free of charge. Participants must Pre-register on-line at www.tnwildlife.org and follow the prompts or click https://twra.state.tn.us/HunterEdEventRegistration/EventDetails.aspx?eventid=8665

Participants must be at least 9 years old to take the class and must attend for the entire eight-hour course.

For more information call Cross at 931-287-8427.

Under state law, every person born on or after January 1, 1969, before hunting, shall possess, in addition to all other licenses and permits required, proof of satisfactory completion of an agency approved hunter education course.

Those under 10 years of age do not need a Hunter Education certificate but must be accompanied by an adult at least 21 years of age, who must remain in a position to take immediate control of the hunting device.

The basic Hunter Education Course provides firearms safety training and introduces students to their responsibilities in the fields of hunter ethics and wildlife management. The main objective of the Hunter Education Program is to reduce the potential for hunting accidents and ultimately reduce the number of hunting injuries. The course is taught according to standards established by the International Hunter Education Association. By meeting these standards, the Tennessee Hunter Education program is recognized by all states, Canada, and Mexico.

The basic course is free of charge and consists of a minimum of ten (10) hours of classroom participation. Most classes generally last 12-16 hours. Students must successfully pass a written test consisting of 100 multiple choice questions. All students are required to participate in a live fire exercise. Students must attend all classes. Students need to bring their Social Security Number and a #2 pencil to the class.

Course content includes:

*Hunter ethics
•Hunter responsibility toward wildlife, the environment, landowners and the general public
•Archery and the history of modern day bowhunting
•Tree stand safety
•History of firearms
•Blackpowder and muzzleloading firearms
•Knowledge of modern firearms and ammunition
•Proper gun handling and storage
•Marksmanship fundamentals
•Hunt preparation: specific laws and various equipment
•Principles of wildlife management and wildlife identification
•Survival
•Hypothermia
•First aid

August 3, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

All shook up!

The State Fire Marshal’s office has opened an investigation after receiving complaints from residents in the Snow Hill area who were shaken by a big blast Wednesday afternoon from a concrete company doing prep work for a quarry on North Driver Road off Highway 70 at the foot of the hill.

Unaware that the company, Smyrna Ready Mix (SRM) had even moved into the neighborhood, two of the residents who felt the blast, Michael and his son Lucas Antoniak, said they tracked down the source of the explosion and found work underway for a 100-acre rock quarry. According to the Antoniak’s, some rock from the blast was also on the highway.

The SRM Concrete Company, headquartered in Smyrna serves customers in 19 states with more than 8,500 team members, and now is batching concrete from a new location in Smithville (Highway 70 east near the city limits). However, the public has largely been unaware of any plans for a quarry operation at the location near Snow Hill.

Kevin Walters, Communications Director for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, confirmed through a public records request Friday, that citizen complaints have been filed, from Michael and Lucas Antoniak, about this matter and added that while the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office has opened an investigation “we do not comment about open investigations,” said Walters.

The Antoniak’s question how a quarry operation could start up in a neighborhood without public notice and local government oversight.

Michael Antoniak said he reached out to the state for answers and was told by an official of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, who issues water discharge permits, that any oversight or review beyond a water discharge permit for a quarry (issued by state) depends on local zoning/planning regulations. The DeKalb County government has no such zoning/planning regulations.

In his complaint filed with the state, Lucas Antoniak explained what he experienced when the blast occurred around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 31. He also recalled the incident for WJLE Friday morning.

““I live on Old Snow Hill Road in Dowelltown and I work from home,” said Antoniak. “I have a sturdy work bench where I do my art and graphic designs. I was sitting there, and my wife and daughter were in another room when all of a sudden everything just started shaking. It shook so violently for about 5 to 10 seconds, and we heard a boom at the same time. We had no idea what this was. My desk shook so violently that I could feel the vibrations coming through the floor. My wife said she saw the floor roll in the room she was in and my daughter saw everything falling. I then called the sheriff’s office and reported that we felt this,” he said.

“Within a few minutes, I drove down Highway 70 to investigate and observed heavy dust in the air, smelled strong Sulphur, and saw large rocks in the middle of the highway near 336 North Driver Road off of Highway 70, approximately 1/2 mile from my location (“as the crow flies).” I did not see any notices that blasting was occurring in the area. I took a photo of the dust in the air, but it does not show up well in the photo,” Antoniak continued.

“Within the hour, I learned that SRM Concrete recently opened a plant in Smithville and was starting a new quarry at that location. I immediately called their contact Lora Smith and reported this explosion and its affect. Ms. Smith took down my information with a promise to return my call with more details, but I’ve heard nothing yet,” explained Antoniak.

“Subsequently, around 4 pm, my father and I travelled to the (blasting) location and talked to the foreman from SRM. We told him about the large rocks in the road and he followed us out to inspect. When we came back through approximately 30 minutes later, the large rocks were no longer on the highway,” he said.

“Every neighbor felt this blast, some reporting it more than a mile away. Our neighbors two houses up from us, an older woman and her mother, reported their TV falling off the wall. Another reported to my parents that the blast “Shook our house on Dale Ridge, loudest blast we’ve ever experienced, CRAZY.”

“No one locally knew about this incoming quarry, including our local county commissioner Mr. Myron Rhody,” said Antoniak.

“We are accustomed to our rural life, as are all of our neighbors. Additionally, my aunt and uncle own property directly across from this location (with a currently unoccupied house approximately 650-700 feet from the location of the blast.) There is concern about the long-term effects on the local environment especially the creeks and wildlife, air quality, property value, possible light pollution in the long run, and impact on the quality of life in general,” Antoniak concluded.

Lucas’s father, Michael Antoniak, also filed a complaint with the state to give his account of what happened.

“I live on Snows Hill in DeKalb County and on the afternoon of July 31 this area was shaken by a massive blast sometime around 3 pm”.

“My son and I tried to track down the source and on Highway 70 near North Driver Road we spotted several softball sized rocks in the turning lane near 336 North Driver Road. We could hear heavy machinery nearby and could see exposed rock, so we drove there to see what has going on,” said Antoniak.

“We met and spoke with a “Chad” with SRM Jones and Stones. He explained they were doing prep work for a quarry on 100 acres the company recently purchased there for a new rock quarry”.

“This was the first anyone knew about plans for a quarry at this location, 336 North Driver Road, Dowelltown,” explained Antoniak.

“He was straightforward with all his answers and said they had just conducted a blast”.

“Also asserted was that there were no houses within 1,200 feet. I explained my sister owned the property directly across road and her house, empty, is within about 650 feet. I also advised him that many neighbors were upset, calling back and forth about the blast, how it shook their homes, etc. and anxious to know the source”.

“I did not see any sort of blasting mat and advised Chad there were rocks from the blast in the middle of the highway, which could have killed someone”.

“When we drove out, he followed us in his truck and the rocks were still lying in the center lane of highway. We drove down the highway. Later when we drove back that way the rocks were gone,” said Antoniak.

WJLE reached out Thursday and Friday to SRM company spokesperson Lora Smith for a statement about the blast at the telephone number and email address provided on the SRM website, but WJLE has not yet received a response.

SRM Concrete does have a press release on its website about the new concrete batching plant in Smithville as follows:

“SRM Concrete is now batching concrete from a new location in Smithville, Tennessee. The new site will help bridge a service gap between existing locations.

SRM Concrete CEO, Jeff Hollingshead stated, “We’re thrilled to have a new plant running in Smithville. We look forward to improving our service to our customers in the area, providing new jobs, and engaging in the community.”

With over 8,500 team members, SRM Concrete is the largest ready-mix concrete manufacturer in the country. Established in 1999 by Mike and Melissa Hollingshead in Smyrna, Tennessee, the family-owned company owns and operates an expansive network of ready-mix concrete plants, quarries, cement terminals, and other ancillary services across 19 states. SRM Concrete focuses on producing and providing building material services across the commercial and residential construction segments”.

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