County Commission and School Board to Renew Talks about New School Construction

October 8, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

For the first time in almost a year members of the county commission and board of education will meet together tonight (Tuesday, October 8) in an informal workshop to possibly jumpstart plans for new school construction. That meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of the county complex.

Five years ago (2019), the first schematic site plans were developed for the Board of Education by architects of Upland Design Group to build a new Pre-K to 2nd grade school adjacent to Northside Elementary School and the following year (2020) the board purchased the property, a 24.5-acre site on North Congress Boulevard. The price paid was $18,000 per acre for a total of $441,000.

In October 2022, the site plan was updated and shown for the first time to the county commission in a joint meeting with the school board and architects. Another meeting was held between the board of education and county commission in November 2023 but no agreement came out of the session. The total estimated project cost at that time was $46,199,875. Today, it’s more than $53 million, according to updated cost projections.

In March 2024, the board of education rejected a request from the county to make a one-time contribution of $2 million from the school system’s ($10 million) fund balance reserves to help fund construction of the new school. Skeptical of the move, Director Patrick Cripps and the Board said taking $2 million from the school system’s fund balance or reserve account would be digging a little too deeply, especially at a time when the school district has other needs which require funding.

According to Upland Design Group, the proposed new Pre-K to 2nd grade Smithville Elementary School is 124,207 square feet in size and would be designed to accommodate 800 students with room for future expansion to house up to 300 additional students (1,100) total. The school would be built with 11 classrooms for each grade level of kindergarten, first, and second grade (33 classrooms for 20 students each) along with seven Pre-K classrooms for 20 students each plus four CDC/SPED classrooms as needed. The future expansion would accommodate 15 new classrooms at 20 students each. There would be 189 parking spaces on the campus.

The existing Smithville Elementary School, originally built in 1958, now is 70,557 square feet in size, and had an enrollment of 534 students in August 2024. As far back as 2017, a facilities study by Upland Design Group, concluded that the school, which has mold and other concerns, should be replaced and repurposed for other uses.

October 8, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Director of Schools Patrick Cripps’ employment contract with the Board of Education is on the agenda for discussion during Thursday night’s regular monthly meeting.

In May 2023, the Board of Education voted to grant Director Cripps a contract extension and it runs through June 30th, 2025. Cripps has been Director since July 2015.

The monthly school board meeting will be held Thursday, October 10 at 6 p.m. at the Ernest Ray Education Center. A work session will be held prior to the meeting at 5 p.m.

The agenda is as follows:

Public comments: Anyone that has signed up to speak may address the Board about an agenda item.

Consider and act on the Director of Schools contract

Consent items

Consider and act on 2nd reading of Board Policies- 4.600 and 4.700

Personnel report from the Director of Schools

Any other business properly brought before the Board by a Board member

The consent agenda is as follows:
Adoption of agenda
Approval of minutes from the September 12 regular monthly meeting
Consider and act on GP Budget Amendments (SPARC, SPPKG, ISM)
Consider and act on LEA Compliance Report
Consider and act on DMS Music grants
Consider and act on DeKalb Middle and DeKalb West attending the TN State Beta Convention November 24-26 at Gaylord Opryland Convention Center, Nashville
Consider and act on DCHS Gene Haas Scholarship Grant
Consider and act on DWS Gym being used for Jr Pro Basketball
Consider and act on Federal (142) Budget Amendments
Consider and act on DeKalb West playing day ballgames November 15 and December 13
Consider and act on the TISA Accountability
Consider and act on Board members attending the TSBA Annual Convention November 8-10 at Gaylord Opryland Convention Center.

October 8, 2024
By:

National HealthCare Corporation recently awarded NHC Smithville as the company’s Most Effective Rehabilitation Program in 2023.

The prestigious recognition weighs multiple components, such as quality measures and customer satisfaction, among therapy programs across NHC’s 80 skilled nursing facilities.

“This is truly a team award,” said Whitney Duke, DPT and Director of Rehab. “It’s humbling to work beside this outstanding team of professionals each day as we strive to help our patients achieve their goals.”

NHC Smithville offers physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy in inpatient and outpatient settings; the center currently enjoys a five-star rating from Medicare for short-stay quality measures.

“What’s most impressive about this recognition is that our Partners were able to earn this with a relatively small group of therapists,” said Ryan Vaden, Administrator. “NHC has other rehab programs with much higher caseloads and bed turnover. So, for NHC Smithville to attain this with our smaller sample size is truly remarkable.”

NHC was founded in 1971 by Dr. Carl Adams and its health care centers offer rehab, skilled nursing, long-term care, hospice, and respite stays. For more information about NHC Smithville, visit www.nhcsmithville.com or call (615) 597-4284.

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