DeKalb High School Graduation Rate Improves

September 17, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County School District was among 67 across the state which improved its high school graduation rate in 2018-19. Locally, the rate was at 94.4%, an increase from 93.7% the previous year. It also exceeded the state’s graduation rate by 4.7%.

The DCHS graduation rate has been up and down over the last several years. For 2016-17 it was 95.41%. Three years ago, the rate was 97.58% and 95.8% four years ago.

Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said that the state graduation rate for the 2018-19 school calendar, 89.7 percent, not only is more than half a percentage point higher than the previous year, but it’s the highest graduation rate on record for Tennessee. That translates into an increase of 183 graduates statewide.

“While this is certainly something to celebrate, I know we can do even better! Ultimately, I would like to see all 130 districts that serve high school students have a 90 percent graduation or better. That’s something my team will be very focused on over the next four years, along with making sure those students have a career or college path in mind the day they walk across the stage to get that diploma,” said Schwinn.

Tennessee has set high expectations for both students and educators, and students have made significant gains as a result. As part of this work, the state transitioned to a more rigorous calculation for graduation rates in 2011, and even under the new criteria, rates have continued to rise.

For the 2018-19 school year, the most notable gains and overall achievements in the state are:

• 67 districts improved their graduation rates from 2018 to 2019, with four of those districts improving by five percentage points or more. Districts with significant gains included Tennessee School for the Deaf (29 percentage points), Lewis County (10 percentage points), Hancock County (7 points), and Trousdale County (6 points).

• 49 districts— more than a third statewide— have graduation rates at or above 95 percent, which is an increase from last year.

• Four districts had a graduation rate of 100 percent, including Huntingdon Special School District, South Carroll, Bradford, and Oneida.

• 32 schools had graduation rates of 100 percent.

September 17, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb High School will be hosting its annual Cross Country Invitational Saturday, Sept 21st.

High school and middle school teams from all over middle Tennessee will be attending this event.

The community is welcome to come out and support our runners!!! Admission is free!!

Race times are:

8:00 am Middle School Girls

8:30 am Middle School Boys

9:15 Middle School Awards

10:00 am High School Girls

10:45 am High School Boys

11:30 am High School Awards

September 17, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Developers of commercial projects in the City of Smithville will now have to pay a plan review fee in addition to the cost of a building permit.

During a special meeting held Monday evening at city hall, the Aldermen voted 4-0 to adopt the new fee. Alderman Brandon Cox was absent.

The action was taken at the request of the city’s building codes inspector Lewis Bryant who addressed the mayor and aldermen last week to recommend the new fee.

“I recommend instituting some kind of plan review fee. The idea is to make sure a building is built according to code and done properly and to eliminate any problems or headaches before the building is already constructed,” said Bryant.

Building permits are issued for all construction in the city, residential and commercial and the fees are based on the square footage of the project. The cost for a plan review fee will have half the cost of a building permit. For example, if a building permit is issued for $3,000 for a commercial project, the developer would have to pay that in addition to another $1,500 for a plan review.

The plan review fee would apply to all new commercial construction and remodeling projects in which a building permit is required including businesses, industries, churches, and schools. Although building permits would continue to be required for residential construction, no plan review fee would be assessed for those projects.

According to Bryant plans for some commercial developments can be quite detailed and complex requiring a lot of time and effort to ensure their compliance which is one reason for implementing the fee.

“Whether it be a gymnastics building, restaurants, or any commercial project, I have to review the plans and after I do the inspections, I need those plans to look at to make sure the contractor is building according to the way the plans were drawn and engineered. It takes a lot of work and several hours to review some of those plans to make sure they meet the code requirements but it also helps the contractor or owner of the property by having a review process to catch any potential problems on the front end. If there is no plans review process and they get the building framed up and something doesn’t meet the code and hasn’t been done right there would be a lot more costs involved to fix it,” said Bryant.

Bryant has been the city’s building codes inspector since July 1.

The city pays him a commission of 65% from funds collected through issuance of building related permits. Bryant, a certified building codes inspector, also works in a similar role for the City of Algood.

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