State Names DeKalb West a Reward School

September 26, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb West School has been named a Reward School for 2018 by the Tennessee Department of Education.

The department released its 2018 School Accountability lists last week, which names schools that are excelling and those that need added support.

The DeKalb County School System received an overall “Advancing” status, the second best of the three designations the state gives for improvement. The best is “Exemplary” and “Satisfactory” comes in below “Advancing”

Reward schools are typically improving in terms of achievement and growth for all students and student groups, according to the department. There’s no cap on the number of reward schools.

A school cannot receive a reward designation if:

• Any student group performs in the bottom five percent in the state for that group
• The school is also designated priority or in need of comprehensive support and improvement, or additional targeted support and improvement.

This is the first year that the DOE has used a new framework to determine the school accountability lists. In past years, reward schools included the top 10 percent of schools based on the highest rates of performance and progress.

Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said Reward and Priority schools are two key designations under Tennessee’s school accountability system..

Reward status is the top distinction a school can earn in Tennessee. Reward schools are those that are improving overall student academic achievement and student growth for all students and for student groups, and they are identified annually. In 2018, 318 schools in 85 school districts – about 20 percent of schools in the state – earned Reward status.

Priority schools are identified at least every three years, and they are the schools most in need of support and improvement. Priority schools fall into the bottom 5 percent of schools in the state test scores over the past three years and have low graduation rates. Following legislation passed this spring, 2017-18 TNReady data was not used to identify Priority schools. The 2018 Priority list includes 82 schools across eight districts, and these schools are now eligible for additional funding and will be supported by the department, in coordination with their districts, in developing a plan to improve.

“In this first year with our new system, it is incredibly encouraging to see more than 300 of our schools are earning Reward status for how they are supporting our students’ academic achievement and growth,” Commissioner McQueen said. “At the same time, we see a number of places where we need to improve. Our new school improvement model takes a student-focused, evidence-based approach to tailor interventions for our Priority schools, and we will be working closely with these schools and their districts over the coming year to improve academic outcomes and strengthen whole-child services that support student success.”

Tennessee’s new school accountability system was developed through a 16-month process of gathering feedback and hearing input from students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community members. Tennessee has designated Reward and Priority schools since 2012, but this was the first year with an updated methodology as required by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. As part of federal requirements, the plan was submitted to and approved by the U.S. Department of Education.

The new accountability framework is based on principles that all schools can be successful and all Tennessee students must be served well. It includes a variety of measures, including chronic absenteeism and discipline, ACT performance, and TNReady scores, to make a determination. All schools are rated both on how they serve the full student population and how they are specifically serving student groups that have historically been underserved: students with disabilities, English learners, economically disadvantaged students, and black, Hispanic, and Native American students. This fall, the department will publish more information about how all schools perform on these measures as part of a new school dashboard that will be posted online to offer additional information to parents, educators, elected officials, and community leaders.

As part of Tennessee’s new accountability plan, all Priority schools will move into an evidence-based school improvement model, ranging from district-led plans to intervention by the state’s Achievement School District. To better support Tennessee’s lowest performing schools, the state has invested $20 million into school improvement over the last two years. This funding is specifically devoted for Priority schools.

September 26, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

A man was caught with drugs during a probation search of his home last week.

33 year old Clent Lee Shehane of Wade Street, Smithville is charged with possession, manufacture, sale, or delivery of methamphetamine. Shehane’s bond is $50,000 and his court date is October 5.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Thursday, September 20 a deputy went to Shehane’s residence on Wade Street to serve a warrant on him. During the visit a probation search was conducted and two baggies were found in the home containing a total of 1.7 grams of a crystal like substance believed to be methamphetamine. Most of the meth was in a baggie inside a pill bottle. The search also turned up other empty baggies, a scale, and drug paraphernalia.

25 year old Marco Antonio Granados of Cecil Hale Road, Smithville is charged with driving under the influence. He was further cited for driving without a license, misuse of registration (wrong tags on the car), violation of the light law, no insurance, and driving on roadways laned for travel. His bond is $2,500 and he will make a court appearance on October 11.

Sheriff Ray said that on Sunday, September 23 a deputy spotted a white car traveling south on Short Mountain Highway. The headlights were off and the car was in the wrong lane. The officer stopped the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Granados who had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person. He was also unsteady on his feet and performed poorly on field sobriety tasks.

44 year old Ginger Elaine Moore of Cookeville Highway, Smithville is charged with unlawful possession of a weapon. Sheriff Ray said that on Wednesday, September 19 a deputy responded to a residence on Cookeville Highway to assist officers of the Tennessee Department of Correction in a probation search. They located an unsecured .380 caliber pistol in the residence where Moore was living. Moore said she was aware that she had previously pled guilty in court to a felony and was on probation the terms of which prohibit her from having a weapon.

42 year old Gregory Michael Patton of Oak Place Drive, Smithville is charged with criminal impersonation and tampering with evidence. Patton’s bond is $12,000 and his court date is September 27.He also had an active warrant against him for failure to appear. He is being held without bond for that offense.

Sheriff Ray said that on Wednesday, September 19 a deputy received a call about a man wearing a yellow shirt walking on Capshaw Road who was possibly intoxicated. The officer responded and spotted the man. He stopped to talk to the man who identified himself as James. Knowing his true identity, the officer placed the man, Patton under arrest. According to the officer, James is Gregory Patton’s brother. During an incident to arrest search, the officer spotted methamphetamine in a cigarette box on Patton’s person but before he could recover the box, Patton tried to pour out the drugs and he even ate some of the meth trying to get rid of it.

38 year old Carlos Cruz Jimenez of Redmon Road, Smithville is charged with assault. He is under a $5,000 bond and his court date is October 11.

Sheriff Ray said that on Thursday, September 20 a deputy responded to a residence on Sparta Highway in reference to an assault. Upon arrival the officer spoke with a man who was bleeding from his nose and stated that he had been assaulted. According to the victim, someone had knocked on his door and when he answered the assailant hit him in the face. The officer viewed surveillance from a nearby business and spotted an image of the suspect’s vehicle on video. The deputy later located the vehicle and learned that Jimenez, who had blood on his clothes, was a passenger. He was taken into custody.

49 year old Randall Eugene Tittle of Tubb Street, Liberty is charged with resisting stop, frisk, halt, or arrest. He is under a $3,500 bond and his court date is October 4.

Sheriff Ray said that on Thursday, September 20 a deputy was dispatched to Nashville Highway to check out a suspicious person. Upon arrival the officer spotted the man, Tittle but he took off running. The deputy repeatedly ordered Tittle to stop but he refused continuing to run down Tubb Street. The officer caught up with Tittle and placed him under arrest.

September 25, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

The manager of the Smithville Golf Course, Swimming Pool, and Tennis Court is getting another pay raise, just two weeks after his pay was doubled.

During Monday night’s special called meeting, the aldermen voted 4-1 to raise Ken Lacy’s salary from $24,000 to $40,000 per year. They had just raised it two weeks ago from $12,000 to $24,000 retroactive to the date when his co-manager, Pete Ferguson resigned in July.

In March, the aldermen hired both Lacy and Ferguson to manage the operation of the golf course, swimming pool, and tennis courts. The city budgeted their pay at $1,000 per month each and both were provided the city’s healthcare insurance package, a $7,000 benefit to each of them.

Lacy has been the sole manager of the facilities since Ferguson left.

Alderman Gayla Hendrix made the motion to increase Lacy’s pay again.

“We have had numerous workshops about this facility and due to the fact that Mr. Lacy was first hired with a co-manager who has now left us, he is doing twice the work. We had also decided not to re-contract with Riverwatch for the golf course maintenance so his (Lacy’s) responsibilities have greatly increased. I would make the motion that we increase Mr. Lacy’s pay to $40,000 a year plus insurance to be the manager of the golf course, pool, and tennis courts,” she said.

“We are under a trial year with the city running the golf course to see if it is going to be the best route for us to go or change directions but we haven’t been doing it a year yet so it’s too early to make that assessment at this time. Back in the spring when we did take applications for the position of golf course manager, we had a few but Mr. Lacy’s resume stood out far beyond any we saw. He is definitely qualified and he is a Golf pro,” said Alderman Hendrix.

Alderman Brandon Cox opposed the salary increase.

“My concern is we’re looking to increase expenses at a time when the revenues are about to drastically decrease. We don’t have any projection as to what this is going to look like next year. I looked at the numbers extensively for July and August. If you divorce the pool from the golf course and do revenues versus expenses, there is actually a net revenue for July and August but if you go back three months prior and the year prior, we’re still in the hole $40,000, even if you take the Riverwatch contract out. July and August are a peak time. That’s when you are going to get the most revenue out of it. I personally don’t see how it ever gets to viability. The best we can hope for over a twelve month span is break even. That’s my concern at this point. We’re looking to increase a salary at a time when revenues are actually about to drop,” said Alderman Cox.

“You are projecting that. You don’t have knowledge of that,” replied Alderman Hendrix. “The work load is not dropping. While the pool revenue may be dropping, pool expenses are also declining. There will be a ton of play at the golf course in the fall. I think it will be a lot more than in the summer. We are not going to know any numbers for at least a year. We all made a decision after numerous meetings to do this the first year and see how we do and then assess. We’re not ready to assess but we still need a manager,” she said.

“Gayla and Brandon have very valid points. Yes, we have seen the numbers. They don’t look good. We’re all business savvy. We have knowledge of that. What I would like to do is definitely look at this again. Get the summer revenues. Look at it again this time next year. Twelve months down the road. If we see that we are losing too much money, then I think we need to keep options on the table,” said Mayor Josh Miller.

“We’re talking about $40,000. It’s not giving him $40,000 more. We’re just increasing it to $40,000. We have to look at this as a business. The city has started a new business with the golf course and pool. Yes, we’ve poured some hard earned money into it, city money. We don’t know what it is going to be until we get this behind us and have a year under our belt and see where we stand this time next year or close to this time. When we shut the pool down (for the summer next year), that’s when we’ll know where we stand. I hate to throw the money we have already spent over there away. We have it in good shape. Let’s see what we can do with it from this point on,” added Alderman Danny Washer.

“This is a service we provide to our community,” said Alderman Hendrix. For the last several years even our school teams couldn’t play because it (golf course) was in such bad shape. It was an embarrassment. Now we have three different schools playing their season back there. Its good to see the school groups playing back there again. The course is just now getting in playable condition,” she said.

“The leasing prospect is almost a non-starter because since Jim Alexander had it several years ago it just hasn’t (worked for the city). The city set how much rent we wanted and since then it has been nothing but headaches for the lessee and for the city because some of them (lessees) didn’t have the equipment and some didn’t have the expertise. Others did but it was just a struggle apparently to manage that place. I am not saying it can’t work because it has but that was years ago and we didn’t have as much competition from other golf courses back then,” said Alderman Shawn Jacobs.

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