
News
August 13, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
Persons wishing to seek public office in DeKalb County as a Democratic candidate for the 2022 elections may be subject to vetting by a County Democratic Party Primary Board.
The DeKalb County Democratic Party Executive Committee submitted to the Tennessee Democratic Primary Board the names of five nominees to serve on the DeKalb County Democratic Primary Board including: Jon Mark Ivey, Joyce Hendrixson, Dennis Boland, Dianne Hawkins, and Donna Comer.
“We request that the Tennessee Democratic Primary Board appoint the nominated individuals in the order listed until five are appointed,” wrote Jordan Wilkins, DeKalb County Democratic Party Chair in a letter to Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Hendrell Remus. Wilkins, a member of the Tennessee Democratic Primary Board presented the names at their meeting on July 17th and they were approved unanimously.
County Party Primary Boards are authorized by a combination of the Tennessee Code and the Tennessee Democratic Party By-Laws and serve the purpose of determining whether candidates for office in partisan elections for county office are bona fide Democrats. They also have the right to nominate persons of their party as election officials and poll workers. Primary Boards consist of five members two of which are the Chair and Secretary. They are appointed by the State Party acting as the State Party’s Primary Board.
As part of its organization, the Primary Board should develop a set of rules that it will operate under to ensure fair treatment of all candidates. There must be measurable criteria to determine whether a candidate is a bona fide Democrat. The TNDP uses the measure of having voted in three of the last five Democratic Primaries. DeKalb County Democratic Party has interpreted this to be state-wide and federal primaries. The Primary Board can also consider other evidence in reaching a decision such as whether the candidate has openly worked for the election of candidates of another party. The evidence must be real and not rumor. The Primary Board should also reserve the right to make exceptions when they determine it is in the best interest of the Democratic Party.
The Primary Board should consider each candidate as soon as practicable after they file for candidacy and immediately after the filing qualification period closes. The Election Commission is required to furnish information to the Primary Board necessary to perform their duties. Candidates must be notified they are being considered and if they are not deemed a bona fide Democrat, given an opportunity for a hearing to present their side on the discrepancy. If the Primary Board decides the candidate is a bona fide Democrat, the process is over and the Primary Board has done its job. If the Primary Board decides the candidate is not a bona fide Democrat and an exception is not in the best interest of the Party, then it will refer the matter to the County Party Executive Committee for a decision. The County Party Executive Committee may either certify the candidate as a Democrat or refer the matter to the TNDP Chair for a final decision. If the TNDP Chair rules the candidate is a bona fide Democrat, they will appear on the ballot. If the TNDP Chair rules the candidate is not a bona fide Democrat, the candidate will be removed from the ballot.
Board of Education Meets (View video here)
August 12, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
The DeKalb County Board of Education met in regular monthly session Thursday night. View video of the entire meeting below
DeKalb School District Records Significant Increase in Student Enrollment
August 12, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
Enrollment in the DeKalb County School System is up by 163 students compared to last year at this time.
Comparing the numbers for the first full week of school, total enrollment from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade district wide is 3,044 as of Thursday (August 12), up from 2,881 last year.
Director of Schools Patrick Cripps told WJLE Thursday that he believes the reasons for the increase in enrollment are that the county has grown in population, students and parents are anxious to get back to all in-person learning at school after a year of on campus learning for some and remote learning for others which so many became disenchanted with last year, and the fact that there is no mask mandate this year at school.
According to Attendance Supervisor Joey Reeder, the numbers are up at every school but one. “We’re up by 163 students county wide from where we were a year ago. Of course, this is an ever changing number and it will be changing daily from now until probably after Labor Day. Usually it’s the Monday after Labor Day before you get numbers firmed up about who has moved in and moved out,” said Reeder.
As of Thursday, August 12 enrollment at each school is as follows compared to last year:
DCHS: 890 (up by 58 students)
DeKalb Middle School: 577 (down by 2 students)
Northside Elementary: 578 (up by 26 students)
Smithville Elementary: 574 (up by 22 students)
DeKalb West School: 425 (up by 39 students)
Reeder also provided numbers on how the enrollment has been trending over the last eight years district-wide
Year 2014: 3,005 students
2015: 3,015 students ( up by 10 students)
2016: 2,950 students (down by 65 students)
2017: 3,039 students (up by 89 students)
2018: 2,993 students (down by 46 students)
2019: 2,999 students (up by 6 students)
2020: 2,881 students (down by 118 students)
2021: 3,044 students (up by 163 students)
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