Director of Schools gets Bonus and Contract Extension (View Video here)

March 11, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Based on overall high marks given by the Board of Education in a recent performance evaluation, Director of Schools Patrick Cripps has been awarded a one year contract extension and given a $3,000 bonus, the same amount as certified staff have received over the past two years (2019-20 and 2020-21)

View video of the meeting below

DeKalb Board of Education Meeting (3-11-21) from dwayne page on Vimeo.

During Thursday night’s regular monthly meeting, the Board voted 7-0 to grant the extension and bonus. Those voting in favor were Chairman Danny Parkerson, and fellow members Kate Miller, Alan Hayes, Shaun Tubbs, Jim Beshearse, Jamie Cripps, and Jason Miller.

Cripps, who has earned an annual salary of $90,000 will get the extra $3,000 bonus to be paid in equal payments before June 30, 2021. Starting July 1, 2021 the Board shall pay the Director an annual salary of $93,000 and he (Cripps) will be entitled to the same salary raises that the Board shall grant to all licensed employees going forward.

Cripps’ contract was to run through June 30, 2022, but with the one year extension, he will now serve as Director at least through June 30, 2023. Cripps has been Director since July, 2015.

Results of the Board of Education’s annual performance evaluation of Director Cripps show he is meeting “most” expectations of the board.

Cripps’ overall average score is 4.19 out of a possible 6 score.

In accordance with state law, the school board is required to develop and implement an evaluation plan to be used annually for the director of schools. Board members used a four page evaluation form to rate Director Cripps (1-6) in each of 60 areas from eight categories including on his relationship with the Board, the Community, Staff and Personnel, Educational Leadership, Business and Finance, Personal Qualities, Strategic Planning Skills, and Tennessee Specific questions.

A rating of “1” meant his performance was “Consistently Below Expectations”. A “5” rating signified that Cripps “Met All Expectations”. A rating with an asterisk (*) symbol or 6 meant he “Exceeded Expectations”.

Other ratings were:
“2”-Meets Few Expectations
“3”-Meets Some Expectations
“4”-Meets Most Expectations

Each board member scored Cripps in all areas from the categories on the form. The scores were then averaged to arrive at the grand total score. The completed forms were sent to officials of the Tennessee School Boards Association where the scores were tabulated and averaged.

In the overall evaluation report, Cripps scored highest (4.57) in “business and finance”. He scored lowest (3.71) in “strategic planning skills”.

A breakdown of Cripps’ scores in the eight goals evaluation were:

Performance Goal Average
Board Relationships
4.48

Community Relationships
4.10

Staff and Personnel Relationships
4.19

Educational Leadership
4.23

Business and Finance
4.57

Personal Qualities
4.39

Strategic Planning Skills
3.71

Tennessee Specific Questions
3.88

Grand Total
4.19

March 11, 2021
By:

One Middle Tennessean is now a millionaire thanks to a lucky lottery ticket.

A DeKalb County player hit the Tennessee Cash jackpot Wednesday to win $1,178,746. The winning ticket was sold at Village Market, 825 N. Congress Boulevard in Smithville.

Lottery officials said the player hit five out of five numbers plus the Cash Ball to win.

They now become the 15th millionaire created by this game.

March 11, 2021
By:

The Tennessee Department of Health has updated Tennessee’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan as the state continues to prioritize Tennesseans most at risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19.

Tennesseans in Phase 1c of the state’s plan are now eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccination along with those in the 1a1, 1a2, and 1b phases.  Those in Phase 1c are Tennesseans age 16 and older with high-risk health conditions including pregnancy, and parents and caregivers of medically fragile children and those with complex congenital heart disease.

At last report doses of the Moderna vaccine were available in Smithville at the DeKalb County Health Department, F.Z. Webb & Sons Pharmacy, Johnny’s Drugs, and Walmart.

Meanwhile DeKalb County reported  41 active cases of  COVID-19 Wednesday, March 10 including 3 new cases according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

Over the last seven days, DeKalb County had a case count of 21 for a daily case rate of 14.6 per 100,000 residents and the average positive percentage  over the last week was 5.6%.

The COVID-19 related death count in DeKalb County is 51 since last March and 51 have been hospitalized due to COVID-19 within the last year

The total number of confirmed or probable cases of COVID 19 in DeKalb County since March stands at 2,680 and 2,588 are now inactive or have recovered.

Protecting Adults and Children with High-Risk Health Conditions
Phase 1c of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan includes Tennesseans age 16 and older with
high-risk health conditions including pregnancy, and parents and caregivers of medically fragile
children and those with complex congenital heart disease. Tennessee’s COVID-19 Vaccination
Plan has been updated to include the following groups among the Phase 1c populations:
• Permanent household members age 16 and older living with pregnant women
• People age 16 years and older with diagnosed diabetes
• People age 16 years and older with Down Syndrome
• People age 16 years and older with progressive neuromuscular diseases such as ALS,
multiple sclerosis or muscular dystrophy

Prioritizing Age-Based Risk
Age-based criteria run concurrently to the risk-based phases. Tennessee continues vaccinating those age 65 and older in addition to those eligible for COVID-19 vaccination based on risk categories. The estimated timeline and phases of Tennessee’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan are preliminary and subject to additional changes pending further recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and other federal and state partners.

Book Your Vaccination Appointment
Tennesseans may find vaccination providers in their area by visiting VaccineFinder.org. Book an appointment for COVID-19 vaccination through your county health department at COVID19.tn.gov. As of today, there are nearly 480,000 appointments available in the system for COVID-19 vaccination across the state. Tennessee’s COVID-19 Vaccination Reporting dashboard is available online at www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov/covid-19-vaccine-information.html. This dashboard is updated Monday through Friday. Find answers to frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccination at https://covid19.tn.gov/data/faqs/.

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