DCHS Graduation Rate Improves

September 29, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County School District is among 78 across the state that improved its 2021-22 graduation rate from the previous year.

According to data released by the Tennessee Department of Education, 93.2% of DeKalb County High School students graduated on time in 2021-22, almost a 10% increase from the rate of 83.6% in 2020-21. It was also better than the state’s graduation rate of 89.8% for 2021-22.

“Coming out of COVID our staff and administration worked extremely hard and did a good job in making sure students at risk and short of credits were on track to graduate through various educational and credit recovery programs including after school and summer school. We also added a graduation coach last year to help,” said Director of Schools Patrick Cripps

The Tennessee Department of Education this week released the graduation rate data for the 2021-22 school year, which exceeds pre-pandemic levels. With a statewide rate of 89.8% of Tennessee high school students graduating on time in the 2021-22 school year, a total of 78 districts improved their graduation rates from last year, and 95% of eligible students in 53 districts graduated on time this year.

“Seeing our graduation rates return to pre-pandemic levels shows that strong partnerships and the right investments will result in improved outcomes for our students,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. “Thanks to the dedication of our districts and schools, educators, and families, Tennessee students are able to move into life beyond high school and pursue postsecondary pathways that will help them achieve their dreams and goals.”

Tennessee’s graduation rate prior to the pandemic was 89.7% in 2018-19, and last year the rate was 88.7%. For the 2021-22 school year, the most notable takeaways from graduation data include:

•12 districts improved their graduation rate by 5 percentage points or more
•53 districts graduated 95% or more of their cohorts
•78 districts improved their graduation rates from 2021 to 2022
•54 districts improved the Students with Disabilities student group by 5 percentage points or more
•1,297 more students graduated in the 2022 cohort compared to last year, for a total of 64,580 graduating students across the state

The department continues to offer several initiatives to accelerate academic achievement and prepare students for postsecondary success, including summer programming, free ACT workshops, TN ALL Corps, Innovative School Models, and AP Access for All.

September 29, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

Grant James of the James Gang remains the leader of WJLE’s Fearless Forecasters picking college football winners.

James has the best overall record at 48-12 after the first four weeks of the season followed by Ricky Atnip at 47-13, Jared Davis at 46-14, Chad Kirby and Scott Goodwin each at 43-17, John Pryor and Scott Brown each at 42-18, and Darrell Gill of the Gill Gang at 41-19.

For the week, Ricky Atnip and Scott Brown tied for the best record at 13-2 followed by Darrell Gill and Scott Goodwin each at 11-4, Grant James and Jared Davis each at 10-5 and Chad Kirby and John Pryor each at 9-6.

Two Fearless Forecasters hit their underdog picks last week. Darrell Gill of the Gill Gang got 2.5 points added to his total as Baylor defeated Iowa State 31-24 and Jared Davis picked up another 3.5 points as Troy upset Marshall 16-7.

Overall, Gill leads in underdog points with 17.5 followed by Jared Davis 11, Scott Brown 10, and John Pryor 6.5.

Today (Thursday) the Forecasters will be picking winners in the following games:

Washington at UCLA, Wake Forest at Florida State, N.C. State at Clemson, California at Washington State, Iowa State at Kansas, Indiana at Nebraska, Michigan State at Maryland, Oklahoma at TCU, Oklahoma State at Baylor, Michigan at Iowa, Texas A&M at Mississippi State, Alabama at Arkansas, Kentucky at Ole Miss, LSU at Auburn and in the NFL the Tennessee Titans at the Indianapolis Colts.

Catch the Fearless Forecasters on WJLE today (Thursday) at 4:30 p.m. on AM 1480/FM 101.7 and LIVE streaming at www.wjle.com.

The program is sponsored by the Charles D. Atnip Realty and Auction Company, Middle Tennessee Natural Gas, FirstBank, DeKalb County Insurance, Gill Automotive, Love-Cantrell Funeral Home, Davis Auto Body, and Domino’s Pizza.

September 28, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

It’s almost time to pay your county property taxes!

2022 property tax notices will be going out in the mail Friday, September 30 bearing the color of red to symbolize confidence, strength, passion, prosperity, and victory.

Property taxes will be due and payable starting October 1, 2022 through February 28, 2023 before any interest becomes due on March 1, 2023. Interest will accrue on March 1, 2023 @ 1.5% per month. If you choose to mail in your tax payment, it must be postmarked on or prior to February 28, 2023 to avoid any accrued interest.

For 2022, the tax rate is 1.7308% per $100.00 of your assessed value. The tax notices include an example provided by Trustee Sean Driver on how the property taxes are calculated.

Example: Appraisal Value————$125,000 X Assessed Value @25%—-$31,250 X Residential Tax Rate @ 1.7308%——$541 Tax Amount to Pay.

“Well folks, here we are again, passing through another year of living in great ‘ole DeKalb County,” said Trustee Driver. This year you will see a new “RED” color on the 2022 property tax notices. I have chosen the color “RED” this year because of what the color represents and what the color has attributed to my life. To me, this color represents confidence, strength, passion, prosperity, and victory. I do wish for all of you to experience all these representations of the color “RED” for your lives the same as they have done for me. For me, I attribute my victories through claiming Christ’s Holy Name. And for this, we are all blessed by the color “RED”, said Driver.

The Trustee’s office offers up to 6 different options to pay your property taxes:

*Come in person to the office to pay

*Mail in your payment

*Pay online @ www.tennesseetrustee.org, then select DeKalb and follow the instructions to the next screens. The Vendor BIS (Business Information Systems) accepts Visa, Discover, MasterCard, or American Express-The Vendor convenience fee of 2.75% on the total tax bill will apply and fees are subject to change for using credit/debit cards. Also, a $2.75 fee will be assessed on an e-check payment of any amount. DeKalb County does not collect any online payment fees.

* A QR (Quick Response Code) is also on your notice to access the website with your I-phone, smartphone, etc @ http://www.tennesseetruste.org/

* Dropbox located on the outside of the building at the County Complex (County Offices Section) for your convenience after hours and/or on weekends.

*Partial Payments are accepted and you the taxpayer sets the amount to pay until full payment is made.
The Trustee’s office will start accepting applications for the Property Tax Relief Program on October 3, 2022 through April 5, 2023. If you would like to inquire more about a possible tax relief for property taxes, come by the Trustee’s office in the County Complex at 732 S Congress Boulevard-Room 103, Smithville or call 615-597-5176.

Eligibility for Property Tax Relief:

*The State of Tennessee offers qualified property owners tax relief on property taxes. This program was implemented in 1973 and has a few changes every year. At this time, DeKalb County has 404 applicants on the program for 2022. As a property owner for 2022, you can qualify for Tax Relief if:

( A.) Your DeKalb County home is your primary residence, ( B.) You are 65 years old (or older) on or before December 31, 2022, (C.) Under 65 years of age with a total and permanent disability per the SSA or another qualifying agency, and (D.) The 2021 Annual Income of all living owners on the deed and their spouses DID NOT exceed $31,600. If the State of Tennessee qualifies you for Tax Relief, then you can receive a rebate up to $130 for the 2022 tax year. You must pay your 2022 tax bill IN FULL to start the application process. Applications are handled, executed, and sent to the State of Tennessee by the Trustee’s office.

* Also, the State of Tennessee offers TAX RELIEF to Disabled Veterans and the surviving spouses of a disabled veteran. You must provide proof from the Veteran’s Administration that you have a total and permanent disability rating that was service connected. You and your spouse will NOT have to report any amount of income to apply as a disabled veteran or the widow or widower of a disabled veteran. If the State of Tennessee qualifies you as a disabled veteran or the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran, then you can receive a rebate up to $757 for 2022.

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