Published April 19, 2022

The Williamson County School Board voted to lower out-of-county tuition rates for full-time employees at its April 18 meeting. Family tuition will be reduced from $3,850 to $2,000 for first-year full-time WCS employees. Staff members in years two through five with WCS will receive a 20 percent per year reduction from the $2,000 base each year. For staff members with five years or more at WCS, the family tuition rate is $0.

The Board also voted to close the Discovery Virtual K-8 School for the 2022-23 school year due to lack of interest. 

In his report to the Board, Superintendent Jason Golden thanked the members for their work and encouraged listeners to watch the April 14 work session to learn more about the Epic app, options for families and more.

In Student Spotlights, the Board recognized Future Farmers of America (FFA) students from Fairview and Page high schools for their success at the State Convention. Fairview High was named an FFA State Superior Chapter. Their teacher is David Harper. From Page High, Bryson Boone is the Division V Social Systems champion. Bryson and his classmates, Molly McKenzie, Sarah Milazo and Parker Pugh, are also the State Farm Business Management champions. Also from Page High, Cole Cruise and Morgan Riley are the State champions for Wildlife Management and Beef Production Placement, respectively. Their instructor is Shana Boteler.

Several students also won at the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Qualifying Event Tournament. Brentwood High won the Overall Sweepstakes and Debate Sweepstakes, and BHS students William Hong and Sully Mrkva placed first in Public Forum Debate. Their teachers are Matt Grimes and Harriet Medlin. Ravenwood High received the Leading Chapter Award, and their instructors are Rachel Cahill and Nathan Meredith.

A Ravenwood High student, Yuti Kale, was honored for scoring a perfect 36 composite on her ACT exam.

Students in the Brentwood area also had great success in the VEX IQ State Championship. Brentwood Middle's Connor Harris, Austin Schul and Colt King are the Teamwork Champions and won the Excellence Award in addition to qualifying for the World tournament. Also from BMS, Leyton Stevenson, Jack Harwell, McCale French, Jasmine Merrikh and Izzy Aulino won the Team Design Award and are World qualifiers. Cameron Work and Neel Inavolu, also from Brentwood Middle, won the Team Think Award and qualified for the World competition. Brentwood Middle's William Pankow, Andrew Yawn, Jett Holt, Bryson Breece, Caitlyn Arnold, Emerson Wille and Ashley Xu are also World qualifiers. Brentwood Middle is coached by Debra Schaefer.

A Brentwood High team, which includes Anthony Beckett, Yuhua Cai, Grant Carpenter, Lucas Clevenger, Luke Haws, Shaunak Moghe, Quin Wehby and Vikram Vinayagam, also qualified for the high school World Championship. They are coached by Dr. Roberto Marrero. The team will be joined by their peers at Ravenwood High: Mark Bell, Adwit Satyawadi and Connor Tasik. They are coached by Josh Peck.

In Staff Spotlights, Crockett Elementary's Stephanie Higgs was honored for being named the 2020-21 Tennessee Performing Arts Center Teacher of the Year.

Ravenwood High Principal Dr. Pam Vaden is the Tennessee Association of Secondary School Principals Middle Tennessee Region Principal of the Year.

In New Business, the School Board:

• Approved the Out of County Tuition Rate for Full Time Employees
• Approved the Facilities Use Fee Schedule (Annual Agenda Item)
• Approved the following Board policies on first reading:
  • Report Cards and Grading Systems
  • Credit Requirements for Graduation
  • Zero Tolerance Offenses
• Approved the Resolution to Deny the Founder's Charter School Application
• Approved the Closure of Discovery Virtual K-8 for the 2022-2023 School Year
• Approved the Coding I Instructional Material Waiver Request
• Approved Tenure Recommendations (Annual Agenda Item)

In Other Business, the School Board:

• Approved the Agenda
• Approved the Consent Agenda, which included:
  • March 21, 2022, School Board Meeting Minutes
  • Recommendation for Field Trip Fee Requests

A recording of the meeting in its entirety is available online.

The Board's next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 16, at 6:30 p.m.