Jeremy Nash news-herald.net

Garren, in June was promoted from assistant director to interim director after the board suspended former director Jason Vance. The board parted ways with Vance in July.

Scott Newman, board member, asked the BOE during a workshop last week to consider a vote Thursday that would allow BOE attorney Chris McCarty, BOE chairman Craig Simon and Garren to enter into contract discussions. “We may not come to an agreement, we may just decide we’re going to go in a different way, but I think we need to start that and head in that direction,” Newman said.

Garren has three years left on his contact at an annual salary of $108,000 and could be in line for a raise, Newman said. “I think there needs to be a pay raise there,” Newman said. “His responsibilities, if you’ve heard what they said about our (Basic Education Program), we always get accused about having a heavy central office and we’re down two people according to BEP. That means everybody’s just picking up the workload. Eventually we’re going to have to have another assistant director but that’ll be something Mike — we’ll have to look at that in the budget process next year.”

Although a director search is still an option, Newman believes board members know what they have in Garren. “If you’re doing well, if you’re achieving the kind of goals you want to achieve and you need a new person in charge, you stay inside the organization,”

Gary Ubben, school board member, said. “If you’re real unhappy with what the organization is doing and you need change, then you go outside and bring somebody in with new ideas. I think we’re doing very well ... as an organization. I think it’s time that we stay inside with this, and I would be unhappy if we started looking outside for somebody. “I think Mike has done an excellent job with all turmoil over the summer with picking up the pieces, putting them together and moving us into this year, which could have turned out to be a very chaotic year. It’s starting out very smoothly,” he added.

Security enhancements

Board members will also look to approve a safety grant application for $85,500 from the Tennessee Department of Education that will go toward a slew of security improvements. Although there is no match financially, Garren said the system must pay for labor costs to install the new equipment. “We’re getting a little more money this year because the governor’s putting more money into the safety, but it’s a grant we’ve got every year for the last several years,” Garren said. “We’ve got a little increased funding this year so we’re able to do a few more things.”

The systems needs $24,000 to install and upgrade 50 speakers on the outside of buildings at all nine schools. “If you’re in the back of Highland Park and the kids are up there playing on the playground, there may be a speaker on the side or one in the front, but if they’re outside and say there’s a weather warning or there’s an intruder or any kind of situation and the kids are out there and there’s a call made over the speakers, no one would be able to here it up there,” Matthew Tinker, county high school supervisor and career and technical education director, said."

So we’re looking at putting in some new speakers at the schools so that if you’re at the high school football field you can hear. If you’re at where the greenhouse is in Greenback you can hear — if there’s a situation that comes up that they would be able to hear and take the appropriate action.” Tinker helped facilitate the grant and went to each school this summer with school resource officer Ernie Brown to assess needs.

A vision screening system costing $14,800 would be implemented at every school, which should allow assistant school resource officers and staff to know who is in the building and if they are a danger to students and staff. LHS could also be in line to have its intercom system replaced at an estimated $20,000. Other needs include addressing camera blind spots, new radios for staff to communicate, an Automated External Defibrillator machine for the LHS football and weight room, 60 red emergency bags containing emergency supplies, tinting windows, financial help for Loudon County Sheriff’s Office with extra duties officers do for the schools, and CPR, AED and first aid training for staff.

“I think you can never be complacent when it comes to school safety and that whenever we get additional funding, we want to put that into making our schools even more safer than they already are, and we’ll do that every year,” Garren said. “So the things that we prioritized or things that we’ve identified over the years are things we want to do to make safer but we’ve not always had the money to do it.”