April 21, 2025

Bristol Tennessee Board of Education: Left to right: Jim Butcher, Debbie Darnell, Charlie Taylor, Jennifer Henson, and Eric Cuddy.

2025 School Spelling Bee Winners

Avoca Elementary School

Avoca Elementary Principal Denise McKee shared the essential role educational assistants play in the success of students. EAs give crucial one-on-one support to students, provide organizational support, improve school climate, and help bridge gaps in learning, which levels the playing field for many students. They embody teamwork, seamlessly collaborate with teachers to enhance academic instruction, and provide caring adults to help our students thrive. Check out the video above for an inside look at the impact of EAs at Avoca.

Tennessee High Speech & Communications

Tennessee High School students Taylor Greenway and Charlotte Osborne showcased their public speaking skills at the meeting as part of the school’s new Speech and Communications curriculum, led by teacher Amber Davis. Throughout the semester, students in the course have focused on building confidence, refining public speaking techniques, crafting persuasive arguments, and conducting thorough research.

Taylor presented her speech about the benefits of a later school start time for high school students, citing research that shows adolescent sleep cycles naturally extend later into the morning. She highlighted how a delayed start could improve academic performance, mental health, and overall student well-being. Charlotte explored the advantages of a four-day school week, emphasizing how this model can enhance student and teacher morale, recruit new teachers, reduce class sizes, and offer a wider variety of classes.

Both students demonstrated the critical thinking, communication, and advocacy skills that the new curriculum is designed to foster.

Other Highlights from the April 21 meeting:

• The board approved the following:

  1. Financial Reports (Revenues & Expenditures) for School Board approval and listings of bills paid in February for General Purpose, Federal Projects, School Nutrition, and School Capital Projects Funds. March reports for all funds will be reported at the next meeting. 

  2. General Purpose School Fund  - Budget Journals #7 and #8 for March 2025 and Budget Journals #9, #10, and #11 for April 2025.

  3. Federal Projects Fund  - Budget Journal #7 for February 2025 and Budget Journal #8 for March 2025.

  4. Capital Projects Fund  - Budget Journals #5, #6, and #7 for March 2025.

• The board approved a listing of surplus and obsolete items.

• The board approved the CTE Perkins Basic Application, FY 2026.

• The board approved the amended FY 2025 budget. 

  • The budget of School Federal Projects Fund is approved in ePlan by the State of Tennessee and all revisions have been properly processed and approved in that system.
    The School Nutrition Fund does not require a budget revision for the current fiscal year. The purpose of the budget amendments are as follows:

    • The General Purpose School Fund was amended to account for additional revenues and expenditures related to state revenues, donations, grants, and indirect cost rate revenue related to the School Federal Projects Fund.
      Revisions were also made to adjust for payments related to Section 4 of the Education Freedom Act of 2025, changes in programmatic costs to meet TDOE requirements, and to account for the additional transfer to the School Capital Projects Fund. Reimbursement from the State of Tennessee for the additional teacher payments will be received in FY 2026 and has been included in the relevant budget.

    • The School Capital Projects Fund was amended for projects that carried over from the previous fiscal year. The projects were not expected to cross into this fiscal year and were not included in the original budget. Adjustments were also made to reflect higher costs of projects and to adjust for additional revenue from the sale of assets and contributions.

• The board approved the FY 2026 budget. 

• The Report from the Director of Schools was given by Dr. Annette Tudor.

• Board members heard comments from City Council Liaison Rae Akard.

• The Bristol Tennessee Board of Education provided individual comments.