Song and celebration kicked off Thursday’s meeting of the Carter County Board of Education.
To open the meeting, board members and the audience watched a slide show presentation celebrating Valley Forge’s students and staff.
After the presentation, those in attendance were treated to a musical performance by the kindergarten students from Valley Forge Elementary who sang two songs – one about The Three Little Pigs and one about Jack and the Beanstalk.
The Board held its monthly meeting at the Valley Forge school instead of the administration office as a way to recognize the school’s academic achievement.
Kevin Ward, director of schools, dubbed the event “a special occasion,” a celebration of Valley Forge Elementary’s designation as a “Reward School” by the State of Tennessee in August.
Valley Forge was one of two county schools to earn the honor. The other school, Hunter Elementary, hosted the board’s September meeting.
Reward Schools are designated by the state as those schools which saw the greatest overall improvement in TCAP test scores from the previous year.
The Board presented the teachers and staff of Valley Forge with special awards to document their success and their achievement. Each teacher was given a certificate and Principal LeeAnn Carr and Assistant Principal Janet Meredith were presented a special plaque for the school. The Board also recognized Richard Thomas, who was voted as “Best Teacher” in the 2014 Elizabethton Star’s 7th Annual Reader’s Choice Awards.
Following the celebration, the board moved on to business as usual.
The Board voted unanimously to approve a memorandum of understanding between the school system and the Carter County Sheriff’s Department regarding the school resource officers stationed in the county schools.
“This agreement includes 13 resource officers,” Ward said, adding the SRO supervisor is included in the agreement.
Also approved by the Board was a five-year contract with UniFirst to provide uniforms and uniform cleaning services for the school bus garage and maintenance shop.
“What we’ve worked out with our uniforms is a five-year contract that will cut our cost in half,” said Wayne Sams, manager of the bus garage and transportation.
Ward said the bid for the uniforms is a state bid. “I think it’s an excellent deal,” he said. “It’s a money saver.”
In other business matters, the board also approved several lease agreements for copiers at several county schools.