School Board Passes 2025-2026 Budget Including Staff Pay Raises

The Wayne County School Board met in regular session on Thursday, June 26, 2025, at the Central Office at 5:30 p.m. Board members in attendance were Chairman Charity Horton, Drew Turman, Deborah Brown, Sherman Martin, and Amanda Van Fleet. Dr. Ricky Inman, Director of Schools, was present as well. Board members Mark Staggs and Camryn Eaton were absent.

The meeting agenda, minutes of the May meeting, and the ledger of accounts for May were unanimously approved.

Policy review was the first item of new business on the agenda. Dr. Inman presented policy recommendations from the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA), explaining that these were model policies to meet the most recent legislative changes to the law. He requested that the board adopt all policies as recommended by the TSBA except for Policy 5.110-Compensation Guides and Contracts, stating he would like to consult other districts about their plans in response to legislation allowing school districts to compensate the estate of a deceased teacher for accrued leave. Dr. Inman explained that this could be passed on a later date with the benefits deemed retroactive. Sherman Martin made a motion to pass all policies except Policy 5.110 and to waive the second reading. Amanda Van Fleet seconded, and the board approved the recommended policies.

Bereavement Policy-5.311 was next. Dr. Inman said the budget committee had determined the language for the new policy, specifically identifying the relationships and tiered leave as follows: an employee may receive three days of leave for the loss of a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandchild, step-parent, step-child, or step-sibling; and employees may use one day of leave for a grandparent, uncle, aunt, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law. The board members had a brief discussion as to whether the number of days for bereavement leave was adequate, and Amanda Van Fleet mentioned that a lot of research was conducted while drafting the policy. Dr. Inman suggested the policy be passed for first reading to allow absent members the opportunity for discussion during the second reading. Following a motion from Sherman Martin, seconded by Amanda Van Fleet, the policy passed the first reading.

Next on the agenda was school debt carryover. Dr. Inman explained that the board must give annual approval for debt incurred that will be paid after July 1, the beginning of the next fiscal year. Some schools ordered sports equipment prior to the end of the current fiscal year that won’t be paid for until the next fiscal year. Deborah Brown made a motion to approve the debt carryover, and Drew Turman seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

Next was the Consolidated Application for IDEA/ESEA-FY 26. IDEA and ESEA are federal laws promoting equal educational opportunities for all students. Dr. Kristy Prince, Federal Programs Supervisor, said the federal budget is included within the full budget, and explained that there were no substantial changes to the budget from previous years. She also shared that the budget is located in ePlan and is open to public viewing. Sherman Martin made a motion to approve the application, and Deborah Brown seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

Bids were the next order of business. Dr. Inman presented two bids received for a cooler/freezer for Collinwood Middle School. Ms. Leigh Ann Sinclair, Cafeteria Supervisor, recommended the low bid from Singer H&R in the amount of $61,003.97. Dr. Inman explained that this purchase would be funded through food service. Deborah Brown made a motion to accept the low bid. Amanda Van Fleet seconded, and the motion carried unanimously on roll call vote.

Budget amendments were next. Dr. Inman said it is typical at the end of each year to have budget revisions to finalize spending. Revisions included were the Summer Learning Camp budget, the Summer Learning Camp transportation, and LEAPs. After reviewing the revisions, Sherman Martin made a motion to approve the amendments. Deborah Brown seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously on roll call vote.

The 2025-2026 Budget was the final item of new business on the agenda. Dr. Inman highlighted changes and cited the difficulty in balancing. He stated that a loss of 60 students contributed to the funding loss. He confirmed that 3.5 teaching positions were cut, the VPK coordinator position was eliminated, and four part-time contracts were reduced. A 3% raise was included in the budget for non-certified employees, and a $2.50 per day raise for bus drivers. A $1,500 raise for certified employees was also included, along with a further adjustment to any salary that fell below the state minimum requirement for the upcoming school year. Deborah Brown made a motion to pass the budget, and Sherman Martin seconded. The budget passed unanimously on roll call vote.

In other business, Dr. Inman introduced the Wayne County School System App. He explained that the app would replace the call-home system and consolidate all the district’s online media in one place. Special Education Supervisor Brad Stooksberry led the project and told the board that the app is an easy way to communicate and is very user-friendly. He went on to say there had already been over 800 downloads of the app and asked everyone to share it with others.

Sherman Martin requested an update on building projects. Dr. Inman said the stadium renovation at WCHS is the only project currently underway, and everything appears to be on schedule.

Chairman Horton shared that the Virtual School had extended enrollment down to 5th grade. Ladonna Edwards, Virtual School Coordinator, said this would be shared publicly, and a flyer would be sent to homeschool students encouraging them to enroll with Wayne County Schools.

With no further business to come before the board, the meeting was adjourned.