School Board addresses low state grades

While acknowledging the system's D grades aren't ideal, Johnson County Schools staff and board members defended themselves during a Jan. 6 board meeting. The discussion was due to the Tennessee Department of Education issuing grades for all schools in the state. All six Johnson County public schools received a "D." JCS Superintendent Mischelle Simcox noted JCS missed 49 instructional days in 2024-25 between Helene and snow. Simcox also said the state is holding the students in Johnson, Unicoi and Carter counties harmless due to Helene, but not the school systems. "Are we happy? No. Are we making excuses? No," Simcox said. Supervisor Mark Hagaman says growth is where the school system struggles. Simcox said that according to the state's system, it doesn't matter where they started; it's where they finished, so it doesn't measure raw achievement. Simcox said that's a hard adjustment for teachers and principals, as it's not as simple as a pass/fail system. Hagaman said the administration has known the entire school year what the grades would be and has worked on how to improve the system's grades. Board Chair Kevin Long said kids displaced by Helene are still facing those challenges. Hagaman said, nevertheless, it doesn't diminish their responsibility. Board Member Chad Greever said the grades are what they are and noted they've decreased over the last three years, except for Johnson County High School. Hagaman said that at that time, they had lost several teachers to retirement and lost administrators to transfers. Salary increases have helped make JCS competitive. "The system is designed for you to fail," Greever said, saying that the college and career success rate did really well, but only accounted for 10% of the score. "We have to use the system against itself." Long said it's an election year and that the school grading system could change next year. Greever said policies are multiplying and that restrictions are making teaching a nightmare. Simcox believes the state tests too much and those tests are not a true indication of where we are, "but the state doesn't see that." Robinson criticized the state's move toward funding private and charter schools, claiming the state doesn't support public education like it should. School employees to get $500 bonusThrough the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) and its results-based funding program, every Johnson County Schools employee will receive a $500 bonus. The bonus comes with costs factored on top, so the $500 is the take-home total. The vote to approve the bonus was unanimous. Simcox said it's the same bonus as last year. The school board approved a motion to budget $6,000 on top of the $223,227 the system will receive to pay for the bonuses. Another $89,728.50 from TISA will flow through JCS to the Tennessee Connections Academy.