School Board Approves Request to Transfer Supervision of Prevention Coalition
- Terri Carter
- 9 minutes ago
- 4 min read
The Franklin County School Board of Education held their monthly meeting on October 13th, covering old and new business that included an update from the Coordinated School Health Program and a resolution request from Franklin County Mayor Chris Guess regarding the transference of the supervision of the Franklin County Prevention Coalition.
Regarding the supervision of the coalition, the nonprofit organization has been overseen by the Franklin County Board of Education. Mayor Guess explained that his request was to transfer oversight of the coalition from the Board of Education to the county government. He cited grant funding requirements that must be met for a grant awarded to support improvements to the Townsend School building, where the coalition’s offices and operations are currently located.
Approximately six months ago, the county was awarded a Broadband Connected Community Grant, which was originally written around the part of the Townsend Building that the county owns. Part of the grant has been used to replace the roof over the old gym, and the other part of the grant is to be used for various programs such as technical, educational, and telehealth. Under the grant guidelines, the programs are required to be held at the Townsend Building.
“We started looking at that along with the function of the drug prevention coalition, and it would just flow better, in our opinion, if that’s all under one entity, which is the county government.”, stated Guess. “The prevention coalition was already in the part of the building owned by the county. So, it just fits.”
The mayor said that some of the programs offered by the prevention coalition would satisfy requirements outlined in the Broadband Grant. He also noted that a significant number of prevention coalitions across the state typically operate under county government oversight.
“We have some new things laid out that we want to implement with the prevention coalition.”, said Guess. “The goal of that is to help and educate our students and help the adults that need it.”
The funds and operations of the coalition are grant funded and the mayor explained that no financial changes will take place due to the transference of supervision. He attached the resolution that would be presented to the county commission, and said that he would send that resolution, along with the letters from the school board and the prevention coalition governing board to the state. The state would then change the name on the grants and the EIN number, and, after a six-to-eight-week processing period, the prevention coalition would then be officially under the supervision of the county government.
After a few questions from the board concerning the solidity of the grant funds and the support the prevention coalition will continue to offer the school system, the board of education unanimously approved the resolution for the supervision being transferred to the county.
In Coordinated School Health news, program director Chris Hawkersmith gave an update on some reached requirements the program and board have been working on throughout this year. The primary update included reaching a goal level of the Tennessee Healthy Year Challenge that the school system has been participating in.
The school board had played a role in the Tennessee Healthy Year Challenge by tracking their own steps, which was one part of a 13-part criteria that had to be met in order for Coordinated School Health to receive the Platinum Top Level status. Through the boards continued efforts over the past months, the program was able to reach the status, earning them another $8,000 in funding.
Hawkersmith also gave an update in threat assessment reporting that there have been 21 threat assessments total. Twenty of those threats were either verbal threats or gestures, and the other more serious threat being the incident that recently took place in Huntland.
During the school spotlight report, South Middle School Principal Dr. Tara Brewer enthusiastically stated that enrollment at South Middle School has seen an increase over the last few years. Enrollment had grown from 315 students in 2023 to 365 students in 2024 to the current 408 students enrolled this year.
Continuing with the athletic report, the highlighted athletes for this month’s meeting included 8th grader from North Middle School Gavin Hill, 8th grader from South Middle School Jayden Ingle, and Franklin County High School junior Jayden Smith. Board member Erik Cole also highlighted Franklin County Middle School Girl’s Soccer, wins that had been reported among other sporting events, and acknowledged the Franklin County Mayor’s Offices efforts and assistance in adding the signs on HWY 41A Bypass Road, recognizing the 2024 Franklin County High School’s Girl’s Soccer State Championship.
Project updates included the roof being substantially complete at Rock Creek Elementary School, along with the gym floor being refinished with a Rocket logo added to the center court. A wall has been removed at Broadview Elementary School to create a larger office space for the principal. New drain lines have been run in the K2 building to replace the old cast iron pipes that were beginning to leak at Huntland. And an area of asphalt that was missing due to a water leak has been repaired with concrete, along with other plumbing needs being met in the boy’s bathroom at Sewanee Elementary School.
New business included a TISA Accountability Report, a 2025 Local Education Agency Compliance Report, and an approval to some changes in the Section 3 policies and a review of policies in Sections one and three. The Local Education Agency Compliance Report approval was a yearly formality, and the policy changes included the frequency of fire drills being decreased from once every 30 days to once every two months, per Tennessee state law. Other changes included an update to various language in the policies.
During the financials portion of the meeting, the board received and filed the September 2025 Financial Report, the September 2025 Monthly Report, and the first-quarter reports.
All reports, updates, and documents presented during the board meeting can be found on the board of education’s website. The next regular board meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. on November 10th, 2025.
