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Wlaf1450TOP PHOTO: BOE Budget and Finance Committee Chair Crystal Creekmore, center, made the same motion that she made at Monday’s committee meeting for the Director of Schools to find $2.1 million in cuts to balance the budget deficit.
By Charlotte Underwood
JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF)- The Campbell County Board of Education, meeting at Jacksboro Middle School, added an addendum at the end of its agenda Tuesday evening regular meeting. It was to hear a brief report from BOE Budget and Finance Committee Chairman Crystal Creekmore regarding the $2.1 million budget deficit faced by the school system and to vote on the same motion she had made at Monday’s BOE Budget and Finance Committee meeting.
“The committee voted to just more or less have the director get $2.1 million dollars’ worth of cuts to finance so they could prepare a budget to be compiled in a proper presentation to us. They need that information by Friday at noon,” Creekmore said.
“Is that your motion?” asked BOE Chairman Jeffrey Miller, adding that he felt the committee had “hashed it out pretty well.”
The full motion instructs Director of Schools Jennifer Fields to “prepare a budget for the upcoming 2025-2026 year where the total proposed use of the undesignated fund balance does not exceed $1.1 million which is identified as a permissible use of the fund balance to provide for a portion of the annual debt service requirements which have a defined ending term. It is understood that preparation of such a budget will require the director of schools to determine recurring cost reductions of approximately $2.1 million. Once the director of schools determines the recommended recurring cost reductions, such information is to be transmitted to the finance department to allow the proposed budget to be compiled in proper form for the BOE Budget and Finance committee. The director of schools is to complete this process by no later than noon on Friday, May 16, 2025.”
The motion passed with a six to four vote. BOE members Brandon Johnson, Randy Heatherly, Brent Lester and Sharon Ridenour were the four “no” votes.
Before the meeting closed, Board member Brandon Johnson said he had received a social media message during the meeting asking why he wanted to close Elk Valley STEM School. He said he wanted to set the record straight on this “fake news.”
“Let me be exorbitantly clear, I have zero interest in ever seeing Elk Valley closed, now if the enrollment drops to 12 students, which hopefully will never happen, then of course the board will have to make responsible cuts at that point. I think Elk Valley is a wonderful school, and I think Miss Lay is doing a wonderful job, I don’t know where that fake news came from, but that’s just not accurate. However, I will express concerns with any school in our district that does operate at a half million dollar-plus deficit, I do have concerns about that,” Johnson said. He proposed the board have a workshop to figure out a “three-year, five-year, seven-year, ten-year plan for making sure to give those schools the support they need to be fiscally responsible and respectful to every school in our district. Every kid in our county regardless of where they live is entitled to a quality education and everybody on this board wants to provide that, I would like to see more conversations of where we can give support in unique areas and unique schools to make sure that they are long-term successful and more importantly I am not as much worried about a physical location or a physical building as I am about the kids that go there, I want to make sure those kids have every opportunity that kids everywhere else do,” Johnson said.
The BOE also heard from an Elk Valley citizen Jenny (Jennie) Bridges who spoke in support of Elk Valley School. She told the board she used to travel from Elk Valley to a larger school so her children could get an education.
“At a larger school, children get left behind, my children were two of those that were getting left behind. One of my children was placed in an IDP program and each time we went to a meeting, they put on there they didn’t think she would meet her goals. I moved them to Elk Valley School, now she is meeting her goals. It might be a little school, but they have helped my grandchildren so much. The love that you feel in that school. These teachers actually tell you and they mean, no child is left behind; they make sure that every child is not left behind, so I hope you all consider that, because it is a wonderful school and the teachers are so wonderful to let you know anything that is going on with your children and they actually teach the morals and scruples that are left out now-a-days. I just want you to be aware that I love that school and it don’t matter if there were only 12 kids up there, each one of them is taken care of,” Bridges said.
Johnson said Campbell County was blessed to have so many “diverse schools.” (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-05/14/2025-6AM)