Josh Peterson

The Tennessee Department of Education is pleased to announce that 96 school districts across the state have been awarded a total of $3.7 million to support the implementation of high-quality career-focused programs and instruction for Tennessee students.

Locally, the Coffee County School system received grant funds for CTE Equipment and Industry Certified Exam Fees. The City of Manchester received funding for a middle school CTE program at Westwood Middle and CTE equipment. 

Funds from the Perkins Reserve Consolidated Grant are awarded annually to districts to start and improve career and technical education (CTE) programs, with priority given to rural areas of the state and areas with a large number of CTE students.  More than three-million dollars from the grant will be awarded to districts to support programs focusing on the following needs:

• Creating new middle school CTE and career exploration programs
• Purchasing industry-grade equipment for fields including advanced manufacturing, health science, and STEM
• Supporting instructor licensure and testing site accreditation to assist with the the attainment of industry-recognized certifications
• Providing financial assistance to students to defray the cost of certification exams
• Developing occupational teacher mentorship programs

An additional $528,000 will be used to support the initiatives outlined in the attached graph.

TDOE Commissioner Penny Schwinn says, “It’s important that Tennessee students not only get a quality education, but that education culminates in a meaningful and rewarding career for each and every student.  By allocating money to CTE programs, we’re providing local districts with the resources they need to ensure all students are able to successfully continue in college, career and technical programs that feed directly into their chosen careers.”

“Ensuring students have the skills and resources needed to succeed is one of my administration’s top priorities,” said Governor Bill Lee. “I believe that high schools need to look different and offer students multiple pathways to success and these grants will allow local districts to do just that.”

In Tullahoma, mayor Lane Curlee has announced that Dr. Danielle Henson will be the chair of the Get Fit! Tullahoma Council. This council is a group of concerned volunteers banding together to help improve health and encourage residents to move more, eat smarter and live drug free. 

The council meets once a month at DW Wilson Community Center. You are welcome to attend the next meeting, which will be from 11:45 am. To 1 p.m. August 20th. 

33 percent of adults in Coffee County are obese, and that is compared to 26 percent nationally. Tobacco use in Coffee County is also higher than the national average, with 23 percent of residents here using tobacco while the national average is 14%. 

The Coffee County 4-H is now accepting designs for a county t-shirt. This shirt will be worn by 4-H members to contests when appropriate or any other time they are representing Coffee County 4-H. You can submit your design ideas to Anna Duncan at this email address: aduncan@utk.edu. Submissions should be made by August 2nd. 

Designs should use no more than two colors, the shirt color does not count as one of those colors, must incorporate the 4-H clover and it cannot be covered, and it must include the words “Coffee County.” 

Pictured from left: MPD chief investigator Jackie Matheny, chief Mark Yother and assistant chief Adam Floied. (Photo provided)

The Manchester Police Department was represented in Chattanooga for the 5K Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics. MPD Chief Investigator Jackie Matheny, chief Mark Yother and assistant chief Adam Floied all participated in the event. 

We reported last week that the Franklin County Fair Board announced that the fair in Franklin County, Tennessee would be cancelled due to lack of vendor participation and community support. However, an outpouring of community support following that announcement has led to the fair board attempting to reorganize and salvage this year’s Franklin County Fair. There will be a meeting Tuesday, July 30th, at 6:30 p.m. at the Franklin County annex building. Anyone interested is welcome to attend. 

Coffee County Schools has announced that Kelvin Shores will be the next deputy director of schools.

Earlier this month, the Coffee County Board of Education named Dr. Charles Lawson as the new director of schools. Lawson chose Shores as his deputy director, the school system announced Wednesday evening.

Kelvin Shores

Shores has been the principal at East Coffee Elementary School for the past 16 years, before that he taught math and science in sixth grade at Coffee County Middle School. Shores is a native of Coffee County and graduated from Central High School.

Shores will continue to serve as the principal at East Coffee while the system searches for a replacement.

“I think the world of East Coffee students, faculty and staff and the families that live in this area,” said Shores. “I am deeply going to miss having this role.”

“I look forward to this new role and serving the entire Coffee County School System. This was something I aspired to do later in my career and throughout the years I started to work toward this direction.” 

Coffee County Schools return for the 2019-20 school year on Thursday, Aug. 1 for student orientation and the first full day of class is Monday, August 5.

Tennessee’s annual Sales Tax Holiday is this weekend. During tax-free weekend shoppers will not have to pay any state or local sales tax on clothing and school supplies totaling $100 or less per item, or computers totaling $1,500 or less.

The 2019 sales tax holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 26 and ends Sunday, July 28 at 11:59 p.m. 

If you aren’t sure what school supplies your child may need, check the links below:

Manchester City Schools Click Here.

Coffee County Schools Click Here.

Coffee County Schools will hold its 5th annual student expo this upcoming Saturday, July 27th at Coffee County Central High School. Doors will open at 9 a.m. 

The annual event is designed to provide students in Coffee County Schools from pre-k through seniors in high school with all necessary items to begin the new school year. To take advantage of the expo, students must be present on the day of the event and must be enrolled in Coffee County Schools. Some items of note that will be dispersed are shoe vouchers for the first 500 students, free groceries, free backpacks filled with school supplies, free haircuts, community resources and other school-related resources. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.  If you have questions, contact Taylor Rayfield at 931-222-1066.

The Coffee County School System includes New Union Elementary, Deerfield Elementary, East Coffee Elementary, North Coffee Elementary, Hillsboro Elementary, Hickerson Elementary, Coffee County Middle, Raider Academy, Koss Center and Central High School.

The Manchester City Schools We Care event will be this Saturday, July 27th at 8 a.m. at Westwood Elementary School. The event will serve 211 students who were preregistered in April. Each student will receive an age-appropriate backpack filled with school supplies, a new outfit, hygiene supplies and a shoe voucher for the child to hand pick shoes at Shoe Sensation in Manchester. In addition, 10 lucky families will also win door prizes valued at $50 each. 

Volunteers and sponsors for the event include the Children’s Advocacy Center, anti-drug coalition, health department, Manchester fire and police, United Way of Coffee and Moore Counties, Logan Stuteville with Petty Dental for preventative care bag, Shanon Stowe with Canvas Community Church for food bags and the census bureau. If you, your business or organization is interested in partnering with the Manchester City Schools Family Resource Center, contact BJ Sylvia at 931-728-3412. 

In other city school news – if you are interested in the system’s ESP program, you can sign your child up on August 1 at your child’s school. 

Residents in Franklin County could be facing a 24-cent property tax increase for the 2019-2020 fiscal budget if the county commission there approves the hike at a meeting next week. 

Franklin County Mayor David Alexander said the hike is due to lack of funding for the Franklin County School System’s budget, saying that a 24-cent increase in taxes this year will not solve the issue, adding that the county will need to hike taxes another 16 cents next fiscal year to cover the school’s shortfall, according to the Herald-Chronicle.

He also added that an annual 8-cent per year tax hike would be coming. On average, a 24-cent hike would mean about $5 per month in additional monthly mortgage for a homeowner owning a home valued at $100,000. If the increase is rejected by the commission, the school system would then need to revise its proposed budget.

Eleven cents of the proposed hike is to cover bonds issued to build two new middle schools in the county, while 5 cents is to hire 14 new correctional officers and 3 cents to fund a two million dollar bond issued for expansion of the new Franklin County jail. Two cents is et aside to fund a 2 percent raise for county employees with the highway department and solid waste management and 1 cent is for increased gas and utility expenses, according to the Herald Chronicle. An additional 2 cents is to cover a fund balance shortfall. The meeting is set for 7 p.m. Monday, July 29 at the Courthouse