Cannon schools racing to the top
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 11:25 am TONY STINNETT
Cannon County already has seen positive results regarding new state testing standards. East Side was cited as one of the state’s Award Schools in 2012, a high achievement for schools competing at the highest level academically. Board Chairman Randy Gannon questioned whether the pressure on teachers to produce higher scores is too great of a challenge. “I have watched this and we know there will be more change,” Gannon said. “How is the attitude with all of this? There is added pressure to teachers and the staff and it just seems like it adds up more and more. It is a low gear to high gear type of thing. When you get to high gear they expect it to be 100 miles per hour and then all of a sudden you have to go back or change again.” Parker told board members that posters will be placed in the schools to encourage students and teachers about the desire to be the best in the state. In other business, the board of education declined the offer for solar panels to be affixed to the roof of Woodbury Grammar School. The solar panels would have been purchased and placed atop the roof by a private investor. The lease would have been a 15-year lease for 1,000 per year. Chris Blackburn made the motion to reject the deal and Bruce Daniel seconded. “I want it known that I am not against the solar energy and we need to look at this but this just doesn’t seem to be the best deal for us at this time,” Daniel said. The board approved the extended contract update and report cards. They also approved moving forward with filing of liquidated damages against the Four Seasons of Knoxville for work on the HVAC system. The deadline was missed by eight days and there was a charge of $100 per day for each day the project was delayed in being completed. The next board meeting workshop will be at the Central Office Nov. 6 at 6 p.m., and the next regular board meeting will be Nov. 8 at Woodbury Grammar School at 6 p.m.
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