Dyer County School Board says no to retroactive raise hike for teachers

SPECIAL TO THE STATE GAZETTE

The Dyer County Board of Education met Tuesday, October 1, and with a majority vote of no declined to give retroactive raises to teachers who did not get a full 8% raise at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year. Board members voted on several other items, including field trips, an ESSER fund application, and a LEA compliance report.

Attending board members included the Chair, Dr. Jeremy Gatlin, Keith Anderson, Sherrell Armstrong, John David Caldwell, LeAnn Childress, Steve Dodds, Tara Gibson, Andrew Grills, Patricia McCreight, and Mike McLaughlin. Schools Director Cheryl Mathis attended, as did the schools’ Finance Director Wendy Smith and Administrative Assistant Helen Pate among others.

The issue of retroactive raises for teachers was discussed at the September meeting but officially put on the agenda as an action item for October. Anderson made a motion to approve the raises, and Dodds seconded. However, in a roll call vote, only Anderson, Dodds, and Grills voted for the measure, while voting against were McLaughlin, Caldwell, Gibson, Armstrong, and McCreight. Gatlin pronounced the vote as three for, seven against, and the motion failed.

Earlier in the meeting, Anderson motioned to accept September’s minutes. McLaughlin seconded, and the board approved.

With a motion from Armstrong, a second from Dodds, and full board approval, the Dyer County High School (DCHS) Co-Ed Cheer Team was given permission to travel for a competition in Florida from February 7-11, 2025. Likewise, McLaughlin motioned and Childress seconded an FFA trip to Louisville, Kentucky, November 13-17, 2024. The motion carried.

Childress made a motion to approve the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) Accountability Report. McCreight seconded, and the board approved.

McLaughlin made a motion, with a second from Armstrong, to approve the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) 3.0 application. This item was also approved.

Childress motioned, Grills seconded, and the board voted unanimously to approve the 2024 Local Education Agency (LEA) Compliance Report.

Gibson complimented the DCHS morning announcement team, citing the professional and entertainment broadcasts, and she recommended it to her fellow board members. In her Director’s Update, Mathis showed a video of the team.

Mathis also recognized Northview Middle School’s cross country team for going to state. She invited the board to the many fall festivals planned at the elementary schools.

Gatlin asked for volunteers to be delegates at the upcoming Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) convention--Caldwell and Childress volunteered.