News

As plans move forward to build a new elementary school, the board of education is already thinking about where the next new school might someday be built.

During its regular monthly meeting Thursday night, the school board adopted the proposed 2025-26 fiscal year budget 7-0 which includes setting aside $1.3 million from its $13 million school reserves for the purchase of land although no location for a new school, either high school or middle school, has been publicly identified. With the county already having committed to issuing bonds up to $55 million dollars to build a new elementary school funded by local option sales tax revenue, it would most likely be several years before another project gets off the ground.

Members of the board are Danny Parkerson, Alan Hayes, Jim Beshearse, Eric Ervin, Megan Moore, Jason Miller, and Shaun Tubbs.

The proposed new school budget also includes $2,000 teacher bonuses from the state through the voucher program to those who qualify, and $2,000 bonuses funded locally to those educators who don’t qualify for the state bonuses. Support staff would each get a $1,000 bonus funded locally with passage of this budget.

“After passing the resolution that we would accept the state bonuses for teachers we went ahead and put that money in our budget we knew was coming which will be roughly $500,000 for those teachers that qualified for it,” said Director of Schools Patrick Cripps. “But everybody deserves something so those educators not on the list that would not have received a bonus we put it in our budget so they can receive the same amount as those who are on the list so they will clear $2,000. In addition, the support staff will get a bonus, and they will clear $1,000. That puts the total local allocation for bonuses at $245,000,” Director Cripps explained.

“Other than step raises and the bonuses nothing additional in salaries will be in the budget. What we are doing this year is strictly from what the state is sending us and what will come from our reserves to cover the rest,” Cripps said.

During Thursday night’s monthly meeting, the school board awarded a bid for a $400,000 project to build walls inside DeKalb Middle School. That project will be done over the summer when school is out and will be funded from within the budget without dipping into the schools’ reserves or fund balance.

Other than the DMS walls, Director Cripps said nothing major is planned as far as capital projects, but something could crop up during the year that needs to be addressed.

“The last few years we have done a lot of facility upgrades. We don’t have anything at this point, but you never know when something is going to pop up,” he said.

As with most budgets the school district has seen an increase in the annual cost of doing business especially with insurance.

“The big thing with this budget and for the last couple of years is a big increase in insurance. We knew this year we had to do some budget amendments to get the insurance covered. For this budget we increased our budget line for insurance so that made our budget climb,” said Director Cripps.

During and after the Covid pandemic, the school district received extra federal funds including the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) which was used to purchase textbooks and that freed up local money to be used for other needs. But now the ESSER funds have been depleted with no more on the way. Still, the school district continues to search for new programs like Graduation Alliance to meet needs and save money.

In partnership with the DeKalb County School District, Graduation Alliance provides versatile pathways to high school graduation for youth and adults.

“We signed a contract with a great adult high school to help us with the kids and our budget. Our graduation alliance virtual adult high school has generated almost $4.5 million and that reflects on the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) money we receive. But under this contract we only get 10% of that or $450,000. The rest flows back out to that company to teach those kids although we keep the data on them. It’s a way for us to generate money in addition to what the state is sending us,” he said.

Director Cripps said the 2024-25 schools operating budget may come close to balancing by year’s end.

“I think we will hit right on the mark with our budget this year. If we had not done the DMS walls I think we would be under budget for the year,” he said.

Director Cripps will now present the proposed 2025-26 school budget to the county budget committee for approval at a meeting later this month.

The DCHS Tigerettes are the district 7 3A Softball Tournament Champions after defeating Stone Memorial 9-0 in 5 innings Friday at the Danny Bond Field. A game highlight was Hannah Brown’s grand slam homerun. The Tigerettes will host the first round of the Region Tournament Monday in Smithville and WJLE will have LIVE coverage.

Meanwhile, the 2025 baseball season ended for the DeKalb West Bulldogs Friday (20-4) with a 1-0 loss at home to Upperman in the Area 3-AA Sectional Championship. The Bulldogs, who had won the Area 10 District Regular Season and Tournament Championships, would have secured a berth in the TMSAA Class AA State Tournament had they beaten Upperman.

A DeKalb County Memorial Day Observance will be held Monday, May 26 at the County Complex Auditorium starting with patriotic music at 9:30 a.m. followed by the program at 10 a.m.

The guest speaker will be Captain Larry D. Cripps, Retired Navy Chaplain, Author of the “The Hope of War”.

Following the program, a wreath will be laid at the Veterans Memorial Monument at the Courthouse. All veterans, families, and citizens are invited to the program to honor the fallen and those veterans who have passed.

Captain, a distinguished retired Navy Chaplain, grew up in the Blue Springs community and brings a wealth of experience and insight from his forty-two years of military service spanning three wars: Vietnam, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, and the post-9/11 War on Terror. His unique perspective and captivating stories reflect his military journey and highlight Smithville’s rich heritage.

Larry’s book, “The Hope of War: A Chaplain’s Journey to Abiding Faith, Enduring Hope and Love Under Fire,” was released by Emissary Publishing on Memorial Day weekend last year. The book chronicles the life of a small-town farm boy growing up against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and the cultural revolution of the 1960s and early 1970s.

Scholarships and other awards will be presented to members of the Class of 2025 at DeKalb County High School during the annual Senior Awards program Tuesday night, May 13 at 6:00 p.m. in the DCHS gymnasium.

WJLE and participating sponsors are presenting a photo gallery of the DCHS Class of 2025.

Click on the link below to view the senior formals.

Photo gallery

Representatives of colleges, universities, branches of the armed services, businesses, civic groups, and other organizations will make the presentations.

Meanwhile, graduation for the DCHS Class of 2025 will be Friday, May 16 at 7:00 p.m. on the high school football field

The DeKalb County Democratic Party elected a new Executive Committee at their Biannual Reorganization Convention on April 5th, 2025. The committee members were elected to a 2 year term and are excited to help bring Democratic values to life in DeKalb County.

Officers are Jonathan Bradley, chair; Lucas Antoniak vice-chair; Tecia Puckett Pryor, treasurer; and Karley Thompson, secretary.

“I am so grateful for the confidence and trust of our local party. I look forward to leading us as we strive to elect local Democrats and push back against the reckless and profligate agenda of our local Republican elected officials.” said Mr Bradley.

What the Hail?

Facebook video post

For a brief time Thursday evening, a hailstorm descended on the Liberty and Alexandria areas making the communities look more like a winter day in January than a spring May Day.

Reports of quarter to golf ball sized hail left roads covered with ice and slippery. Apparently, no injuries were reported.

After almost 14 years as a CTE residential and commercial construction teacher at DeKalb County High School, Gary Caplinger is about to hang up his tool belt.

But before he retires later this month with the close of the school year, Caplinger is being honored as “Teacher of the Month” for April at DCHS. Earning this type of recognition is not new to Gary. Three years ago, he was selected as the 2022 DCHS Teacher of the Year at the school level and was in the running with four others for the DeKalb District Teacher of the year award which went to Amanda Mullinax at DeKalb West School.

For being named Teacher of the Month for April, Caplinger received a certificate and a gift card for a meal at Fiesta Jalisco Mexican Grill.

“It’s been a good ride, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Caplinger when asked about his teaching career. “Teaching is truly a calling. You have to love kids, or you don’t belong here,” he said.

Before joining the staff at DCHS in 2012, Caplinger said he had never taught school before. “I was a self-employed contractor for 35 years in local small commercial and residential projects”.

For the last 30 years, Caplinger has also been a minister, currently pastoring at Coopers Chapel Baptist Church at Dismal.

Over the years Caplinger has seen a lot of changes in the “building trades” program as it was once called.

“For years, even before I got here, they built houses on site, but schools later got away from that. A few years ago, we went to building smaller projects like tiny houses and storage buildings. We still build them outside our shop here at the school and then sell them,” said Caplinger.

“Class time has also changed during my time here. Our administration has allowed me to double block my advanced and third year classes, so I have more time to work with those guys as they progress in their skills,” Caplinger explained.

“In the residential and commercial beginner’s semester classes, we try to get them through the safety part of instruction so they can pass OSHA certification. We then start introducing them to tools and how to develop their skills,” he said.

Asked what he plans to do in retirement, Caplinger said “I have a lot of hobbies but I’m mostly just going to piddle around”.

Bonuses budgeted for School District Employees!

A month ago, the DeKalb County Board of Education tabled action on a resolution to accept one-time teacher bonuses ($2,000 per educator) as part of Tennessee’s universal school voucher program. But during Thursday night’s regular monthly meeting, the Board voted unanimously to adopt the resolution and take the state’s money for teacher bonuses (approximately $500,000) The school district had until June 1 to give the state an answer.

According to the Tennessee Department of Education, the law states in part that to be eligible for the bonus, an educator must:
• Spend a majority of their day in direct services to students.
• Be employed more than 120 days; and
• Be in full-time employment status

Even though not all licensed certified personnel qualify for the state bonuses, the school board voted to include new money in its proposed 2025-26 budget to cover $2,000 bonuses for those (30 educators) who don’t qualify and to also give a $1,000 bonus to non-certified or support staff ($245,000 total local funding). While this is only a “bonus” and not a “pay raise” the result is that every staff member in the school district, certified or not, will get more money with passage of the school budget this summer by the county commission. Other than the bonuses and step raises, Director Cripps explained that there will be no additional pay raises for staff this year. The school board does not plan to ask for any extra local revenue from the county to fund its budget this coming year.

Director of Schools Patrick Cripps said while he doesn’t agree with the state’s voucher bill, it doesn’t make sense for the school district to turn down money being offered from the state for teacher bonuses.

“By accepting the resolution, it doesn’t mean that you agree with all of the law, but it is money that is in place for our educators,” said Director Cripps. “I have said from the beginning if the voucher program was equal across the board I would not have had any problem with it. We expect our teachers to be licensed. We expect them to go through observations. We expect them to test our students with the state tests and to be successful in those state tests. We are in public education, and we accept all students. All students get tested. I have said from the beginning its about fairness across the board. For everybody to be on the same playing field when we are looking at private versus public education,” said Cripps.

“I appreciate the money that has come from the state, but I disagree with how it’s being given. To say that some educators get the bonus and some educators don’t is not right. Everybody should get money from this. We can’t open schools without busses running every morning or without the cafeterias cooking breakfast and lunch. We can’t do things without our educational assistants, bookkeepers, secretaries, maintenance, etc. We need the whole team. This should not be where one gets money, and we leave somebody out,” Director Cripps explained.

“Looking at what we are getting from the state they are leaving out probably about 30 people with a license. I think we should cover that in our budget and the non-certified staff should get a bonus as well. That’s where I’m at. I’m not saying I agree with vouchers, but the money is there. Let’s take it,” said Director Cripps.

During the public comments period, local resident Clint Hall urged the school board to accept the state money for teacher bonuses and to give local bonuses to school district support staff. Hall also commended the Teacher of the Year Amanda Goodwin and wished all teachers a Happy Teacher Appreciation Week and to nurses a Happy Nurses Week

“I appreciate the opportunity to address you today. First, I want to congratulate Mrs. Amanda Goodwin on being named the Teacher of the Year. She’s a very talented and dedicated professional and very deserving of the award. Secondly, I want to wish all the teachers a Happy Teachers Appreciation Week, and all the nurses a Happy Nurses Week. They put their heart and commitment into their job, and I want them to know their hard work does not go unnoticed,” said Hall.

“I want to address a timely issue before the Board today. At the April Board Meeting, I was deeply concerned there was discussion about not giving teachers in DeKalb County the $2,000 bonus that the State Legislature and Governor appropriated to them in the Education Freedom Scholarship Act of 2025. Our teachers deserve the bonus, and I hope you will reconsider your discussion”.

“I was also disappointed to see that the discussion about whether to give bonuses to DeKalb County teachers was tied to inaccurate public comments from a local school employee and an erroneous resolution from the Board. The truth is that many of your constituents, like me, support school choice. It wasn’t a perfect law, but it was a major step for Freedom, and a positive development for Tennessee children. The reality is, many public schools, just like the ones here in DeKalb County, don’t work for every student. Need look no further than the growing number of home-schooled children in DeKalb County and the increased enrollment of private schools in DeKalb and surrounding counties,” Hall continued.

“I fully support using my tax dollars to serve as a scholarship for parents and students to attend the school of their choice. And I also fully support our public schools and ensuring they have the resources they need to achieve positive results. You see, the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Contrary to some opinions, you can support public schools, private schools, and home schools, and respect the choices that people make. I also don’t think the School Board wants to go down the slippery slope of which funds to reject and accept, from the State or other sources. Those decisions create precedents that can be difficult to defend to your constituents,” said Hall

“But I’m not here to debate the merits of a law that was passed in January or tell you what funds to accept or reject. Rather, I’m here to ask the School Board to consider a win-win for everyone involved. Let’s put games aside and go beyond what the Legislature appropriated”.

“In addition to the $2,000 bonuses for all DeKalb County teachers, that are paid for by the State, I think the Board should also give bonuses to support staff and other school system employees, so that EA’s, dietary workers, maintenance workers, office staff, and others, are rewarded for their hard work. This can easily be paid for out of the $10 million fund balance. Afterall, the school funds, and the state funds are all taxpayer money, and I can think of no better use than to reward the hardworking teachers and staff of DeKalb County School with this bonus,” Hall continued.

“As I wrap up my comments, I again want to thank you for the opportunity to speak today, and for your service on the School Board. Being an elected official is not an easy job. I commend you, and ask that you consider my suggestion, and keep the main thing, the main thing, and that’s educating and preparing our students for life. Thank you,” said Hall.

A 12th grader has been awarded “Student of the Month” for April at DeKalb County High School.

Sam Harris, son of Kari and Chad Harris was called to the office Thursday to receive the good news that he had been selected for the honor. Along with a certificate Harris was given a gift card for a meal at Fiesta Jalisco Mexican Grill.

A member of the FFA club, Sam said he enjoys agriculture and plans to further his education in that field first at Motlow State Community College and then at UT Martin.

Harris said while he is looking forward to graduation next week as a member of the DCHS Class of 2025 he will miss the school and the people he has met along the way there. Sam said he feels privileged to have been named “Student of the Month”.

“The teacher who nominated Sam for this award said he deserves the recognition because he is always willing to serve and help others around him,” said Assistant DCHS Principal Seth Willoughby.

Harris has a younger sister Emily Harris who will be a freshman next year at DCHS.

Smithville Elementary held it annual Careers on Wheels event on April 25. This is an outdoor career fair and participants had careers that involved vehicles. This allowed the students to view and experience hands-on items and vehicles related to many different types of jobs. Participants spoke to all of the students about their jobs, their daily duties, and the training needed for their careers. Students also got to touch and hold many things which made this a fun and hands-on learning experience!

“We appreciate our participants so much for donating their time and resources for our students. They did an amazing job,” said school counselor Ashley Barnes.

Our participants this year were:

• DTC Communications
• Broken Toys Custom Paint
• Middle TN Natural Gas
• The City of Smithville (donating their tractor)
• Dekalb County EMS
• Smithville Fire Department
• TWRA
• Smithville Electric
• Smithville Police Department
• Dekalb County Sheriff’s Department