A recent survey designed by an ETSU geosciences class suggests students are largely satisfied with the town and have a positive perception of it.

“I think that the students like ETSU and they like Johnson City and they’re overall very satisfied with both of those,” said Richard Freeman, an ETSU graduate student and one of the study’s researchers.

This “sense of place” study was conducted by ETSU assistant professor Catherine Chen’s modern geographic concepts class during April 13 through 20. The survey was designed to measure well-being from the perspective of a college student. The questions focused on overall opinion of Johnson City, how well Johnson City met the needs of students and opinions of services provided in Johnson City and ETSU.

“That’s not to say it’s a reflection of those services,” Freeman said. “But we’re measuring how do people feel about those services.”

Freeman said he did not think such a study has been conducted.

One of the most striking results of the study was students’ perception of campus safety, Freeman said. Overall, students rated safety more positively than any other aspect of the survey. Female students felt only slightly less safe than male students.

“I attribute it to the very visible depth ETSU is taking to make the campus safer,” Freeman said.

There are bright red emergency phones located throughout campus, sirens to warn of danger, improved lighting and an alert system that uses text messages and emails.

Students also rated Johnson City as friendly and accepting, Freeman said. Public transit in the city was also viewed positively by students. The city operates a service called the BucShot, a series of shuttle buses that run through campus and allow easy and quick access to outlying parking areas of campus and also to nearby apartment complexes.

Students also rated highly shopping and recreation in Johnson City. The survey results indicated Johnson City was a good place to do things students like to do.

Opportunities for employment in Johnson City and traffic were viewed as less positive by survey respondents.

Freeman noted he has friends who work around Johnson City but the jobs are indeed limited.

“And I would say there’s never going to be enough jobs,” he said. “There’s 15,000 students and the majority of them would like a job in a town with 60,000 people. There’s just not 10,000 extra jobs available.”

There were 110 student respondents. There were 49 male students and 61 female students in the survey. Freeman said researchers personally asked students to participate in the survey rather than sending out emailed surveys, which is a common technique. Freeman said this approach allowed for more responses and a wider sampling of students.

The respondents were grouped by age into three categories; 20 and younger; 21-25 and older than 25.

“Of those groups the people who were younger than 21, they were much more positive about everything,” Freeman said. “Many of them are out on their own for the first time and the world is their oyster.”

Female students also were more positive than male students, according to the survey results.

Teresa Leonard, principal of Boones Creek Elementary, was awarded first place in the elementary school division for East Tennessee, while J.R. Campbell, principal of Little Milligan, was awarded third place in the K-8/middle school division for East Tennessee.

Leonard and Campbell were among the 18 principals from nearly 1,300 public elementary and middle schools across the state who were honored at the ceremony held at the Tennessee Supreme Court.

The event honors principals who are doing a superior job as determined by Tennessee’s Value-Added Assessment System, or TVAAS, which measures achievement gain in a way that permits schools to be compared regardless of the student body’s makeup. Schools whose students make the greatest annual gains in achievement earn the highest value-added scores.

Rankings are made using schools’ letter grades for reading/language arts, math, science and social studies. Reading/language arts and math scores are double-weighted to reflect the importance of these areas. A grade point average is calculated using the three-year average Literacy/Numeracy Growth Index as a secondary factor. The winning principals each receive a certificate, a banner and a cash award: $3,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for third place.

Only schools where the principal has served for at least five years were considered.

For more on the awards, visit www.education-consumers.org.

She will watch the hard work her students put into their education pay off when they receive their GEDs and shake her hand as well as Johnson City Police Chief John Lowry’s hand.

Clark said her students, all women, will have many more opportunities in their future after they finish serving state prison sentences at the Johnson City jail.

Two of her students have already gone on to college, she said.

Clark, one of only two correctional officers in the state who also teach GED classes to inmates, said her work is much more satisfying now that she had the dual role.

“I’m a correctional officer ... with this I get to be a part of correcting their past issues,” Clark said.

Clark assumed the role of GED instructor in 2010 after budget cuts in the city school system’s adult education program eliminated classes in jail.

She became certified to teach GED and has some pretty good statistics already under her belt in two years.

“So far we’ve had 23 get their GED with me. Eleven of them scored over 500 with two over 600,” she said.

The minimum score on any section of the GED is 450 and the maximum is 800.

In 2009, the year before Clark took over the program, only one of 28 taking classes was eligible to graduate, she said.

On Saturday, six graduates will take part in the ceremony, but Clark also had 14 others who received their GED. Those women have since completed their prison sentences and cannot participate in the ceremony Saturday.

Clark said there are challenges in teaching because the women are on many different grade levels.

“When they first enter the program, they take a test that tells us what level they’re at,” she said.

From that point, participants have class time on Wednesday and Thursday from 6 to 10 p.m. in reading, writing, math, social studies and science.

Everyone in the Johnson City jail has some type of job, so GED students have to learn how to manage their study time. Having the teacher nearby most of the time can be an advantage, and Clark said she encourages her students to ask questions even outside class time.

“I get asked questions every day. I tell them to utilize me if I’m here. Sometimes I’m busy and can’t answer right then, but I tell them to write down their questions and I’ll get to it,” she said.

Clark said it’s rewarding to see the women become more confident as they learn.

“They become more motivated. They believe they can break away from being an inmate, they have a future they can look forward to,” she said.

“I tell them, everybody had their toolbox in life and I want to give them more positive tools to put in theirs.”

When Clark gets to pass along the good news to a student that she has passed a test, “I can really see it in their face.

“It’s rewarding to see them pull themselves up from the bottom,” she said.

ETSU President Brian Noland announced the formation of the Committee for 125 during the annual ETSU Foundation meeting at The Millennium Centre.

The ETSU Committee for 125 will be led by Louis Gump, a local entrepreneur and founder of the Roan Scholars Leadership Program, a scholarship at ETSU. Other members of the committee will be former university presidents and chancellors, according to Noland.

The committee’s first meeting will be held in early June.

This committee will be charged with framing the blueprint for what ETSU will look like at its 125th anniversary in 2036. Noland said he wanted the committee to look at athletics, the diversity of academic programs, the prioritization of new facilities and how the Foundation is structured as well as the school’s alumni association.

“Essentially, that committee will look at everything across ETSU from top to bottom and say, ‘How do we need to be positioned as an institution to grab the goals that are outlined for us 25 years down the road?’ ” Noland said.

Noland said some of the goals to look at would include new buildings. Noland has said a priority for him is the creation of a fine and performing arts center for ETSU, but it will take everyone working together to make that goal a reality.

“The Foundation, our students, the state, the community all will have a role in the development of new facilities, not only on campus but across the region,” Noland said. “We’ve talked at great length this spring about the fine and performing arts center. We’ve identified the need for a convocation center, and there will be other needs that emerge throughout the year as the Committee for 125 gets about their work.”

ETSU celebrated its 100th anniversary this past October. Noland said many schools develop a long-range vision plan after milestones. In fact, ETSU developed a plan outlined in a document called Turning Toward 2011 shortly after the 75th anniversary. Noland said he was surprised to see that a fine and performing arts center was one of the top 10 needs identified in 1986.

“I guarantee you, 25 years from now that fine and performing arts center will be created,” he said.

The purpose of the meeting Thursday was to update members of the ETSU Foundation, which is now comprised of 480 individuals, of the Foundation’s finances. The Foundation now has a total worth of almost $100 million despite a poor economy for the past few years.

The Foundation’s fund balance is more than $99.2 million. Private giving this year is estimated at $11.6 million, up from $9.8 million last year. The National Association of College and University Business Officers endowment study, which ranks ETSU 410 out of 839 participating institutions, based on endowment value, reported the ETSU Foundation’s investment rate of return at 18.8 percent.

“This is an indication of the Foundation’s successful conservative investment and sound management policies,” Richard Manahan, vice president for University Advancement and Foundation CEO/president, said in a news release.

Manahan noted more than $1.8 million in scholarships were awarded to more than 900 students in 2011-12. The Foundation has provided more than $8.4 million in scholarships to more than 3,800 students in the past five years.

Noland was pleased with the strength of the ETSU Foundation. He said the goal now was to leverage that strength to take advantage of economic recovery.

“We’re not going to be able to provide the level of scholarships, the level of support, the level of endowed chairs without greater work across the institution and community as a whole, and those are some of the issues we’ll look at within the Committee for 125,” Noland said.

In other Foundation business, 2012-13 officers were elected and new members were admitted.

D. Roger Kennedy, was re-elected as chairman of the Foundation’s board of directors for 2012-13, and M. Thomas Krieger, retired business executive, as vice chairman. Both are from Jonesborough. Leslie Parks Pope, chairwoman of The Parks Group, LLC, Kingsport, is immediate past chairwoman, and Dan Mahoney, Johnson City, is secretary.

Re-elected to serve in their same positions on the board were Dr. Steve Conerly, Management Services/Strategic Planning, Johnson City, treasurer; Donald R. Raber, president, Aldebaran Financial Inc., Kingsport, chairman of the Investment Committee; Dennis T. Powell, Johnson City, chairman of the Planned Giving Advisory Committee; and Wayne G. Basler, Kingsport, representing past chairmen of the board.

The following were elected to serve a three-year term on the board ending June 30, 2015: Louis H. Gump, Lottie F. Ryans and Dr. May Votaw, Johnson City; Rick Storey, Jonesborough; and Tom Seaton, Piney Flats.

Elected to serve a second three-year term on the board ending June 30, 2015, were: Theresa K. Lee and Melissa Steagall-Jones, Johnson City; Dr. Stephen Kimbrough and James W. Reel, Jonesborough; and James Brinkley, Orange Park, Fla.

Five members who are rotating off the board after two consecutive three-year terms were recognized for their service: Guy B. Wilson Jr., Johnson City; Robert T. Summers and Gerald D. Thomas, Jonesborough; Betty DeVinney, Kingsport; and Raymond R. Thomas, Atlanta.

The Foundation welcomed 34 new members.

They won’t be counting for much longer, as the area’s first set of high school graduations begin this weekend.

While most of the graduation ceremonies taking place this year have open seating, there are a handful of schools that will be requiring tickets in order to gain entry, including Science Hill High School, University School and Happy Valley High School in Elizabethton.

In the case of both Science Hill and University School, officials have been required to hand out tickets in order to comply with seating capacity guidelines from the fire marshal.

“This year, we were required by Freedom Hall to issue tickets,” Principal Melanie Riden-Bacon said.

Science Hill students were each given 10 tickets for the June 2 graduation ceremony.

Riden-Bacon said seniors may swap out tickets on their own if they don’t need all 10. Students will receive tickets at graduation practice June 1.

Students at University School each were given about 10 tickets for the June 1 graduation ceremony at East Tennessee State University.

Like Science Hill students, University School Counseling Assistant Sandy Robinson said seniors can return unneeded tickets, which will be passed out to those who need extra tickets.

For those without tickets, there will be overflow seating available for the Science Hill and University School ceremonies.

At Happy Valley, each senior was given two tickets, which are required for seats located on the football field. School officials said there is plenty of seating available in the bleachers in addition to standing room around the field.

The Johnson City Board of Education received an update during Monday’s meeting on the construction of the new multipurpose gymnasium.

Supervisor of Instruction and Facilities Dave Chupa told the board Chattanooga’s EMJ Corp. has estimated to be finished with the new facility by the end of May. That’s more than a month later than an estimated completion date of mid- to late March, which was given to school officials in December.

The $23 million construction project included four new buildings: administrative offices, a 9th Grade Academic Building, a dining hall and a multipurpose gymnasium.

With the new gym being the final part of the project, it seems the company is nearing the end, even if fencing still remains around portions of the new facility.

Tommy Burleson, the city’s construction agent, said Tuesday the fire marshal inspected the facility and once a few small details are ironed out, he expects to have a temporary certificate of occupancy from the city by the end of next week.

“That means the building can be used for its intended purpose. It doesn’t mean it’s 100 percent complete, because there’s still a little bit of landscape work, touch-up work and a few little punch list items that have to be done. It’s essentially completed,” Burleson said. “It’s been a long time coming, but we’re almost there.”

Burleson said delays on the project stemmed from problems with subcontractors and weather.

“Two subcontractors got into serious financial trouble. They (EMJ) had to supplement the work force from one and replace the other subcontractor, which always slows down projects. In EMJ’s defense, there was some bad weather during portions of the project, which did delay,” he said.

Burleson said crews are working hard now cleaning and putting the final touches on the security, electrical and painting work that is left.

Since certain deadlines for other portions of the project weren’t met, EMJ faces penalty costs in excess of $40,000. Burleson said the final penalty cost will be calculated based on some other aspects of the contract and a change order that will take care of the overall amount.

While the new facility isn’t likely to be used during the current school year, Burleson said he expects work to be wrapped up within the next two weeks.

More than 1,000 degrees and certificates were awarded, including five academic certificates, 89 technical certificates, 388 associate of applied science degrees, 36 associate of arts degrees, 31 associate of science in teaching degrees and 457 associate of science degrees.

Erikka Shuttle said she went to Northeast State because she wanted to stay close to her home in Bristol, but always knew she wanted to do something in the medical field.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” she said. “I didn’t want to be a nurse, so I just kind of followed somebody in dental assisting and went with it.”

Shuttle said she took classes at the main campus for the required prerequisites and is in the process of completing her dental assisting degree at the Kingsport branch campus, where she will officially finish at the end of the summer semester.

“It was a good experience, a lot of one-on-one professors,” Shuttle said.

Joseph Slonaker said he was always fiddling around and working on things while growing up, so when he heard about Eastman Chemical Co. offering co-op mechanic’s positions, he decided to look into the electromechanical pre-engineering program at Northeast State.

“I thought that was right up my alley,” he said. “Northeast had the co-op and everything with them, so I just came in and did the program. It turned out to be pretty good.”

Slonaker said the class sizes were fairly small, and that he felt as though people at Northeast wanted him to succeed.

“Everybody was very concerned with my education. They wanted to make sure, you know, that I had everything I need to further my education,” he said.

He is scheduled to complete his co-op with Eastman in June and will become a permanent employee with the company working as a mechanic.

“It’s amazing, especially in this economy and everything. It’s a blessing from God just to have a job,” Slonaker said.

Another graduate that will be working with Eastman after graduation is Amy Stacy-Litz.

Stacy-Litz said she is somewhat of a non-traditional college student having waited 20 years before going back to school.

“I was a little intimidated, so I thought I’ll go try Northeast State first and I was pleasantly surprised. It was great,” she said.

Finishing up a two year degree in office administration technology, she said she was fortunate enough to have an internship at Eastman during her program and has now been hired as a full-time staffing assistant.

Stacy-Litz said her time at Northeast has been a great experience.

“The schedules are flexible, because you know, I have a husband and a 6-year-old, so I try to find a time that I could be at school and be at home too,” she said. “It was good as far as the classes being available when I needed them.”

Dr. Janice H. Gilliam, president of Northeast State Community College, gave the opening remarks to graduates and recognized J. Allen Hurley as the recipient of the Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Philanthropy, as well as introduced state Rep. Matthew Hill, R-Jonesborough, as this year’s commencement speaker.

On Monday, the Johnson City Board of Education unanimously approved the increase for full-priced paid lunches at the request of Food Services Supervisor Karen McGahey.

The increase means that paid elementary lunches will rise from $2 to $2.25 next year, while paid intermediate, middle and high school lunches will increase from $2.25 to $2.50.

This is the first meal price increase since 2008.

“We do try diligently to keep the price of meals as stable as possible. Our biggest concern is those families that just missed the cutoff for free or reduced priced meals. We’re very aware of that and very concerned about that,” McGahey said.

McGahey said there were three reasons behind the increase for the 2012-13 school year, including new meal pattern changes, catching up to food costs that have been increasing since 2008 and a new federal requirement that will have them raise meal prices at least 14 cents this year.

To comply with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which will go into effect July 1, school food service officials participating in the National School Lunch Program must ensure sufficient funds are provided to the nonprofit school food service account for meals served to students not eligible for free or reduced price meals.

“So, we’re going to have to start increasing our meal prices for paying students on a regular basis until we reach this federal level of $2.79 or until the federal law changes,” McGahey said.

While the paid lunches will increase by 25 cents, reduced price meals will remain capped at the federal maximum of 40 cents per lunch.

In addition to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, McGahey said there are other federal guidelines that will go into effect in July regarding foods they must have on their menu, which will drive food costs up.

McGahey said these are big changes in food services and the decision to raise the price of next year’s lunches in order to meet new guidelines was not taken lightly.

“It is huge and that’s one of the reasons why we were really not wanting to raise prices the last few years with the economy the way it is,” she said.

In other business, the board voted to approve the proposed 2012-13 budget of $64,921,948 to be taken before the Johnson City Commission Thursday for discussion.

The projected $64 million budget will be in the black if the City Commission approves a list of needs totaling more than $5 million.

Finance Director Pam Cox said next year’s Basic Education Program, or BEP, funding doesn’t look very favorable.

“The BEP looks like it’s going to be down ... $88,000 from the $500,000 that we have increased in the current budget,” she said.

The board has not yet decided where possible cuts would be made if the City Commission doesn’t approve the proposed budget.

Before the campus can celebrate its 50th birthday, its educational mission for post-high school students will be at an end. However, talks have begun on a possible new mission for the campus to provide technical education for high schoolers in the Carter County and the Elizabethton City school systems.

Next month, construction will begin at the technology center’s main campus in the Watauga Industrial Park to consolidate all of the programs and classes in one campus. The end of the split campus will make things easier for faculty, staff and students who must now deal with two campuses located several miles apart.

Construction will take about 15 to 18 months, so the talks on the future of the Herman Robinson campus are just beginning, but there is already the knowledge that a plan needs to be developed quickly.

“We would prefer it to be used for an educational purpose,” said Dean Blevins, director of the Tennessee Technology Center – Elizabethton. Blevins and other TTC-E administrators met with officials and school board members from the two school systems last week and took them on a tour of the facility. The local educators came away impressed.

“We had an good meeting with Mr. Blevins,” said Ed Alexander, superintendent of the Elizabethton City Schools. “The building was constructed in 1965 but it is in excellent condition.”

Kevin Ward, soon-to-be interim director of the Carter County School System, said the joint acquisition of the building “would be a big benefit to us. It would offer more at a reduced cost.”

Ward said the joint operation of the center would not only be beneficial to both school systems, but also to TTC-E.

“We could develop a curriculum that would be tied in to the Technology Center, where they could receive students that have had more advanced training. We could provide the fundamentals of diesel mechanics and welding. We could possibly start an entry level machinist program where they get a taste of it in high school and then go on to the Technology Center.

Ward said the campus was also centrally located for the county’s high schools. Because the various classes are now taught at different schools, he said the students must crisscross. With all classes taught at the Herman Robinson campus, that problem would be eliminated.

Alexander said the city school system has recognized the need to supplement its vocational programs. “What programs we have are good, but we just don’t have enough of them.”

Another strong supporter of the effort to convert the Herman Robinson Campus into a high school technology center is Bob Robinson, instructional development coordinator for the Tennessee Technology Center-Elizabethton, and the son of Herman Robinson.

“He would have been proud to have it continue helping students,” Bob Robinson said. His father overcame many hurdles to achieve an education and when he later became a state senator he worked to make vocational education attainable to all.

Bob Robinson said his father “had cerebral palsy and was unable to walk or talk until he was 10 years old. He had a homebound teacher until he was enrolled as a regular student in public school. After graduating from Elizabethton High School and East Tennessee State Teacher’s College, the forerunner of East Tennessee State University, he returned to teach at Elizabethton High School.

“My father said he was motivated to overcome his cerebral palsy-related disability by the nurturing of his mother, the support from his high school football coach and the encouragement of his wife.”

Robinson said his father later became a journalist and was elected state senator, representing Carter, Greene, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington counties and served five consecutive two-year terms in the 1950s and 1960s.

Although he was a Republican serving in a legislature dominated by the Democratic Party, Robinson wanted a vocational technical education made available to all young Tennesseans. In 1963, he introduced legislation to establish 27 state area vocational technical schools in strategic locations so that there was one within a 50-mile radius of every resident in the state.

The bill became law and one of the very first of the new schools was started in Elizabethton in 1963. The first classes were started in 1965.

Although he is proud the campus honors his father, Robinson supports the consolidation of TTC-E into one campus. He said it is the only one of the 27 technical centers in the state that has a split campus.

Instead of a split campus, the old center may now become a unifying asset for two school systems. Ward said the center could encourage the city and the county to work together “on a plan and share scarce resources in these tight economic times.”

ETSU awarded just more than 1,700 degrees, with 445 students graduating with honors.

One master’s degree recipient at the afternoon graduation, while a long way from his home in Cameroon in West Africa, said he has enjoyed his time in Johnson City.

“Initially, it was kind of a culture shock, because, I mean, the cultures are pretty much different. I had to adjust to the food and the climate, but after like six months, Johnson City became like a home to me,” Collins Binda said.

Graduating with a master’s in biological sciences with a concentration in biology, Binda said he originally heard about the program after speaking with ETSU faculty members visiting his undergraduate university, the University of Buea in Cameroon.

Binda said he hopes to secure a job as a research assistant in a laboratory setting or possibly even working with a biotechnology company.

“I’ve made good friends here and I’m really going to miss the place if ever I have to leave Johnson City,” Binda said. “It’s been a good 30 months here.”

Deidra Gaus, a native of Knoxville, can easily call ETSU home after having attended the college for her undergraduate degree and now a master’s in social work.

As the mother of a 17-month-old and due for her second child in just three weeks, Gaus said she has reached an important educational goal in receiving her master’s.

“I set out to do it in a year and I accomplished that,” she said. “I’ve always known that I want to go on and get my master’s and eventually get my LCSW (licensed clinical social worker certification).”

While Gaus plans to take some time off to raise her children, she hinted that she may not be done with her educational aspirations.

“I am really hoping that they come back with the Ph.D. program when I get ready for that,” she said.

The commencement speaker for the morning and afternoon graduations was Dr. Richard G. Rhoda, executive director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

Rhoda stressed to graduates that higher education is the key to a prosperous state and nation.

“There is no question that you did the right thing by pursuing your college education at this time,” he said. “While the rewards may not be as immediate as we would like, there will be rewards.”

Rhoda said today’s graduates have bigger responsibilities and must learn to connect with ideas and events outside their immediate surroundings.

“I am confident that in your able hands, today’s graduates will rise to the occasion, as have past generations,” he said. “To the Class of 2012: Congratulations for a job well done.”

ETSU President Brian Noland welcomed graduates, their families and friends to the ceremony, as well as introducing Rhoda as the commencement speaker.

Musical arrangements were performed by the ETSU Wind Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Christian M. Zembower, and ETSU 12BucsWorth, led by retiring Dr. Thomas S. Jenrette Jr.

The graduates filtered into the first three sections of seating in the center of the chapel, and listened to the invocation by David Buchanan, a hymn sung by the congregation and a scripture reading by Kevin Kieslich.

Shawna Brotherton, a master of education degree recipient, said she was excited to graduate.

“I’m very excited. I feel like I’ve worked really hard to get to this place,” Brotherton said.

After serving in the United States Air Force for two years, she said she got married, raised a family and switched careers from psychology to education.

Brotherton, originally from Arizona, received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Arizona State University.

“I have decided to change careers. My original career was in psychology and so I changed careers and decided to go into education,” she said. “I love teenagers and so I’m looking forward to teaching high school.”

Brotherton said she hopes to secure a job in the area teaching history, government and psychology.

While at Milligan she said she became really close with her classmates and professors.

“The professors at Milligan are amazing,” she said. “They’re more than like professors. They’re your cheerleaders.”

Receiving her master of business administration degree, Katie Crowder hopes to use what she learned in her 14-month online program at Milligan at her job of almost three years with Mountain States Health Alliance.

“It’s been great. I’m happy that I had a couple of years in between my undergrad and masters, because now I know how I can apply what I’ve learned,” Crowder said. “It’s definitely helped me as far as trying to step into a leadership role at my current job with Mountain States, so I’m really excited to take what I’ve learned and use it in the future.”

She said her job with MSHA is focused around continuous improvement, which in turn helps continue improving processes in the health care industries.

The speaker for the commencement ceremony was Robert L. White, the chief public relations officer for the Johnson City Power Board and an M.B.A. alumnus from Milligan.

Merging pop culture to professional careers, White referenced the newly released movie “The Avengers” when speaking to graduates about how to become action heroes in their professional and personal lives.

“You don’t know what God is preparing for you to do. What I task you to do, is to be open to His will in your life,” he said. “Be willing to be the ultimate action hero, just like our example, Jesus Christ, because one day someone’s going to walk up to you and say they’ve been watching you. Be sure that you’re giving them something to be attracted to.”

White told graduates to be sure to enjoy the day and the moments because the journey makes it all worthwhile.

“Right now, tonight, take a deep breath and enjoy this moment with your friends and your family,” White said.

The ceremony included opening remarks from William B. Greer, the president of Milligan; musical arrangements performed by David C. Runner and Milligan’s Concert Choir; the recognition of Fide Et Amore citations; and the presentation of the graduating class by R. Garland Young, the interim vice president for academic affairs and dean. The closing prayer was said by Josh Roberts.

Milligan will award its tradiational undergraduate degrees in a ceremony today at 2 p.m. in Seeger Chapel. For more information, visit www.milligan.edu/commencement.

That unique occurrence will be the case for Rachel, Rebecca and Ben Engle when they get their bachelor’s degrees from East Tennessee State University Saturday.

“It’s odd it worked out that way,” Rachel said during an interview that included her brother and sister earlier this week.

Rebecca and Ben are twins. Rachel is the oldest by a year. Rebecca and Ben were born in Big Stone Gap, Va. Rachel was born in Raleigh, N.C. The family moved to San Jose, Costa Rica, when the children were 10 and 11 and then to Caracas, Venezuela, where their parents still remain as missionaries.

“We’ve always been a really close family growing up overseas,” Rebecca said.

Rachel got in-state tuition at ETSU, which is why she attended classes there. She enjoyed the school and Rebecca and Ben followed her to the campus when it came time for them to attend college.

The move to Venezuela, a nation on the northern coast of South America, came in 2000. The family first arrived in Caracas, the capital and largest city in the country, in 2000. The country was stable then, but that is not necessarily the case now, Rebecca said. And there were periods when the nation was in upheaval while the Engles lived there. A national strike in 2002 forced the family to stay at home for two months.

“Pretty much all the small businesses went on strike and you couldn’t get bread, milk, meat, so you had to ration,” Ben said.

The Engles said Venezuela is beautiful and rich with culture, though many people live in poverty.

In fact, their parents go into the poorest sections, where people live in small tin shacks placed on the sides of muddy hills, to begin Bible studies. Rebecca said it is not uncommon for those shacks to fall apart in mudslides.

Rebecca will get her degree in nursing Saturday, which was partly inspired by the work she did and things she saw as a missionary in Venezuela.

“It’s always just been something I wanted to do,” Rebecca said. “In seventh grade I took a first-aid class, and loved it.”

Rachel studied English. Ben’s degree is in sports management.

“I’ve always loved reading, and I loved writing,” Rachel said. “It seemed like the right thing for me.”

She may come back for another degree in teaching English as a second language. “Right now I don’t know too much what I want to do with it, but I want to keep writing and hopefully find a job where I can keep writing,” Rachel said.

Ben would like to go back to Venezuela and become an athletic director for a small school.

“Growing up in Caracas I got to play a lot of sports, and a lot of sports I wouldn’t have been able to play had I grown up here, and played with a lot of people I wouldn’t have met here,” he said. “I just want to help give the ability for kids to play.”

The siblings’ parents are coming in for the graduation ceremonies.

“We’ve been very blessed,” Rebecca said. “We like to say we want to settle down but I don’t know if we really want to. We like to travel.”

On Saturday, after the second commencement ceremony at East Tennessee State University, Jenrette will retire as a professor of music and director of choral activities after 33 years. He has loved every minute of his career, which actually spanned 43 years counting his time as a high school teacher, he said.

He offered some career advice during an interview in his office in Mathes Hall at ETSU earlier this week. He said to find something to do in life that you would be happy to wake up for each day. He said that is what leads to fulfillment in life.

“I love it (music) even when it’s bad,” Jenrette said with a laugh.

For Jenrette, who is from Galax, Va., a fulfilling life has been being immersed in music. Bach, Mozart and other classical composers are among his favorites. But had he pursued his original plan to become a doctor, he likely would not have been as fulfilled.

When he got to college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill he auditioned for the school’s glee club, and loved it. Until that point, he was pre-med.

“But I was not happy at all doing that,” he said of his medical studies. So he changed his major to music and from that point on was happy.

“I’ve never had a second thought about doing it,” he said. “I just knew I wanted to major in music.”

When he decided to be in music, he had no idea where it would lead. At the time, the Vietnam War was raging and many people he knew were being drafted. His future was uncertain, he said.

But he discovered a love for teaching while working as a summer camp counselor during his undergraduate studies, so he pursued that path.

His first teaching job was for the Burlington, N.C., City Schools, where, after three years as choral director at Cummings High School, he was promoted to the position of director of cultural arts for the school system. Jenrette has since taught at Olivet College in Michigan and Southwest State University in Minnesota.

“I’ve always loved the students,” he said. “And they respond so well to caring.”

He left his teaching job to obtain his doctor of musical arts in voice performance from the University of Michigan, eventually winding up at ETSU.

Jenrette still keeps in touch with students he taught at the high school in Burlington. One of those students even beat him to retirement, he said with a laugh.

“In the past few years here I’ve taught several students whose parents I taught here,” Jenrette said.

Professors of music have varied responsibilities depending on their specialties. Jenrette’s specialty is voice. At ETSU his titles are professor of music and director of choral activities. His primary responsibility has been to direct the choral ensembles but he also has taught many students in conducting and voice instruction. There was also the occasional solo performance.

Jenrette was not exactly sure earlier this week what he would do after retirement, but said he would enjoy traveling.

With ETSU’s choral he traveled all across Europe. The choral performed at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican and the Berlin Cathedral in Germany.

“What made those trips so meaningful was we didn’t go as tourists, we went to perform,” he said. “And we performed in some of the most beautiful places you can sing.”

This past weekend, a new $2 million scholarship endowment was established in Jenrette’s honor. Jim and Sandy Powell, longtime supporters of ETSU and the department of music, provided the endowment. This endowment will provide approximately $80,000 annually in scholarships beginning this fall.

“The Powells are just the most amazing people,” Jenrette said. “And it is their philosophy that it is one’s duty to give back as you can, as you are able.”

Asked what he enjoyed most about being a teacher of music for more than four decades, Jenrette said it has to be the ability to have an impact on people’s lives.

“If it doesn’t sound pretentious, I think it’s the feeling you make a positive change in people’s lives,” Jenrette said. “I think particularly teaching music gives you that opportunity.”

The fact that he gets to ride it as part of the Boys on Bikes program at South Side Elementary School makes the experience that much better.

“I usually don’t get to ride my bike a lot but now I get to ride it every week and it’s good exercise,” he said.

The focus on exercise is one reason the after-school program was created in the first place. And it’s one aspect the group of about 16 boys enjoy the most.

As someone who isn’t satisfied by just staying at home in front of the TV, Glaspie is glad to be one of the 16 students in the program.

“It’s good exercise and you can’t just play video games or watch TV all the time, even if you really want to,” he said.

What’s Glaspie’s favorite part of becoming more fit and active as one of South Side’s boys on a bike?

“The big calves and you can run faster and more stamina,” he said.

Those are all good things for someone who tries to ride his bicycle as much as possible.

What started as the school’s answer to the popular Girls on the Run program, Boys on Bikes has evolved into one of the school’s most successful after-school programs to date.

“We started the program as a way to get boys involved and active after school. ... There weren’t very many options for boys, so we wanted a program that they could participate in and get them out riding,” said Jamie Scott, South Side’s physical education teacher who oversees Boys on Bikes with first-grade teacher Monica Hart.

During the school year, the “Boys” gather twice a week – Monday and Thursday afternoons – to learn about bike safety, bike maintenance and the important rules of the road.

In addition to teaching the students about the importance of riding safety and being active, Scott said the program’s other goal is to highlight how the bicycle can be a great way to get place to place, especially for the kids who ride their bike to and from school.

“We also teach them that riding their bike is a great form of transportation rather than riding in a car. A lot of these students at South Side live in the Tree Streets and can get to and from the school by walking or biking and it’s a good way to expose them to another avenue of transportation,” he said.

The program has thrived thanks to assistance from local businesses and community organizations. Since the beginning, Earth Fare has provided healthy snacks for the boys. The Bike Shop in Johnson City and the Tri-Cities Triathlon Club have also provided helmets, tools and other equipment the students use for repairing their bikes.

Right now, South Side is the only school in Johnson City to have a Boys on Bikes program, but several other schools have expressed interest in the program.

And that can only bode well for the future of Boys on Bikes.

“That’d be great if we can get some others interested and I’d love to see it expand through the whole system or the whole region,” Scott said.

For more information on Boys on Bikes, call Scott at 434-5290.

During a tribute concert to Jenrette on Saturday, April 28, ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland surprised the longtime director of choral activities by announcing a $2 million scholarship endowment given by Jim and Sandy Powell, longtime supporters of ETSU and the Department of Music. This endowment will provide approximately $80,000 annually in scholarships beginning this fall.

“The Powells’ wonderful and generous gift will forever associate the name of Tom Jenrette with music at East Tennessee State University, allowing us to build upon Tom’s remarkable career as a teacher and mentor,” Noland said. “On behalf of the current and future students who will benefit from this endowment, and on behalf of a very grateful university, I thank Sandy and Jim for their loyalty to ETSU and for their devotion to our Department of Music and to a beloved professor who will never be forgotten.”

In a letter read prior to the announcement by ETSU Department of Music Chair Dr. Frank Grzych, the Powells wrote: “Our three-decade association with you (Jenrette) has been one of the highlights of our lives. Through your talents, gifts, insistence on perfection, and never-ending hard work, you have brought joy to thousands of people over the years. . . . You have brought untold numbers of students to ETSU. Those students have remained loyal to you and to ETSU, and now some of them are telling their grandchildren about the great Tom Jenrette. We want to do our part to make sure your legacy at ETSU will endure forever.”

Jenrette’s retirement comes after 33 years as director of choral activities and professor of music in the ETSU Department of Music. Under his direction, ETSU choral ensembles have performed for numerous American Choral Directors Association conventions and Music Educators National Conferences, as well as two Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses national conventions. They have also appeared twice at the White House and have taken concert tours throughout the eastern United States, Europe, Venezuela and the Caribbean, performing at such places as the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican and the Berlin Cathedral in Germany.

“Dr. Jenrette is a cornerstone of the university and the Music Department,” Grzych said. “He has elevated this program with his guidance, his nurturing, and his standards of excellence. His students have performed in concerts across Europe and before the most critical audiences in the profession, all with the highest acclaim. What he has done for ETSU and his students is phenomenal.”

Following the announcement, Jenrette said, “What a blessing Jim and Sandy Powell have been to my life. I love them both so much. They have made so many things possible that would have never happened otherwise: all the trips to Europe, the scholarships that have enabled many of these students to be here who would have never been here. And now tonight is more than I can believe. My heart is so full, I think it’s going to burst.”

During a ceremony at the school’s amphitheater Friday afternoon, Noland announced that a green space would be created in the middle of campus, that the Mini Dome would be improved for games and other aspects of campus would be modernized this summer and fall.

“What I hope we can do as an institution and as a community is to build upon the foundation of excellence that we have on campus and push the institution forward,” he said in an interview after presenting Tim Dills, senior academic adviser in the ETSU College of Business and Technology, with a new car for his contribution to student success during his career.

“Over the course of the summer we’re going to begin the work of returning the core of campus to a lawn to celebrate occasions such as today, but to literally return the heart of the campus to our students,” Noland said.

In the fall, Noland said modernization of the amphitheater will begin.

“It’s the most widely recognized and well-known portion of the institution,” Noland said of the amphitheater. “When you look at postcards from the ’60s and the ’70s this is what they show.”

Noland said work has already begun on improving the Dome, specifically the roof. The building’s seating and concessions will also be improved to enhance the game day experience as part of an overall campus re-visioning effort that will kick off in a few weeks.

“The whole goal is when students return for the fall and we play our first men’s and women’s basketball game in the Dome, it looks different, the experience is enhanced and we’re able to attract our fans from across the region back home to campus,” he said.

Dills was the inaugural recipient of the Bert C. Bach Servant Leadership Award. This honor included the keys to a 2012 Honda Civic donated by Johnson City Honda.

“It was quite a shock,” Dills said after being presented with the award and car keys. “I had been told to be here for the ceremony but no one would tell me why.”

Dills received his B.B.A. degree in 1984 and his M.B.A. in 1987 from ETSU. He joined the College of Business and Technology in 1992.

Noland said in his remarks that Dills has helped thousands of students with advisement over the years. Dills said he enjoyed seeing students go from freshmen to graduation.

“I’m very thankful for what I do and I enjoy working with the students,” Dills said.

The award Dills got was named in honor of ETSU’s Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Bert Bach.

Milligan President Bill Greer announced in a news conference Friday the school would begin breaking ground on the $12.5 million, 12-building student housing village this summer.

“The final plans are still being developed but we have a real good idea of what these buildings are going to look like, what this village is going to look like,” Greer said. “And I think it’s going to be very transformational to this campus and to student life at Milligan.”

The village will include an intramural field and common spaces. The first phase of the plan is to construct up to six of the residence halls over the next year and a half.

“Hopefully by the fall of 2013 we’ll have six of them ready for occupancy,” Greer said.

The first phase of the housing village will add approximately 100 beds. Once completed, the entire housing project will take Milligan’s on-campus housing capacity from 600 to approximately 800.

Milligan’s enrollment has grown from 843 students in 2002 to 1,208 students this year.

Construction was able to begin this year by a gift of more than $4.7 million toward the site preparation and construction from Richard and Leslie Gilliam of Charlottesville, Va. The Gilliams also donated the funds for the construction of Milligan’s Gilliam Wellness Center, and they support an endowed scholarship in memory of Richard’s father, Marvin, who was a 1939 graduate of Milligan.

The new village will be located in what could be considered the “back” of campus on farm land that was purchased a few years ago for the purposes of expansion.

Former Milligan president Don Jeanes, who retired this past summer, was on hand for the announcement.

“All of our dorms are pretty well packed, so it’s a space need,” Jeanes said. “Either do this or start letting people live off campus, and part of our emphasis is the community life and we like for as many people as possible to live on campus.”

Many new buildings were constructed on campus during Jeanes’ 14-year presidency, including a performing arts center, a wellness center and new tennis facility.

To honor Jeanes and his wife Clarinda, the school unveiled Friday a water fountain dedicated to the former first couple of Milligan. Designed by Tony Street and constructed by Burleson Construction, the granite fountain is engraved with Don and Clarinda’s handprints and “Christian Education, the Hope of the World.”

“It’s a beautiful piece, and Clarinda and I are most grateful that they would do something so significant here on campus,” Jeanes said.

The week will culminate in the 12th annual film festival, featuring four films written by, directed by and starring students.

Richard Major, professor of theater at Milligan, began requiring students to direct plays in 1987, because the process of directing performances is a personal experience that is difficult to teach.

“I thought you really need to do it to understand,” Major said.

That first year six students each directed plays over the course of three nights on an outside stage.

“It was great fun and it had that true festival atmosphere to it,” Major said.

The crowd interested in watching the performances continued to grow, so the festival moved to a larger area outside. Eventually, the festival moved indoors and in 2008 it was held in the school’s new Gregory Center for the Liberal Arts, where it has remained.

An average of 150 people attend the performances each night.

The use of facilities for performances allows students to experiment with lighting and sound equipment, whereas outside performances are not necessarily geared toward the use of such components.

By 2000, Major had communications students entering his directing course, but he thought it would benefit them more to direct short films rather than plays. That was the beginning of the Milligan Film Festival.

Corri Richardson, a Milligan senior majoring in English and minoring in theater, wrote the script for one of the short films and for one of the plays featured in this year’s festivals.

“I knew I wanted to write when I was seven,” she said. “I did a comic about a superhero cat for my parents.”

Richardson and her sister put on performances for the family and also made movies. But she really enjoyed the writing part of the creative process.

“It’s just always been something I wanted to do,” she said.

Her play “For You” is about a recent college graduate whose friends are all getting married. The graduate struggles to come to terms with everyone moving on with life while she seems to be stuck; however, there is a twist she did not want to reveal.

“It’s been really cool to have my voice and my experience portrayed through someone else,” Richardson said.

The short film she wrote was a bit scarier for her, she said, because she had never done a screenplay. However, she wrote a script about a couple of old friends who had a falling out some years ago but have been forced through circumstances to spend the day together. The play highlights values and putting aside petty differences.

The script was used by film studies students, who provided actors and edited the film. Richardson will view it for the first time at the premier Friday.

Jonathan Thomas, a Milligan senior from Asheville, N.C., is a communications major with an emphasis on film studies. He worked on three of the four films in the festival.

He actually directed the opening scene of Richardson’s film.

His second film in the festival was a collaborative project he worked on with other people who attended the LA Film Studies Center this past summer called “Finding Dad.” This film is a post-apocalyptic tale about a boy seeking his father who has the cure for a disease the son has contracted.

Thomas’ other film is called “Shadow.” This film was born out of a concept Thomas has had since middle school about a superhero.

“He can turn into a shadow and go along the walls and come out of the shadow and be where he is,” Thomas said.

For Richardson and Thomas, the creative process of storytelling is something they want to pursue upon graduation.

Thomas wants to return to Los Angeles and work in the film industry.

“I’ve always had an eye for cameras and thinking about storytelling through that,” he said.

Richardson said she is not too sure what she will do, but wants her job to involve interaction with people. Any job she takes will have to give her fodder for her creative writing, she said.

“I know that whatever I end up doing to pay the bills all the time, I’ll end up writing,” Richardson said.

The Festival of One Act Plays continues tonight and Thursday at 6 each night in the McGlothlin-Street Theatre in Milligan’s Gregory Center. There will be three plays each night.

The Film Festival begins Friday at 5:30 p.m. in the McGlothlin-Street Theatre and includes one additional film, “Comedian: The Story of Sid Finch.”

All performances are free and open to the public.

Campus organizations and departments and offices and even some local businesses with a desire to encourage good stewardship of the environment gathered in front of the school’s library from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Tyler Crosby, a sophomore studying sociology, was manning the student group Environmental Conservation Organization’s booth Tuesday. ECO was pushing for greater use of University Woods, a secluded section of trails located on the backside of campus off Southwest Avenue.

“There’s different walking trails, biking trails, we just installed a gazebo recently and we’re planning to turn that into an outdoor classroom,” Crosby said of University Woods.

Participants in the event set up with informational posters and brochures. ECO’s table had a map of University Woods. Others displayed facts about the environment. One table had a display that explained how one woman lived a year without generating waste.

Earth Day was established in 1970 as a way to encourage people to take an active role in caring for the environment.

Crosby said he joined ECO as a way to get involved.

“I just wanted to feel like I could make a difference, do some type of activism,” he said. “I believe that Earth Day is important so that more students around here can learn about the environment and the fact that we need to conserve it as much as possible and to do as many activities involving helping the environment as possible.”

Jessica Mould, who works at ETSU’s Center for Physical Activity, was stationed at a booth operated by the CPA.

She said the facility has incorporated in its design elements of sustainability that students can learn from.

The CPA has two new environmentally friendly treadmills that use no electricity, water stations that encourage people to refill their water bottles rather than to buy a new bottle of water, recycling bins, smart power strips that do not drain electricity and a bicycle renting program.

“We’re hoping that through our facility that students and even faculty and staff can recognize that every little bit helps,” Mould said.

That’s why Kaitlyn Lefevers, Marina Kerr and Lauren Lefler decided to do something about it by creating a public service announcement that could be shown to their peers, detailing how one bad trip could lead to the grave.

“I can’t imagine kids as young as me going into a mental facility and having no recollection of anything that’s happened and never being the same,” Lefevers said. “That just really bothered me, especially since I had friends who have been stupid enough to do it.”

The three students were approached last month by DCHS interactive multimedia and statistics teacher Bob St. John with the idea of creating a video that would show the potential effects of synthetic drugs, and the girls immediately jumped at the opportunity.

Using the tagline “The trip is not worth the destination,” the three students began working with St. John’s core concept as they wrote a script and set up filming locations at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. About a week later, the video was shot, edited and shown at a school assembly.

“As teenagers, everybody thinks we’re invincible and they don’t think about, ‘Well, I’m just going to go smoke this once.’ Yeah, that one time you smoke it could be the one time you end up in Woodridge and you never get back out,” Lefevers said.

That’s exactly why the students chose to tell the story from the perspective of someone who was under of influence of a synthetic drug. Portions of EMT calls can be heard while the video jumps from a jail cell to the emergency room before finally ending a gravesite.

Lefevers, Kerr and Lefler each read statistics about the substances before the PSA comes to a close, ending the video with some information for students to think about.

“You need to think about not only the effect it has on you but also the effect it has on other people,” Kerr said.

Choosing to tell the story the way they did was important for the students, especially considering just how much their peers were talking about or using synthetic drugs.

The creation of the PSA came at a time when the Tennessee House passed a bill that would make it a felony to make or sell synthetic drugs.

The controversial substances are still available in surrounding states, but the students hope their video will at least make their peers think twice before trying the materials on their own.

“I want them to know as much as they can about it, so they know what they’re getting themselves into. They can’t throw the blame on other people,” Lefler said.

After seeing the final product and how the school and area law enforcement plan to use the video in the future, St. John said he’s proud of the students for their work in trying to help fellow classmates.

“I think it’s great that they have that kind of civic responsibility. They care about their classmates. They’ve seen their classmates make stupid decisions, whether it’s drugs, alcohol or just not being responsible in a vehicle. When they were given the concept, they thought, ‘Great, let’s do this,’ ” he said.

The Johnson City Board of Education met Friday afternoon in a special called meeting to discuss the 2012-13 budget, which will be the subject of a first reading next month.

The grand total for next year’s budget based on total expenditures and ending reserves comes in at $64,421,948. That’s about $2 million more than this year’s budget.

The initial list of needs presented to the both the board and city officials totaled more than $4.5 million before board member Richard Manahan made a motion to include $500,000 for technology, bringing the total to a little more than $5 million.

The status of technology in Johnson City schools was the only budget issue tackled during Friday’s meeting.

“I have an issue with our technology funding. I think we’re setting ourselves up to go deeper into a hole when one of our board goals is about technology,” chairwoman Kathy Hall said.

Manahan agreed, saying they need to bring their technology standards to where they should be.

“I move that we ask or suggest the city provide a half million dollars for technology,” Manahan said.

Finance Director Pam Cox said the budget for all of next year’s technology expenditures, excluding reserve funds, is $173,000. An additional $86,000 in site-based funds is spent by principals on technology equipment.

“Five years ago or four years ago when we thought we were under funding technology we were at about half a million dollars a year, then we cut that in half and then we cut that in half,” Hall said.

Manahan’s motion was seconded by board member Lottie Ryans. The motion was unanimously passed. Board member Tim Belisle was absent for the vote.

Other needs listed in the budget include a 2.5 percent raise for employees, totaling $1 million, $40,000 for the system’s addition of a Chinese program through the Confucius Institute and a request of $919,880 to cover the loss of the education jobs grant.

The board plans to use its fund balance in addition to more than $2.3 million in revenue to cover the remaining cost of the budget if the city approves a requested amount of $1,419,88.

If the city does not approve the request, the system will have to find other ways of funding, which will be addressed at a later meeting.

The board is expected to vote on the budget during its monthly meeting May 7.

“It was messy and smelly,” first-grader Greta Lane said.

Handling the creepy crawlers wasn’t just for fun; the students in Monica Hart’s first-grade class were learning valuable lessons about the importance of composting and decomposition.

“If worms were not alive, it would really stink,” fellow first-grader Kevin Smith said.

“And if we didn’t have it, the trash would pile up and pile up until it decomposes by itself and it would smell really bad,” Lane quickly added.

Hart’s students were able to place the worms and other items in soil in order to see which soil would be better.

Those were just a few of the activities Hart’s class took part in as part of South Side’s week-long observance of Earth Day.

For the last several years, South Side has celebrated Earth Day with a week of classroom activities that culminates with a parade around the school.

“We just want to raise the students’ awareness about the importance of taking care of Earth,” Principal Amy Stover said.

Classroom activities ranged from picking up litter to learning about the benefits of recycling and saving endangered animals.

While the week-long Earth Day celebration is over, South Side practices what it preaches year-round with assistance from the school’s “Green Team.”

“What they do every week is they go out and pick up trash, they take all of the recycling bins to the curb to be recycled, they put up signs around the school, so we really have the emphasis all year,” Stover said.

The parade and activities scheduled throughout the week are fun for students, but they are also ways to emphasize the importance of being environmentally aware.

“They’re the citizens of tomorrow. It’s important for them as adults age out and they grow up that they be conscious of taking care of the environment, so that’s why we do it,” she said.

Alexander received votes from Chairman Matt Cooter, Kim Birchfield and Rita Booher. Catherine Armstrong and Connie Baker voted against the new contract.

Cooter said the terms of the contract are exactly the same as his current contract except for the later date of his employment. There is no increase in pay or other benefits, except that when teachers receive a raise Alexander will receive the same percentage raise.

Following the vote, Alexander said it is embarrassing to have salary and benefits discussed in a public setting. He said that during the past five and a half years the school system has made progress “in spite of the opposition of two board members.”

Baker questioned whether three votes would be enough. She cited board policy 5.801 on “Director of Schools Recruitment and Selection,” which requires at least a two-thirds vote of the board to appoint a director of schools.

Cooter said that policy applies to the hiring of a new director. He said the board’s policy is silent when it comes to extending the employment of a director, and when the policy is silent, state law applies. He said state law requires only a simple majority.

After casting her no vote, Baker said three board members were up for re-election this year. She said it would be unfair to have a director in place before the new members have the opportunity to decide who they wanted. Since Alexander’s contract would have expired before the election, she said one of the supervisors could serve as an interim director until the new board members are elected.

Booher said the upcoming election of three board members was exactly why Alexander needed to be in place. She said a brand new board would benefit from Alexander’s six years of experience.

“The greatest thing we need is stability,” Booher said. She said Alexander was an anchor.

Armstrong said she thought the contract was renewed too soon, since there was still half a year to go before the old one expires.

In other matters, the board struggled with the loss of federal stimulus money that had been used to help fund education assistants the past two years. At one time, there were 53 full time assistants who were paid with short-term federal money. Last May, the assistants were briefed on the possibility that funding for their position could go away.

Rather than eliminate the positions, Alexander has asked the Elizabethton City Council to increase local funding to the school system by $375,000 to cover the cost. In the event the city does not increase funding, the plan is to convert the positions from full time to part time, eliminating the cost of benefits but giving the assistants a pay increase from $8.10 per hour to $9.50 per hour.

The board also revised the school calendar because of the mild winter and the use of only one snow day. The final day of class will be May 23. May 24 and 25 will be professional development days in which the core curriculum will be discussed.

The motion to appoint Ward to the position was made by Jerry McMahan and the motion was accepted by acclamation.

Ward has been serving as assistant director under Director Shirley Ellis for the past two years. The board voted 5-3 in February to go in another direction when Ellis’ employment contract expires at the end of June.

Board member Keith Church asked when the search for a new director would begin. The consensus was the search should be under way in January, giving the board time to thoroughly review the candidates.

Board member Daniel Holder said Ellis and Ward have worked well together and there should be a smooth transition.

Ward did not speak about his elevation during the meeting, but later he said he did not want to have the spotlight on him while Ellis is still the director. He said he is looking forward to working with Ellis during the transition and said the u p c o m i n g budget work “is the most difficult I have seen in my career.”

The school system is facing a loss of revenue next year because of a decline of 100 students in the average daily membership calculations. At the same time, the school system is anticipating more than $1 million in new expenses.

In other matters, the board approved the bid for a new public address system for Little Milligan Elementary School. The bid was $10,253.

The board also approved the purchase of material for new bathrooms at Valley Forge Elementary School. Facilities supervisor Phillip Nave said the materials will cost $48,422. The work will be done by members of Valley Forge Free Will Baptist Church, which neighbors the school.

During her report to the board, Ellis said Little Milligan Elementary Principal J.R. Campbell has been recognized as one of the most effective of Tennessee’s nearly 1,400 elementary and middle school principals.

Ellis said Campbell will attend a ceremony at the Tennessee Supreme Court on May 14 in which he and the other 17 principals will receive Education Consumers’ Foundation Value Added Assessment Awards, with values between $1,000 and $3,000. Ellis said Gov. Bill Haslam, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and Speaker of the House Beth Harwell have been invited to make the presentations.

Ellis said there will also be a local awards banquet to honor all students, freshmen through seniors, who achieved a 4.0 grade point average.

Ellis said the banquet is provided by Steve and Ashley Grindstaff of Grindstaff Ford. It will be held at Johnson City’s Holiday Inn and the dinner will include 141 students, 25 school level administrators and counselors, eight central office staff and members of the school board. Additionally, each student will be presented a medal for their superior academic achievement.

She thanked the Grindstaffs for their generosity and kindness.

The second round of budget cutting for the school system’s budget for 2011-12 was held in a Wednesday afternoon workshop, with County Finance Director Ingrid Deloach presenting a menu of distasteful options for the board members to choose.

The board has been forced into budget-cutting mode because of two main budget busters. The first is the revenue impact caused by a decline of about 100 students in its average daily membership and an increase in students in the Elizabethton City School System. The second is a partially unfunded mandate from the state to give teachers a 2.5 percent pay raise next year.

During the first round of budget cuts, Deloach told board members the school system will have a decline in revenue of around $336,000 next yeat. The loss is in two areas. The decline in student average daily membership means the state will cut its Basic Education Program funding by about $236,000. Local property tax revenue also will decline by about $100,000 because the split between county students and city students has declined by about 1 percent.

In addition to taking in less money, the school system will have a lot more expenses, Deloach said. The biggest comes in the teacher pay increase. The state will fund a portion of the mandate, which is the minimum level of teacher pay. Because the county has higher levels of pay because of its step plan, those levels of pay for teachers with more experience and advanced degrees will be paid by the county. That will amount to an additional $714,400, Delaoch said.

Additional increases Deloach is anticipating include a 10 percent rise in health insurance costs, amounting to $395,000. Other increases will bring the system’s total increased costs to $1,106,511.65.

During the first round of budget cuts last week, Deloach recommended such things as cutting the Board Member and Central Capital Outlay Fund by $100,000; cutting the purchase of a school bus at a cost of $100,000; and eliminating some teaching positions through attrition.

Her long list of cuts amounted to a savings of $745,809. That left the board with the need to find $750,000 in cuts or new revenue.

One of the new cuts is relatively painless. The school system could decide not to make the annual purchase of new textbooks this year at a savings of $264,000. This is not as drastic as it sounds, officials say. Supervisor Carol Whaley said the textbooks that are available have not yet caught up with the new common core curriculum. Waiting a year might mean textbooks that better fit the new curriculum.

Another cut might be avoided by a decision by the state to continue funding the Family Resource Center, providing an additional $29,611.65 that Deloach had projected as lost.

The other options Deloach presented were certainly painful cuts. These included cutting music and art programs at all elementary schools, which would save $436,000; cutting instructional assistants, which would save $594,000; or cut high school assistant principals, which would save $150,000.

All of these would result in job loss. The elimination of the instructional aides would mean the loss of 33 positions.

Rather than choosing any of those measures, Ellis turned to the board members and said “I recommend you go to the County Commission and request an increase.”

She said the increase should also include a 2.5 percent pay increase for the “paraprofessional” non-teaching employees, whom she said had not received a raise when the teachers received their latest pay increases.

Board member Don Julian agreed with Ellis. He said the school system has made great strides in the past several years “and I don’t want to go back in time. That would set us back 10 years.”

The meeting ended with a discussion on how the system is reaching into the future with virtual classrooms in which Mandarin Chinese and college-level math courses are now offered. Much of the advances have been made possible through the largess of the Niswonger Foundation.