BRUCETON, Tenn. — The Hollow Rock-Bruceton Special School District (HR-BSSD) Board of Education voted unanimously on March 9 to extend David Duncan’s role as Interim Director of Schools through June 30, 2027, fulfilling the remainder of former Director Dr. Myles Hebrard’s contract.
Duncan stepped into the role in January after Hebrard’s departure. Board Chair Brad Hurley said the continuity would be critical as the district navigates what he expects to be a historically difficult budget year.
“I think this is one of the reasons that Mr. Duncan staying on is going to be very helpful,” Hurley told board members, “because it’s going to be the tightest budget that we’ve ever had to approve.”
The district faces a number of potential financial setbacks heading into the next fiscal year, including underwhelming TISA projections, uncertainty over whether it can sustain recent teacher salary increases, the potential loss of tens of thousands of dollars in local sales tax revenue linked to South Carroll’s virtual school, and an urgent capital repair project at Joe T. Herndon Stadium that the board hopes to complete before graduation.
TISA funding projections.
Duncan told the board that preliminary TISA allocation documents showed the district in line to receive nearly $600,000 more than last year, but a significant data error on the state Department of Education’s side had doubled the district’s student services numbers.
“Our student service numbers are double what they’re supposed to be,” Duncan said. “That million dollars is not going to be a million dollars, but about $400,000 to $500,000.”
Duncan said the district’s finance staff had identified the discrepancy and flagged it to the state.
“Our side is correct, but their side isn’t,” he said. “They’re trying to fix it.”
Hurley explained that since the TISA funding formula took effect, the district has lost approximately 36 students, dropping from 622 to roughly 586 in average daily membership.
Despite that decline, per-pupil funding has increased only $670, from $6,862 to $7,530, even as the district implemented a $10,000 salary schedule increase for beginning teachers and a $2,500 supplement for teachers in their first three years.
“I don’t know that that’ll be an option to us this year,” Hurley said of continuing those salary supplements.
Board member Jim Holder asked whether the TISA formula was projecting reasonable annual increases.
“They’ve got a flat dollar amount,” Hurley explained.
He noted that unlike the old Basic Education Program formula, TISA contains no built-in inflation adjustment.
“Our electric bill never goes up,” Hurley said sarcastically. “Just think about when you look at inflation, the BEP had it built in, TISA does not.”
Holder also raised concerns about the state’s push to double its Education Freedom Scholarship voucher program from 20,000 to 40,000 students.
“Is that going to pull funding away?” he asked.
Hurley said he did not expect TISA funding to be directly touched but remained skeptical.
Virtual school and local sales tax concerns.
Adding to the budget pressure is a dispute over local option sales tax revenue.
A virtual school operating out of Clarksburg has enrolled roughly 600 students, most of which from outside the county, on top of its approximately 300 local students.
Because Tennessee counts virtual school students in the county where the school is headquartered rather than where students live, area school districts say that South Carroll’s share of local sales tax is being diluted.
Hurley estimated a $23,000 hit to HR-BSSD’s sales tax revenue this year. However, if the virtual school maintains its current enrollment, he said, the impact could balloon to $80,000 next year.
“That’s why this bill has become so important,” Hurley said in reference to Senate Bill 2188, which would limit Carroll County’s funding obligation to students who actually reside in the county. “If not, we’re going to lose $80,000 in local option sales tax. We’re going to be scrambling.”
He warned that the state would offer no flexibility on the shortfall.
“State’s not going to let us make up maintenance of effort,” Hurley said. “So we will have to deal with maintenance of effort, plus we’ll have to deal with, how do you dig out of an $80,000 hole to start the year?”
Duncan said the district planned to engage Sen. John Stevens on the bill, which has already been reworked twice.
“Hopefully we’ll get it passed,” he said.
Stadium bleachers in need of urgent repair.
Adding to the district’s financial pressures, the board voted to seek bids for a major repair project at Joe T. Herndon Stadium after an engineering inspection revealed structural issues.
Hurley told the board that the brick wall at the front of the stadium is at risk of collapse.
“The brick wall is coming down one way or the other,” he said. “It’s going to fall down, or we can take it down, because water is coming between it and the block and going back up underneath and doing some damage.”
Engineers also found cracking in the walkway and significant deterioration underneath the bleachers, requiring the stadium to be temporarily jacked up to restore structural integrity.
The board approved seeking bids for both repair and full replacement options.
Holder reminded the board that previous estimates for metal bleachers similar to those at Camden came in at $60,000 for a 40-foot section. At that price, a full replacement could potentially be in the range of $300,000.
Hurley said the district hopes to complete the work by graduation in May and may call a special board meeting in late March to approve a bid.
“I’ve never had a construction project completed on time,” he acknowledged, “but I think it’s doable.”
HR-BSSD’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 13 at 5:30 p.m.
