By Tabitha Evans Moore, EDITOR & PUBLISHER

LYNCHBURG — During their regular October meeting on Monday, the Moore County School Board made three small changes to the MCBoE Policy Manual. {You can access the entire manual on the school system’s website by clicking here.}

The first change affects Extended School Day / Year Programs and School Age Children Policy 1.8012. This policy references Lynchburg Elementary School’s Extended School Program (ESP). Board members voted unanimously to remove the hours of operation in the policy to give ESP officials more flexibility. Ed Cashion made the motion and Kaleigh Hatfield seconded it.

The second policy change affects the Grading System Policy 4.600. It requires that Moore County teachers grade students on a uniform, district-wide standard established by the Tennessee School Boards of Education (TSBA). In Moore County, the grading standard is as follows: 90-10 (A), 80-89 (B), 70-79 (C), 60-69 (D), and 0-59 (F). The Board voted unanimously last night to remove the minimum score from the current grading system.

The TSBA recommended the change in an August 22 memorandum, stating that “Public Chapter 1005 prohibits creating a local grading policy or procedure that establishes a minimum grade above zero.”

{EDITOR’S NOTE: We attend every Metro Moore County public meeting and publish our coverage without a paywall thanks in part to our community partner, Barrel House BBQ. Please support the local, small businesses that support your hometown newspaper.}

Reducing the percentage that TCAP affect final grades

The third policy change affects the Testing Programs Policy 4.700. The Board voted unanimously to reduce the percentage that TCAP and EOC scores contribute to a student’s final grade from 15 percent to 10 percent. The lowest percentage allowed by the state is five percent.

The policy also states that “the Director of Schools may exclude these scores from students’ final grade if results are not received by the district at least five instructional day before the end of the course.”

“We’ve yet to ever receive those scores in time,” Board Chair Tanya Vann stated during the meeting. “But should we ever, this would apply.”

Ed Cashion made the motion and Jamie Cashion seconded it.

Non-student broadcaster at high school games

The fourth and final policy change revolves around Student Clubs and Organizations Policy 6.702. It currently states that “individuals not affiliated with the school either as an employee or student may not direct, control, conduct or regularly attend club meetings or an activity.” The Board added, “without the express, written permission of the Director or Schools or Principal” in order to accommodate non-student broadcasters used by the Moore County Sports Network.

Greg Thompson made the motion and Kaleigh Hatfield seconded it. The change passed unanimously.

Moore County School Board meetings take place the second Monday of each month. The next meeting will happen on Monday, November 11 at 5:30 p.m. To see an agenda, click here. •

{The Lynchburg Times is the a newspaper in Moore County that is owned, published, edited, and reported by a Lynchburg native. We offer common-sense, fact-driven stories written by a local with over 20 years of journalism experience.  We are supported by both readers and organizations who value community journalism. Click here to support us.}