Washington County school board elects new chair, ratifies employee MOU and approves construction change orders

The Washington County Board of Education reorganized its leadership, ratified a new memorandum of understanding with the Washington County Education Association (WCEA) and approved multiple construction change orders and routine purchases at its meeting.

Nick Buchanan was nominated and received five roll-call votes in the chair election, winning the board leadership post after nominations for Wendy Riddle and others. The board also confirmed vice-chair and clerk positions by nomination and acclamation.

Danielle Mitchell, treasurer and chief collaborator for the Professional Educators Collaborative Conferencing Committee (PECA), told the board the employee-side bargaining team has been engaged with the board team and presented an MOU that the board moved to accept. "It is the job of the professional employees to meet with a team of ... the board to discuss salaries, wages and working conditions," Mitchell said. The board voted to accept the MOU; the motion carried.

Architects and project staff from the Lewis Architect Group presented before-and-after photos and progress updates for athletic facility work at David Crockett and Daniel Boone high schools. The board approved PCO (Potential Change Order) 23 for David Crockett — described in the presentation as a $17,000 change for lighting — and approved PCO 24 for Daniel Boone, described as a larger credit than the $18,000 figure initially reported; staff said final credit amounts will be provided when available.

On operations and finance, the superintendent reported district enrollment at just under 8,100 students (Pre-K through 12) and said auditors will begin work next week; staff characterized likely audit adjustments as relatively small in a roughly $100 million budget. The board approved routine items including employee dental and vision plans, a one-year pilot for the Magna math platform, release of bids for school-bus tires and multiple purchase orders including an additional nutrition van and PO 2668. Several overnight field-trip requests for Daniel Boone High School volleyball and grouped trip items were approved.

Board members recognized dozens of 2024 district retirees from teaching, transportation, custodial and administrative roles and invited them to a small reception.

The board also discussed the Jonesboro School property and agreed to add that topic to an upcoming workshop for collective consideration after noting a prior failed motion. During final business, staff noted a previously authorized payment ceiling and verified work for a large payment request; the board approved a payment related to well construction (the exact amount as rendered in the transcript was unclear and staff said the payment had been verified by the architect and district staff).

Votes at a glance
- Agenda approval: recorded as 9 yeses.
- Minutes (July 11, July 30, Aug. 8, Aug. 27): approved (9 yeses).
- MOU with WCEA: motion carried.
- PCO 23 (David Crockett HS): approved (amount presented in packet: $17,000 for lighting changes).
- PCO 24 (Daniel Boone HS): approved as a credit; final credit amount to be confirmed.
- Employee dental and vision plan options: approved.
- Release bids for school-bus tires: motion carried.
- Purchase orders, van purchase, PO 2668 and grouped overnight field trips: approved.
- Payment related to well construction: motion carried (amount unclear in transcript; staff indicated work was verified).

What’s next
Staff said final audit adjustments and credit figures for the PCOs will be shared with the board when available. The Jonesboro School property will be placed on the next workshop agenda for further discussion.