[0:00] We'll
[5:23] call to order the Collierville School Board business meeting for March
[5:27] 24th. Ms. McElroy, if you please call the roll.
[5:31] Bailey?
[5:32] Here.
[5:33] Mr. Childers?
[5:34] Here.
[5:35] Ms. Chisholm?
[5:36] Here.
[5:36] Mr. Cox?
[5:37] Here.
[5:38] Ms. Gibbs?
[5:39] Here.
[5:40] Everyone is here.
[5:42] I tell you what, I love the energy when we get a bunch of teachers and supporters
[5:46] here. Thank you all for being here tonight. Let's all bow our heads for a moment.
[5:53] Our Heavenly Father, for this wonderful day you've given us, we are so thankful,
[5:57] and for this school system, and we just want to lift up
[6:01] all of our teachers, all of our administrators who give so
[6:05] muchOf their time and effort and love to our
[6:08] students. And
[6:10] we ask that you be with us, guide and direct us.
[6:12] Let we always look to you in all we say, we all we do.
[6:16] Pray these things in your name. Amen.
[6:18] Amen.
[6:18] All right.
[6:19] Amen.
[6:25] Here we go. Let's stand for the pledge.
[6:29] If you're able, please put your hands over your heart and join us.
[6:30] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to
[6:34] the Republic for which it stands, one nation under
[6:38] God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
[6:50] Our first item is special recognitions, and we want
[6:54] to welcome a good friend of ours, Michelle McKissick,
[6:58] TSPA Vice President and a dear friend of Collierville
[7:02] Schools, to make a presentation. Thank you. Welcome.
[7:06] Thank you so much, Chairman Cox. I have to take a little bit of just personal
[7:09] privilege here to say that the members of this amazing board, I serve on
[7:13] the Memphis-Shelby County School Board, but you would not know that we weren't all
[7:17] family. We see each other at conferences in
[7:21] Nashville, and when we go to some national conferences, and they represent so well.
[7:25] I'm just so excited to be here tonight to see you guys in your official capacity.
[7:29] You look so good.
[7:30] Thank you.
[7:30] All right, so let's get down to business because this is really great what we are
[7:34] here for tonight. It is my privilege, my honor to
[7:38] present the TSPA Board of Distinction Award to the
[7:41] Collierville School Board. Let's give it up for them.
[7:48] The Board of Distinction Award is one of TSPA's
[7:52] most prestigious awards, and I commend the board for meeting the
[7:55] requirements in four key areas: planning,
[8:00] policy, promotion, and board development.
[8:03] As you know, the requirements are extensive and not every board
[8:07] qualifies as a board of distinction. I'll just leave it at that.
[8:13] However,
[8:15] this board is among the select few.
[8:18] On behalf of the Tennessee School Board Association, I'm so proud
[8:22] to present the Board of Distinction Award to the Collierville Board of
[8:26] Education. Congratulations.
[8:35] So I was told the award was here on hand, but if it's not, we
[8:39] will make sure it gets to you in-
[8:42] Can we get our picture in?
[8:42] Oh, yeah. I'd love a picture.
[8:44] We have our teachers and our administrators work so hard.
[8:47] We have to work hard to keep up.
[8:49] Okay.
[8:49] So thank you.
[8:50] I tell by this room tonight, you can tell you guys are doing great things.
[8:53] Oh,
[8:54] you're
[9:04] such a queen. Yay!
[9:07] I'm
[9:13] a little goofy y'all.
[9:15] Yeah. How
[9:15] about
[9:21] I get
[9:25] up here?
[9:26] One, two. All right.
[9:27] Ready?
[9:41] Thank
[9:58] you.
[10:12] Well, congratulations to all the rest of you are wonderful awardees.
[10:15] I can be here all night because I care about a bunch of you.
[10:17] I have to keep going. Bye, bye now.
[10:22] All right, now for the ones that we really want to honor. Mr.
[10:25] Jeff Jones, come up to talk to us about Educators of the
[10:29] Year.
[10:37] Thank you, Chairman Cox, board members, guests.
[10:40] It's my honor this evening to introduce to you some very special educators.
[10:45] Since the inception of our municipal school district, Collierville Schools has
[10:48] proudly hosted an annual recognition program honoring outstanding
[10:51] educators across our district. While the format of this recognition
[10:55] has evolved over the years, we're gathered here tonight to publicly celebrate our
[10:59] 2026 Collierville Schools Educators of the Year.
[11:03] Nine teachers, one principal, and one central office
[11:07] supervisor.
[11:08] Each honoree will receive a personalized plaque presented on behalf of the district
[11:12] by Superintendent Dyer, along with a generous monetary
[11:16] honorarium from our community sponsors.
[11:19] Before we proceed, I want to take a moment to highlight just how exceptional
[11:23] this year's honorees truly are.
[11:26] As you are already aware, Collierville Schools is home to both the
[11:30] '25-'26 Tennessee Teacher of the Year
[11:34] and the '25-'26 Tennessee Principal of the Year.
[11:39] This remarkable achievement speaks volumes about the quality of educators we have
[11:42] the privilege to serve alongside each day and affirms the strength of
[11:46] our schools across the district.
[11:49] The 2026 Teachers of the Year were selected through the most rigorous process
[11:53] our district has ever implemented.
[11:56] Expectations were raised, the criteria were applied with greater
[11:59] depth and scrutiny, and the pool of candidates was stronger than it has ever
[12:03] been.
[12:05] Being named a Teacher of the Year in Collierville Schools in 2026 is a distinction
[12:09] of the highest orderThe educators we recognize tonight
[12:13] represent the very best of Collierville Schools and are true leaders in their
[12:16] profession.
[12:18] Before introducing our honorees, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to
[12:21] our sponsors and thank them for their generous support in public education.
[12:26] We're honored to have with us tonight Mr.
[12:28] Kent Richey, President of Landers Auto Group, who will award
[12:32] each of our nine teachers of the year a check in the amount of
[12:35] $5,000.
[12:45] For more than four decades, Kent Richey has gone above and beyond to support
[12:49] students and teachers throughout the Mid-South.
[12:51] He regularly helps to fund classroom projects in all nine of our schools,
[12:56] and the Landers name is proudly displayed over our outdoor athletic
[12:59] complex at Collierville High School.
[13:02] As a result of his multiple philanthropic efforts designed to provide long-term
[13:06] benefits for the greater Memphis area,
[13:09] Kent was selected as one of only six Ford Motor
[13:12] Company dealers across the globe to receive the
[13:16] Salute to Dealers Honor in 2026.
[13:20] Please join me in welcoming and thanking Mr. Kent Richey.
[13:31] Thank you. Get my crying towel out.
[13:34] Before we start,
[13:36] to the board, thank you. You set the tone.
[13:39] You've been an exemplary leader in education since you started this
[13:43] 12, 13 years ago.
[13:46] Ms. Wanda, I know you've served from the beginning, and we are going to miss you,
[13:49] Chairman Cox, or the rest of the members.
[13:51] I salute what you do, and this is just a manifestation
[13:55] of the program that you have put in place, and we're proud to
[13:59] participate. My wife is here with me. Janice, you want to stand up?
[14:04] I have
[14:06] some of my business partners here, Taylor Wunderes, Nikki Hudlin, Don
[14:10] Kitchens. You all see Don through the Ford Store.
[14:14] Many of us live in this community. Many of our employees live in this community.
[14:17] Most of our customers live in this community.
[14:19] Nothing is more important than this school system.
[14:22] We just recruited a senior level manager from New York State.
[14:27] Gave him any place he wanted to live. He came down and visited all the schools.
[14:31] He brought an 11th grader, a ninth grader, and a K-five.
[14:35] They enrolled at Collierville School System today.
[14:38] So that is a testament to what you've done, and
[14:42] the one school, one town resonates with us.
[14:45] Kent, we can't thank you enough for all that you do, for not just
[14:49] tonight but for-
[14:50] We love participating. So I asked Dr.
[14:52] Dyer when we were doing the school kickoff if we could
[14:56] honor the teachers of the year this year with a little more
[15:00] generous stipend. And even though the money comes
[15:03] from Janice and I personally, it's made possible by all those little cars
[15:07] that run around with Landers on the back of it.
[15:10] From the looks of the parking lot, some of you need to start participating.
[15:19] We've brought a photographer. We're going to take your picture, and we've brought a
[15:22] mock-up check that you can take back home, and you can hang in your kitchen, your
[15:26] den, or you can hang it by your mailbox, or you can take it and put it in your
[15:29] classroom if you want to.
[15:32] Many years ago, a teacher got me by the hand, called my mother,
[15:36] and said, "Meet me at the Carnegie Public Library in Blytheville,
[15:40] Arkansas."
[15:44] Made a profound difference in my life.
[15:47] Taught me how to read,
[15:49] taught me the importance of reading
[15:51] and the importance of school, and every time I
[15:55] do this,
[15:57] I think about her and my mother and how important that one
[16:01] teacher was to me at a critical time in my life.
[16:04] So do we want to call these out?
[16:06] Yeah. If you want to stand against Dr. Dyer.
[16:08] Okay.
[16:08] I said as I call them, we'll get pictures.
[16:11] All right.
[16:12] Thank you.
[16:13] Go
[16:13] get
[16:22] them.
[16:23] While they're getting set up, want to let you know that we are all so grateful
[16:26] tonight to continue our longtime partnership with the Collierville Rotary Club.
[16:30] For more than two decades, the Rotary Club has supported public education in
[16:33] Collierville through the granting of student scholarships, sponsorship of the
[16:37] Collierville High School Interact Club, volunteering at the Dragon Games,
[16:41] and providing awards to Educators of the Year.
[16:45] Tonight, we are pleased to welcome the chair of the Collierville Rotary Foundation,
[16:48] Ms. Terri Dean, who will present both our Principal of the Year and our Supervisor
[16:51] of the Year a check in the amount of $1,000.
[16:54] So thank you, Terri, and thanks to all Collierville Rotarians for investing in
[16:58] Collierville schools. And if you are a Collierville Rotarian, would you just stand
[17:01] up and be recognized or raise your hand to be recognized?
[17:05] Thank you.
[17:09] All right, at this time,
[17:11] let's get to know these outstanding educators a little better.
[17:14] Educators, when your name is called, please come forward, receive your plaque,
[17:17] receive your check, and remain for photos.
[17:21] From Collierville High School, Allison Collier.
[17:31] Ms. Collier has been an educator for 18 years, all of those at
[17:35] Collierville High, where she teaches Advanced Placement US History and dual
[17:39] enrollment American Government.
[17:41] She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and a Master of Arts in Teaching
[17:44] degree, both from the University of Memphis, and a Master of Arts degree in
[17:47] American History from Ashland University.
[17:50] Outside of school, Ms. Collier enjoys hiking, reading mystery novels and historical
[17:54] nonfiction, and taking long summer road trips across the country to enjoy
[17:57] historical sites and natural beauty.
[18:00] In addition to her selection as the building level Teacher of the Year, Ms.
[18:03] Collier is also the Collierville School's district level High School Teacher of the
[18:06] Year. Your 2026 CHS Best Teacher of the Year is Allison Collier.
[18:16] Next, from Bailey Station Elementary, Ashley Billions.
[18:26] Ms. Billions has 26 years of teaching experience, 21 of those at
[18:29] Bailey Station, where she currently teaches third-grade language arts and social
[18:33] studies. Ms. Billions holds a Bachelor of Science degree in early childhood
[18:36] education from the University of Memphis and a Master of Education degree from
[18:40] Union University. When not teaching, Ms.
[18:43] Billions enjoys making home improvements during her breaks from school and spending
[18:46] time with family, especially her granddaughter, Blair.
[18:50] Your 2026 BSES Teacher of the Year, Ashley Billions.
[19:00] Next, from Collierville Elementary, Meg Payne.
[19:08] Ms. Payne has 17 years of experience as a teacher.
[19:11] The last nine of those have been spent at Collierville Elementary, where she
[19:13] teaches special education in the Resource A classroom.
[19:17] Ms. Payne earned her bachelor's degree in child and family studies from the
[19:20] University of Tennessee at Martin and her master's degree in comprehensive special
[19:24] education from the University of Memphis. When not at school, Ms.
[19:27] Payne enjoys reading, singing, and cheering for her three children as they compete
[19:31] in multiple sports. Your 2026 CES Teacher of the Year,
[19:35] Meg Payne.
[19:41] Next, from Crosswind Elementary School, Cathy House.
[19:51] Ms. House is in her 27th year as an educator, eight of those at
[19:54] Crosswind, where she currently teaches third-grade math and science.
[19:58] Ms. House holds a bachelor's degree in education from Memphis State University.
[20:03] When not at school, she enjoys gardening, traveling, completing puzzles,
[20:06] reading, spending quality time with family, and sitting outside in a
[20:10] rocking chair, just enjoying nature.
[20:13] Your 2026 Crosswind Elementary Teacher of the Year is Cathy House.
[20:21] From Schilling Farms Elementary, Nakia White.
[20:30] Ms. White has 26 years of experience in education, the last seven of those at
[20:34] Schilling Farms, where she teaches third-grade language arts and social studies.
[20:38] Ms. White holds a Bachelor of Science degree in human learning and a Master of
[20:42] Science in Education degree in curriculum instruction, both from the University of
[20:45] Tennessee at Martin, and a Master of Education degree in educational leadership
[20:49] from Tennessee State University. When not at school, Ms.
[20:52] White enjoys shopping, traveling, sports, spending time with family, and
[20:55] experiencing new things. Your 2026 SFES
[20:59] Teacher of the Year, Nakia White.
[21:07] From Sycamore Elementary, Jenna Burke.
[21:14] Ms. Burke has 18 years of experience as an educator, 10 of those at Sycamore,
[21:18] where she currently teaches STEM in grades pre-K through five. Ms.
[21:22] Burke holds a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education and a Master of
[21:26] Education degree in curriculum instruction, both from Middle Tennessee State
[21:29] University, and a Master of Education degree in school administration from
[21:33] Austin Peay State University. When not at school, Ms.
[21:36] Burke enjoys gardening, coaching competitive soccer, and hanging out with her
[21:40] family. In addition to her selection as a building-level teacher of the year, Ms.
[21:44] Burke was also selected as the district-level elementary school teacher
[21:48] of the year. Your 2026 Sycamore Elementary Teacher of the Year, Jenna
[21:51] Burke.
[21:57] From Terra Oaks Elementary, Neil Asbury.
[22:07] Mr. Asbury's taught for 28 years, 12 of those at Terra Oaks,
[22:11] where he teaches fourth-grade math. Mr.
[22:14] Asbury holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education from the University of
[22:17] Memphis and a master's degree in education from Union University.
[22:21] When not at school, Mr. Asbury enjoys reading, going to the movies,
[22:25] and playing disc golf.
[22:28] Your 2026 Terra Oaks Elementary Teacher of the Year, Neil Asbury.
[22:38] From Collierville Middle School, Amy Shelton.
[22:47] Ms. Shelton has 26 years of teaching experience, all of those at
[22:51] Collierville Middle, where she teaches sixth-grade social studies. Ms.
[22:54] Shelton holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education from the University of
[22:57] Memphis and a master's degree in education from Union University.
[23:02] Outside of school, Ms. Shelton enjoys crafting, gardening, and watching
[23:05] movies with her family. Your 2026 CMS Teacher of the
[23:09] Year, Amy Shelton.
[23:17] From West Collierville Middle School, Britta Hall.
[23:24] Ms. Hall has 20 years of teaching experience, all of those
[23:28] at West Collierville Middle, where she teaches string orchestra to
[23:32] grades six through eight.
[23:34] Ms. Hall holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in music education from Ball State
[23:38] University and a master's degree in curriculum, instruction, and
[23:41] assessment from Walden University. Outside of school, Ms.
[23:45] Hall enjoys indoor activities like reading and playing board games,
[23:49] as well as outdoor activities like hiking and playing pickleball.
[23:53] She also stays busy with her two children's sports schedules.
[23:57] In addition to her selection as a building-level teacher of the year, Ms.
[24:00] Hall was also selected as the Collierville School's district-level middle school
[24:04] teacher of the year. Your 2026 WCMS Teacher of the Year,
[24:08] Britta Hall.
[24:15] In addition to a teacher of the year... Thank you.
[24:18] Thank you to the Ritchies and to the whole Landers team. Thank you.
[24:29] Oh, can we do one more photo? I'm sorry.
[24:32] Teachers, can we all come back up to the front?
[24:34] Can we do one group photo of the teachers with your Landers checks?
[24:37] Yes.
[24:44] Blue or the pink?
[24:48] We're all going to
[24:52] get you in it? Do you want to? I mean, we can.
[24:54] It'll go black, but that's fine.
[24:57] All
[24:59] right.
[25:08] Ready?
[25:10] There we go.
[25:10] There
[25:12] we
[25:16] go.
[25:20] One, two, three. Okay, one more, stay there. Sorry.
[25:24] All right, here we go. Three, two, one.
[25:27] All right.
[25:27] And one more round of applause for the richees and the Landers officers.
[25:36] All right. But we're not done.
[25:39] At this time, I'd like to ask Terry Dean to come to the front with Dr.
[25:42] Dyer.
[25:44] In addition to a Teacher of the Year, the State of Tennessee annually recognizes
[25:47] the Principal of the Year and a Central Office Supervisor of the Year.
[25:51] Collierville Schools is proud to join in this tradition.
[25:54] So please join me tonight in recognizing these two outstanding individuals.
[25:58] First,
[26:00] our Collierville Schools Principal of the Year from Sycamore Elementary School, Ms.
[26:04] Julie Manheim.
[26:12] Ms.
[26:14] Manheim has been a professional educator for 28 years, having served as a
[26:18] classroom teacher, an assistant principal at both the elementary and the middle
[26:22] school levels, and for the past 11 years as principal at Sycamore
[26:26] Elementary, which for the past three consecutive
[26:30] school years has achieved level five TVI status, received
[26:34] a letter grade of A on the state report card, and been designated as a reward
[26:38] school by the Tennessee Department of Education.
[26:45] Ms. Manheim holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education and a master's degree
[26:49] in leadership and policy studies, both from the University of Memphis.
[26:52] Outside of school, she enjoys listening to music, watching sports, especially
[26:56] football and basketball, and spending time with her family playing board games such
[27:00] as Hitster and Scattergories.
[27:03] Ms. Manheim also describes herself as an aspiring golfer and
[27:07] pickleball player. Our 2026 Collierville Schools Principal of the
[27:11] Year is Julie Manheim.
[27:20] Finally, our Collierville Schools Supervisor of the Year, Ms.
[27:23] McKenzie Perkins.
[27:31] Ms. Perkins has nine years of experience in public education, having served as
[27:35] both a professional school counselor and the prevention counselor at Collierville
[27:38] High School before coming to the central office.
[27:41] For the past six years, she has served as the district's counseling and threat
[27:44] assessment supervisor in the Department of Student Services.
[27:48] Ms. Perkins holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Rhodes College, go
[27:52] Lynx,
[27:53] along with a Master of Science degree in school counseling and a graduate
[27:56] certificate in clinical mental health counseling, both from the University of
[28:00] Memphis.
[28:01] She is one of only 275 professionals
[28:04] nationwide to hold the Certified Threat Manager designation
[28:08] through the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals.
[28:11] She's a national certified counselor and a certified master trainer in
[28:15] behavioral threat assessment through the Department of Homeland Security.
[28:19] A published author and sought-after public speaker, she has trained
[28:23] educators, school resource officers, mental health professionals,
[28:27] and school leaders across the country on targeted violence
[28:31] prevention, crisis response, and school safety.
[28:35] For the past two years, she has also led the district-wide implementation of
[28:39] Capturing Kids' Hearts in Collierville Schools.
[28:42] Outside of work, Ms. Perkins enjoys traveling, playing tennis,
[28:46] making memories with her husband and their two sons, and cheering on her
[28:50] favorite Georgia Bulldogs.
[28:53] Your 2026 Collierville Schools Supervisor of the Year is McKenzie
[28:57] Perkins.
[28:57] McKenzie Perkins.
[29:05] Oh,
[29:13] one more?
[29:13] One more.
[29:16] Please join me in congratulating all of our educators of the year and thanking
[29:20] them for their selfless service to our
[29:25] district.
[29:25] Where are you going,
[29:28] mom?
[29:33] And at this time, families, educators of the year, you are welcome to depart
[29:37] unless you'd like to sit through the business portion of our meeting.
[30:32] All
[31:13] right. Our next item, following all that energy, Mr.
[31:17] Mark Nicholas, with four of us, is going to present our audit.
[31:21] Thank you, Mark. Thanks for being with us.
[31:26] Thank you, Chairman Fox. Wow, that was great.
[31:28] Thank you for letting me participate,
[31:31] and those great teachers.
[31:32] Thank you.
[31:33] It's an honor to be here. I get to present at a few
[31:37] Board of Education meetings, and this is always a pleasure to be able to
[31:40] participate in something like that. So I'm going to be brief with my report.
[31:43] It's very similar to last year's, and to cut to the chase, a great
[31:47] audit, no findings, and so a great audit report.
[31:51] Thank you.
[31:55] In front of you, I have a brief report that looks like this.
[31:58] It's a report to the board, and it talks a little bit about
[32:02] our responsibilities as auditors. It talks about our independence requirements.
[32:06] We are independent of the school. We are external auditors.
[32:09] We work with management to solve problems, but we're not part of management.
[32:13] We report directly to you.
[32:15] On the next page, it discusses the types of audits that we
[32:19] perform.
[32:21] One is your basic audit under AICPA
[32:24] standards, and that's the audit of your financial statements.
[32:27] And on that audit, we issued a clean opinion on your financial statements.
[32:30] That's the best opinion you can get, also known as a clean opinion,
[32:34] unmodified opinion. So that's the best you can get on your financial
[32:38] statements. We also perform audits under governmental auditing
[32:42] standards. That's the next section there on page
[32:45] two. And in that report, we issue a report on internal
[32:49] control of the district as a whole, of your school
[32:52] district, and on compliance with laws, regulations, and other matters.
[32:57] And that is a report that we would issue, let you know if there was any
[33:00] deficiencies in internal controls, any compliance problems,
[33:05] and so we're pleased to report there was no findings in that report.
[33:09] The next report we issue is your report on your
[33:13] federal grants. It's called a uniform guidance
[33:16] report, otherwise known as a single audit.
[33:19] And so the district receives federal funds, about $7 million, and those
[33:23] funds require us that we audit them on a rotation basis.
[33:27] And so this year we audited
[33:30] child nutrition funds, and special education funds.
[33:35] And that report would also disclose if there was
[33:38] control deficiencies or any findings related
[33:42] to your grants. So we're pleased to report that you had no
[33:46] findings there. So three reports on the board of education, all
[33:50] very good. First report I mentioned is very broad.
[33:53] It gets more narrow as we go down to your federal grants.
[33:57] So those are great reports. And then we also
[34:01] issue separate audits on your internal schools funds.
[34:04] These are your band funds, your cheerleading funds, just all the
[34:08] school student activities. And we visit each
[34:12] school, audit them separately, work with the principals and the financial
[34:16] secretaries, and they all did a great job and there was no findings this year.
[34:20] And it might be the first year that we didn't have any findings.
[34:23] I don't want to go back that far and say that, but it's very
[34:27] good. And typically, there's findings
[34:30] across the state of Tennessee. The state auditors are really
[34:34] big on controlling these
[34:37] school funds, and so it's great that you didn't have
[34:40] any findings at any of your schools.
[34:43] And so that makes for an easy audit.
[34:45] So thank you, and congratulations to
[34:49] Anita Floyd and her team, and also your financial secretaries.
[34:54] Very good.
[34:54] Thank you so much, Mark.
[35:00] There's not higher praise you can get from your
[35:04] outside CPA than a clean opinion with no findings.
[35:08] That's
[35:10] as superlative adjective as he can give us.
[35:12] So thank you so much, and we appreciate you being with us
[35:15] and for, like you said, Anita's group
[35:19] and then all of our schools, and all the financial secretaries in each one of our
[35:22] schools. It's easy to have a mistake, and for them to
[35:27] work so diligently and not have any mistakes, it's great.
[35:30] Great to hear. Thank you.
[35:32] Thank you.
[35:32] Thank you for all your work for us.
[35:34] You bet.
[35:34] Appreciate it.
[35:34] Enjoyed it.
[35:38] Mark, you're welcome to stay or you can slip out.
[35:41] Go get some supper if you want.
[35:43] Get a lacrosse game.
[35:45] There you go.
[35:46] All right. Thank you.
[35:47] Thank you so much.
[35:48] Thank you. Appreciate it.
[35:51] All right, our next item is public comment, and
[35:54] I have one card here from Shannon Colewick. Shannon, there you are.
[35:59] Glad to have you, as always. Appreciate you.
[36:03] Good evening.
[36:04] At last month's meeting, I shared how grateful I am to work in a district with
[36:08] such a strong and supportive school board.
[36:11] I want to reiterate that appreciation.
[36:14] You truly are among the best in our state.
[36:17] Over spring break, I spent time in Nashville attending education committee
[36:21] hearings and meeting with lawmakers.
[36:23] In every conversation, I made it a point to highlight the Collierville School
[36:27] Board and the intentional way you foster positive relationships with
[36:31] staff and the communityThat collaboration is a big
[36:35] part of why our district continues to thrive.
[36:38] I believe our lawmakers have good intentions, but at times, they may
[36:42] not fully understand how certain decisions impact
[36:45] students and educators at the local level.
[36:49] That's why I value this board so much.
[36:52] You consistently stand up for what is best for students.
[36:55] Thank you for your continued leadership and support.
[36:58] And really, I truly mean this from the bottom of my heart,
[37:01] because I serve on a state level and I
[37:05] talk to teachers from everywhere and their school boards.
[37:09] I'm so thankful for you. And I don't say anything
[37:12] because
[37:14] it's not nice how wonderful really and truly our school
[37:18] board is. Y'all are really and truly the best. I cannot thank you enough.
[37:22] And I hope everybody watching, they need to know they have done a
[37:26] great job electing all of you. Y'all are wonderful. So thank you so much.
[37:31] Shannon, thank you.
[37:33] Shannon, thank you for all you do advocating for our teachers.
[37:37] Thank you so much.
[37:40] All right. Our next item is the approval of the March
[37:44] 24th agenda. Is there a motion to approve the agenda?
[37:51] Motion to approve the agenda.
[37:51] Second.
[37:51] Motion and a second. Any questions? Ms. McElroy?
[37:58] Ms. Chisholm?
[38:00] Yes.
[38:00] Mr. Childers? Yes. Mr. Cox?
[38:03] Yes.
[38:06] Ms. Gibbs?
[38:07] Yes.
[38:07] Mr. Bailey? Yes.
[38:08] Motion carries. Next item is the approval of the
[38:12] February 24th business meeting minutes. Is there a motion?
[38:15] I make the motion.
[38:16] Thank you, Ms. Gibbs. Is there a second?
[38:18] I'll second.
[38:19] Motion and a second. Any questions on the minutes?
[38:22] Ms. McElroy?
[38:26] Mr. Cox?
[38:27] Yes.
[38:27] Ms. Chisholm?
[38:28] Yes.
[38:29] Mr. Childers? Yes. Mr. Bailey? Yes.
[38:33] Ms. Gibbs?
[38:35] Yes.
[38:35] Motion carries. Thank you. Next item, approval of the February
[38:39] 2026 financial statements. Is there a motion?
[38:42] Motion to approve.
[38:44] Thank you.
[38:45] Second.
[38:45] Motion and a second. Any questions on the financials?
[38:49] All right, Ms. McElroy again.
[38:54] Mr. Bailey? Yes. Mr. Childers? Yes.
[38:58] Ms. Chisholm?
[38:59] Yes.
[39:00] Mr. Cox?
[39:01] Yes.
[39:02] Ms. Gibbs?
[39:02] Yes.
[39:04] Motion carries. Next item, chairman's report.
[39:07] I'll just comment.
[39:09] Board Member Childers and
[39:13] Dr. Dyer do a great job of monitoring what's going on at the
[39:17] state level and all the legislation that's
[39:21] going through there and keeping an eye on that.
[39:25] From what they've told me, there's not anything earth-shattering right now, but
[39:28] they are watching
[39:31] all of that on a daily basis. And thank you all for what you do in that
[39:35] regard.
[39:37] That's all I've got tonight. So Dr. Dyer, it's up to you.
[39:40] All right. I can go fairly fast here, but Jeff and I had a good
[39:44] meeting with the PTA and PTO presidents a couple of weeks back, and
[39:48] always good to get their feedback and be able to bounce ideas off of them.
[39:52] So great meeting there. Also, a few weeks back was Read
[39:56] Across America Week, and I know we had a number of board members that were out
[39:59] reading in our schools. I had a good time doing that as well.
[40:02] So thank you to the schools for inviting us, and don't forget to
[40:06] invite us next year. We'd love to come back and do that again.
[40:09] We also had the elementary basketball championships, and we had some good winners
[40:13] out there. So the girls' champion was Crosswind.
[40:16] Girls runner-up, Terra Oaks. Boys champions.
[40:19] I'm just going to keep going. I'm cheering for everybody.
[40:21] Boys champion, Sycamore Elementary, and boys runner-up was Carnival Elementary.
[40:25] So congratulations to
[40:28] all of our... The gym, the high school was packed that night.
[40:31] That was a lot of fun to be there and just to see that in action.
[40:34] And then our girls from the high school, our Lady Dragons.
[40:37] It was fun to go watch them. The first time, is it 37 years or
[40:41] 39 years?
[40:42] 37 or 39?
[40:44] 37.
[40:45] 37 years. First time in 37 years that our Lady Dragons have made it to the
[40:49] state championships, so that was fun to go up there and watch them.
[40:52] I think they'll be back real soon again. So that was good.
[40:56] A reminder, our health fair is taking place at the high school on March 28th
[41:00] from 8:00 until noon. Everyone is welcome to attend that.
[41:04] Also, late breaking news, a little bit later breaking news, our
[41:08] VEX Robotics teams. We have multiple teams that have made it to the
[41:12] world championships up in St. Louis.
[41:15] Both middle schools will be sending teams, as well as Schilling Farms
[41:19] and Terra Oaks. So look forward to that.
[41:22] I'm going to try my best. The middle school weekend, I think I can
[41:26] make it up there. The elementary, I can't.
[41:28] But the middle school, I think I can make it that weekend to go watch those teams
[41:31] compete, and that would be a lot of fun to go up to St.
[41:34] Louis, see our robotics teams in action.
[41:37] So a lot of things happening across the district, and pretty proud of what we're
[41:41] seeing. So thank you. That's my report tonight.
[41:43] Thank you, Dr. Dyer.
[41:45] Any questions for Dr. Dyer? Everybody good?
[41:48] All right. The next item is the consent items for approval.
[41:52] Is there a motion to approve the consent items?
[41:56] Motion to approve the consent items.
[41:58] Second.
[42:00] Motion and a second. Any questions, any of those items?
[42:04] All right. Ms. McElroy, please call the roll.
[42:07] Mr. Bailey? Yes. Mr. Childers? Yes. Ms.
[42:11] Chisholm?
[42:11] Yes.
[42:12] Mr. Cox?
[42:13] Yes.
[42:14] Ms. Gibbs?
[42:15] Yes.
[42:16] Motion carries.
[42:18] All right, everybody ready? That's it. That's all. We are adjourned.