Madison Co. commissioners approve borrowing $40 million; hear update on schools

JACKSON, Tenn. — The Madison County Commission met Monday for their monthly meeting.

They started off by hearing from the county 4-H speech winners Samuel Latham, a fourth grader at East Elementary, and Dallas Weddle, a fifth grader at Denmark Elementary.

In February, the finance committee met and voted to borrow $40 million, with $30 million going to the new jail and $10 million going to the schools. After several commissioners spoke both for and against borrowing the money, the motion was approved.

JMCSS Chief Academic Officer Dr. Jared Myracle gave an update on how the schools are doing so far this year.

He started off by showing comparisons of test scores from January 2017 to scores from this year.

“The school district really has a responsibility to provide teachers with the resources they need in their classrooms, so we want to make sure all teachers have those resources,” Myracle said.

A new math curriculum was put in place this school year, with science and language arts coming next year. But these aren’t the only ways they say they’re improving the schools.

“The district office, along with principals and district principals and coaches, are doing lots of classroom visits,” Myracle said.

He says these aren’t an evaluation but just a way for them to have a one-on-one discussion with the teachers to hear their needs.