Superintendent’s contract renewed, budget revised during board meeting

JACKSON, Tenn. — The Jackson-Madison County School District held a board meeting on Thursday.

Two topics of note were Superintendent Dr. Marlon King’s contract renewal and a revision to the Fiscal Year 2024 budget.

Many employees and members of the community came out to show support for King, and some spoke to the board about how much they appreciated him.

The board voted unanimously in favor of renewing and extending King’s contract and was met with standing ovation from supporters.

“It was very overwhelming. I had to catch myself a couple of times. I almost had to hold back a tear, look down so people wouldn’t see me. You know, I tell folks that when you love people, they will love you back, and I think that was a demonstration today,” King said.

King’s contract now includes eligibility for vision insurance, a performance bonus, and a few other things.

The performance bonus is worth up to $50,000 a year if King meets the required metrics, which board members will determine later this year.

King says over the three years he has been a superintendent, he wants to build morale and make sure every voice is heard.

“One of the things that I work with principals and our executive team on is, how do we build culture and create a climate where people are excited about working. But not only that, but you see outcomes from students,” King said.

Moving forward, King wants to see better literacy scores, more opportunities in the career space for students exiting high school, more innovative programs for students, more sports programs, and more extra curricular programs.

“But definitely strengthening our academics is going to be important to me, as well as our athletics. And of course the arts,” he said.

The Fiscal Year 2024 budget was also discussed and passed during the meeting with minor changes.

The new budget proposal still includes teacher raises from $32,000 to $46,000, the $3 raise to supporting staff, and the We CARE plan.

The school system will submit this new slightly revised version of the 2024 budget to the county budget committee.

If it is denied once again, it will go to the entire commission for a vote.

Also during the meeting, Board Member Scott Gatlin submitted his resignation.

He said, “I had such a good experience as a Board member and couldn’t have more support for the Board and the district.”

He added,” I am pleased with how things are going.”

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