Feb. 24—The Lebanon Special School District moved up in pay-scale rankings posted by the Tennessee Education Association.

“It is number two with beginning pay out of 143 districts in the state, we rank second,” Lebanon Special School District Director of Schools Brian Hutto said. “We’re 15th in average pay. We’ve moved up from number 18.”

The rankings also show that the Lebanon Special School District is 11th in the state for bachelor’s degree maximum pay. It’s 14th in the state for master’s degree maximum pay and 9th in the state for master’s degree minimum pay.

“There’s never been a time since I’ve been here that they didn’t get a raise,” board member Steve Jones said.

Vape pen process

A student disciplinary hearing appeal request prompted a discussion of the process surrounding THC vape pens in Lebanon Special School District schools.

“What happens at the school level is anytime there is an identified vape that could be potentially THC, it is field tested by the tests that are given to the sheriff’s deputies,” Mike Kurtz said. “If that field test is positive, then that’s where the THC comes in.”

School board member Joel Thacker asked whether or not all of the vapes are tested when found in schools.

“No, because some are strictly nicotine that would be legal for an adult and illegal for a juvenile to possess,” Kurtz said.

If the vape had not tested positive, there still would’ve been consequences, but it wouldn’t have been considered a zero-tolerance offense.

“I think we’re going to see a lot more of this,” Thacker said. “Unfortunately, working with youth groups, this is stuff I never thought I’d really have to deal with. You thought cigarette smoking was bad, and now all of a sudden we have all these other new options that taste like candy canes.”

Heart safe schools recognition

Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nurse Angel Carter attended the board of education meeting to recognize LSSD schools and nurses on behalf of Project Adam.

“Project Adam started back in 1999 and we go around and provide support to schools to help them implement emergency response plans around cardiac emergencies, so CPR, AEDs,” Carter explained. “The Lebanon Special School District has demonstrated that they have taken very intentional steps in being prepared for a cardiac emergency by making sure their staff are prepared and that they’ve implemented a response team and that they practice those responses by doing annual AED drills.”

Because of this, the Lebanon Special School District is now designated by Project Adam as a heart-safe community.

“We have over 373 heart-safe schools in Middle Tennessee, so you guys joined that large group,” Carter said. “This program and the work that your nurses do to ensure that your schools are safe is saving lives. It’s saving lives. There was an 18-year-old saved just last week in Lincoln County during half-time at their district basketball game.”