Maryville Board of Education welcomes student member, approves bonus

Maryville Board of Education welcomes student member, approves bonus 

By Shanon Adame 

Daily Times 

9/30/25 

The Maryville City Schools Board of Education discussed bonuses, projects and equipment, and welcomed a new type of board member at their Sept. 22 meeting. 

Before discussing the rest of their agenda items, the board welcomed its newest member, student representative Noah Jackson. Noah will represent the student body at board meetings. Student McKenzie Kovatch will act as Jackson’s alternate. The inclusion of students on school boards in Tennessee is a recent requirement of the Tennessee General Assembly. 

“It’s an honor to be here. Thank you guys for selecting me. I’m excited to see how this goes and excited to be able to share my thoughts,” Jackson told the board. 

After Jackson joined the board at their table, they moved through the rest of their agenda items. 

The board approved a one-time employee bonus for employees who were not eligible to receive a state-mandated bonus that was awarded earlier this year. 

In January, the Tennessee General Assembly approved a one-time $2,000 bonus for K-12 teachers. 

“However, the state’s limited eligibility criteria created a compensation gap, excluding many dedicated employees in regular, ongoing assignments who also made significant contributions throughout the school year,” the proposal read. 

Director of Schools Mike Winstead told the board that the proposal would provide bonuses in amounts of $500, $1,000, or $2,000 to those not covered in the original bonus, such as administrators, non-classified staff and half-time teachers. 

“We currently have 423 employees that are slated to receive the bonus, that is total cost, with taxes and everything, about $400,000. We budgeted just that amount,” Winstead said. 

For the employees to receive the bonus, they had to have been employed before fall break in the 2024-2025 school year and continuously employed until the current school year’s fall break. 

The board also approved a $307,259 change order for the Fort Craig Renovation Project to provide space for the Maryville City Schools Foundation and the Family Resource Center in the newly renovated building. 

The fourth item on the agenda was approval of a contract between the district and Steve McDaniel for the renovation and expansion of Sam Houston Elementary School. 

“I think most of you know Mr. McDaniel, and if you do, then you know this is pretty exciting to have him come on board and serve in this role. So, I’m very happy that he’s willing to step out of retirement and serve as the owner representative for the Sam Houston project,” Winstead said. 

The last two agenda items approved were an emergency purchase of rooftop HVAC units for Coulter Grove in the amount of $88,700 and a bid for kitchen equipment to be used in the Maryville High School cafeteria, required for the expansion project, in the amount of $626,535.26.