Oak Ridge Today

City budget raises trash fee, provides more for city infrastructure

Posted at
By 11 Comments

Oak Ridge City Council on July 28, 2015

The Oak Ridge City Council raised the trash pickup fee by $3.50 during a special budget meeting on Monday, July 27, 2015, and the Council set aside an extra $260,000 for capital projects such as buildings and schools. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today) 

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:05 a.m. July 28.

There will be a $3.50 increase in the monthly trash fee, and more money—$260,000—will be reserved for capital projects such as buildings and schools, while city officials are not expected to change the new property tax rate provided by the state after five-year reappraisals completed this year.

The trash fee will increase from $7 to $10.50 per month. That change is expected to provide another $335,000 per year in revenue.

The new tax rate—state officials call it a tax-neutral rate—is $2.52 per $100 of assessed value. It was approved in the first of two readings by the Oak Ridge City Council during a three-hour special meeting on Monday. The second reading hasn’t been scheduled yet, but the meeting is expected soon. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge may not increase tax rate above reappraisal change

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge City Council 2014

The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above in 2014. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

Property tax rates are already expected to go up in local cities and counties because of an unprecedented drop in property assessments.

And additional increases have been approved or are anticipated in budgets that have already passed in Anderson County, Clinton, Oliver Springs, Roane County, and Rocky Top.

Oak Ridge could be the exception. The city could see an increase in the certified tax rate (state officials call it a tax-neutral rate) from $2.39 per $100 of assessed value to $2.52.

So far, no Oak Ridge City Council members have publicly endorsed raising taxes beyond the change in the tax-neutral rate required by the five-year reappraisals completed this year.

Four City Council members, a majority of the seven-member body, said during a budget work session on Tuesday that they will support the $2.52 tax-neutral rate or that it’s important to stay at that rate for now, until they have more information. [Read more…]

Two ORHS football players listed in serious condition after car crash, hospital says

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Wildcats Jaylen Nickerson and McMinn County

Junior running back Jaylen Nickerson (29) scored two touchdowns for the Oak Ridge Wildcats at McMinn County on Friday, September 19, 2014. Nickerson was one of three Oak Ridge High School football players injured in a Tuesday afternoon car crash in Blount County. (File photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This story was updated at 4:41 p.m.

Two Oak Ridge High School football players are listed in serious condition at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville after a Tuesday afternoon car crash in Blount County, a spokesperson said Wednesday afternoon.

Jaylen Nickerson, who will be a senior this year, and DeVonta Mitchell, who will be a junior, are both at the hospital in serious condition, spokesperson Susan Wyatt said.

Davon Middleton, a third ORHS student-athlete injured in the crash, was reportedly taken to Blount Memorial, treated for a concussion, and released.

Nickerson is a running back, Middleton is a defensive back, and Mitchell is a wide receiver. Nickerson was one of two main running backs last year. T.J. Allison was the other. [Read more…]

City, schools to present budgets to Council today

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Note: This story was updated at 9:23 a.m.

The municipal and school budgets will be presented to the Oak Ridge City Council during a meeting this evening (Monday, June 1).

The municipal budget will be presented by Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson. The schools budget will be presented by Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. today in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue. See the agenda here.

City officials have been striving to present a budget that does not include a property tax rate increase. But it wasn’t clear as of last week if that would be possible because of a dramatic drop in sales tax revenues from the Roane County portion of the city. [Read more…]

School budget would ask city for $650K, use $1.75M from fund balance

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Board of Education May 26, 2015

The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously approved a budget that would use $1.75 million from the school system’s fund balance and ask the city for about $650,000. The request for more money still has to be considered by the Oak Ridge City Council.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:12 a.m. May 27.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Tuesday approved a budget that would use $1.75 million from the school system’s fund balance and ask the city for about $650,000.

Those two actions would help Oak Ridge Schools cover a deficit of roughly $638,000 and meet a total of $1.75 million in other desired expenses, or “additional investment,” including:

  • about $1.1 million for 3 percent pay raises with benefits,
  • $484,000 for step increases based on experience, and
  • approximately $211,000 for staff, including a communications director, four technology-related positions, and a teacher’s assistant for an elementary behavioral class. The four technology-related jobs include an instructional technology coach, an applications administrator, and two technology technicians.

[Read more…]

Parents, teachers, students show support for ‘venerated’ teacher under investigation

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Eddie Anderson

Eddie Anderson

Note: This story was last updated at 12:05 p.m.

About 200 people turned out at a school board meeting on Wednesday to show support for longtime teacher and track coach Eddie Anderson, who has been suspended without pay pending a police investigation, and to challenge some of the accusations made against him. Some objected to the process used by the school system, saying the reputation of a fantastic teacher has been sullied.

Anderson, an Oak Ridge High School chemistry teacher hired in 1979, was suspended without pay on April 30 while the Oak Ridge Police Department investigates an allegation of inappropriate contact with a former student. In the letter announcing the suspension, Oak Ridge Schools Assistant Superintendent Chris Marczak said the allegation was being turned over to the ORPD as a criminal investigation.

No additional details about that allegation have been released. Anderson’s attorney, Dennis Francis, declined to comment last week, and the Oak Ridge Board of Education and Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent’s Office have been advised to not comment until the investigation is complete. City officials have also not commented on the ongoing investigation by the Police Department.

In the meantime, most of the public discussion has focused on an April 11 track meet, the Taco Bell Invitational in South Carolina. School administrators said, among other things, that Anderson knew ahead of time that a hotel the team was going to stay in was “unacceptable and dangerous,” that he did not inform parents of the specifics of the trip and did not answer the phone when they called, and did not double-check student room assignments, which led to a girl entering a boys’ room through an adjoining door and engaging in “inappropriate contact.” [Read more…]

Gooch: Main Street No. 1 priority, gives updates on National Park, reappraisals, airport

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Main Street Oak Ridge Site Plan April 16, 2015

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch on Tuesday said his number one priority for the community is the successful development of Main Street Oak Ridge, which would redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall. Pictured above is a cropped picture of the Main Street Oak Ridge site plan as of April 16. A link to a larger PDF version of the plan is included in the story below.

 

Note: Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch gave an update on positive developments and challenges during a talk to the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge on Tuesday, May 5. Here is a lightly edited version of his remarks, which organized the positive developments and challenges into sections. Gooch was appointed mayor by the seven-member Oak Ridge City Council on November 24. This is his first four-year term on the City Council.

It is a distinct privilege for me to serve as your mayor, but I always preface my remarks by saying that I am not speaking today for Council or for the city manager. I have one vote on Council, but I do consider myself to be the chairman of the board of directors for the city.

In that capacity, as I enter my sixth month of service as mayor, I want to share my thoughts about positive developments in our city, discuss near-term challenges that we face, share the results that I have from the community survey that I have been conducting, and leave time for your questions and comments.

First. My number one priority for our community is the successful development of Main Street Oak Ridge (which would redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall), and it is moving forward. Last week, Crosland Southeast announced that MDC Development Group of Atlanta will be the hotel developer for the project. MDC is also a major developer in the senior housing industry and 15 months ago opened Canterfield Oak Ridge Assisted Living. It has been very successful and well-received in our community.

I was advised yesterday (Monday, May 4) that the retail leasing component of the Main Street project is moving forward, as are the negotiations with a developer for the multi-family housing component of the Main Street project. Groundbreaking and demolition for Main Street is on schedule to begin by June 30. [Read more…]

ORHS teacher suspended without pay during investigation, superintendent says

Posted at
By 6 Comments

Eddie Anderson

Eddie Anderson

Oak Ridge High School science teacher and track coach Eddie Anderson has been suspended from his teaching duties without pay pending an investigation by the Oak Ridge Police Department, an official said Friday.

Information reported to the Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent’s Office on Thursday morning has been referred to the Oak Ridge Police Department for its consideration and investigation, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a Friday afternoon email. The information hasn’t been publicly disclosed.

[Read more…]

NC principal, UT grad named ORHS principal

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Martin McDonald

Martin McDonald

Martin McDonald, of High Point, North Carolina, has agreed to become the principal of Oak Ridge High School effective July 1.

McDonald was selected following the screening of applications and interviews of selected candidates by a committee including administrators, Oak Ridge High School staff members, and both a student and parent representative from ORHS, a press release said.

He will replace the current principal, David Bryant, who is retiring. Bryant had been an assistant principal and interim principal before he was named principal in January 2014. Byrant has also been an administrator at the Alternative Program, and he began his career with Oak Ridge Schools as a special education teacher in 1985. [Read more…]

Guest column: Increasing personalized learning in Oak Ridge Schools

Posted at
By 6 Comments

By Oak Ridge Schools

We have all heard the phrase “going one-to-one,” but what is one-to-one all about? And why are Oak Ridge Schools interested in one-to-one?

The overall idea behind one-to-one is not about having specific devices; rather, it’s about providing personalized learning experiences to students aligned to the Seven Keys to College and Career Readiness in which students can collaborate, learn, reflect, and solve problems in ways that engage and motivate them. Highly effective teachers are essential in the development of personalized learning; they facilitate learning experiences both within their content area and spanning beyond the classroom and into the community. With personalized learning under the direction of highly effective teachers, student engagement increases, discipline problems decrease, attendance increases, and students become even more prepared for college and careers.

Most importantly, students who may not have access to technology due to financial or other considerations will have equal opportunities as their peers. [Read more…]

City, school employees lose average of 7-10 percent in Biggest Loser challenge

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Biggest Loser Weigh-in April 7

City and school officials at Monday’s weigh-out for this year’s Biggest Loser challenge are pictured above. From left they are Chris Marczak, Oak Ridge Schools assistant superintendent; Mark Watson, Oak Ridge city manager; Bruce Borchers, Oak Ridge Schools superintendent; Bob Eby, Oak Ridge Board of Education vice chair; and Ellen Smith, Oak Ridge mayor pro tem.

 

They watched their diets, worked out and walked, and monitored their weights to lose an average of 7 to 10 percent. One unidentified city employee lost 18.44 percent of his weight, the highest percentage lost by any of the 79 Oak Ridge city and school employees who participated in this year’s Biggest Loser Challenge.

The weigh-out for the three-month competition was at the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Monday. Results, including the name of the city employee who lost the most, will be announced during a Wellness Fair in the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 11. A winner from each organization will be awarded and so will the overall male and female winner, along with a second- and third-place winner.

The city and schools have both had the weight-loss contest before, but this is the first time they’ve teamed up to have a joint competition. It was coordinated by the City of Oak Ridge Wellness Committee and Oak Ridge Coordinated School Health.

With one exception, all of those who weighed out on Monday morning had lost weight. [Read more…]

City, Schools Preschool Building Planning Committee to meet April 9

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Preschool and School Administration Building

The Oak Ridge City Council has agreed to use $150,000 in unspent red-light camera to repair the lead-based paint on the Oak Ridge Schools Preschool and Robert J. Smallridge School Administration Building on New York Avenue. Officials say the building needs to be renovated or vacated for the Head Start program to receive funding in the 2015-2016 school year. (File photo)

 

The new joint city-school committee that could lay the groundwork for a new preschool by the 2016-2017 school year will meet on Thursday, April 9.

The meeting of the Joint City/Schools Preschool Building Planning Committee will start at 1:30 p.m. April 9 in the School Administration Building conference room.

Members of the committee are Charlsey Cofer, Keys Fillauer, Bruce Borchers, Lee Ann Shelton, Jessica Hill, Allen Thacker, Mark Watson, Janice McGinnis, Ellen Smith, Shirley Raines, Pat Fallon, and Jon Hetrick.

The joint city-schools committee for the Preschool was endorsed earlier this year. For now, officials have agreed to use $150,000 in red-light camera money to repair the lead-based paint on the city’s Preschool, providing what officials hope will be a temporary fix while they develop a plan to permanently repair, replace, or move the Preschool. The city-school committee could work to determine space needs, develop an affordable finance plan, develop a project timetable, and make a public education plan.