School board to review public-comment rights
Meeting also includes meal prices, the school board attorney, personnel updates, and the district’s annual agenda
8:03 a.m. July 13, 2026
DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor
The Moore County Board of Education will review expanded public comment rights, consider a slate of policies recommended by the Tennessee School Boards Association, and vote to renew several cooperative purchasing agreements when it meets Monday.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the Moore County Department of Education building, 308 Mechanic St. N., Lynchburg. The board may hold a work session afterward. Both meetings are open to the public.
Public-comment policy needs update
One of the clearest policy changes involves what residents may discuss during the public-comment portion of a board meeting.
The board’s current policy limits comments to topics listed on the meeting agenda. Speakers must contact the director of schools’ office by 4 p.m. on the day of the meeting, and each speaker is limited to three minutes. The entire public-comment period may last no more than 30 minutes.
That agenda-only restriction no longer matches state law.
Gov. Bill Lee signed legislation March 26 requiring school boards and other local governing bodies to allow public comment on any matter related to the board’s jurisdiction, even when the subject is not listed on the agenda. Boards may still enforce reasonable rules governing the time, place, and manner of public comments.
The Tennessee School Boards Association included the change in its June policy recommendations.
Other recommended updates would require regular meeting agendas to be released at least 48 hours in advance. Another change would allow limited electronic participation during natural disasters or severe weather when fewer than a quorum of board members can attend in person. That exception could be used up to three times each year.
The board will also continue its annual review of policies numbered 1.000 through 1.407. Policy changes recommended in March were tabled during the board’s April meeting and return under Monday’s policy-review section.
Purchasing agreements return
The board will consider renewing agreements with several national purchasing cooperatives, including U.S. Communities, Sourcewell, BuyBoard, and the National Cooperative Purchasing Alliance.
The agreements allow school systems and other public agencies to pool their buying power and use contracts negotiated on a larger scale.
The resolution cites Tennessee law allowing the district to participate by approving the cooperatives’ master agreements. Approval would give the school system access to those contracts but would not authorize a specific purchase.
Director’s evaluation tool
Board members are also scheduled to review the tool used to evaluate Director of Schools Chad Moorehead.
The proposed form asks each board member to rate the director from 1 to 5 in four areas: job performance, student achievement, relationships with staff and the board, and relationships with the community.
Under the outlined process, members complete individual evaluations before the scores and comments are compiled. The board then meets with the director for a work session to discuss the results and prepare a final evaluation reflecting the board’s consensus.
Monday’s item is a review of the evaluation tool, not Moorehead’s completed annual evaluation.
Planning the year ahead
The board will also consider its annual agenda for the 2026-27 school year.
The planning document maps out recurring work throughout the year, including enrollment reports, facility reviews, adoption of the instructional calendar, budget planning, audit results, textbook adoption, and the director’s evaluation.
The document is described as a working plan rather than an all-inclusive meeting schedule, meaning that items may be added as the year progresses.
• Other agenda items include appointing a board member to the TSBA Legislative Network, reviewing the district’s consolidated application, discussing the school board attorney, and receiving updates on resignations and new hires.
• The director’s report also includes breakfast and lunch prices for the coming school year.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. Monday and is open to the public. Under the board’s current procedures, anyone wishing to speak should contact the director of schools’ office by 4 p.m. Monday.
