Hardeman County School Board Elects New Leadership, Reports Improvement in Student Attendance
The Hardeman County Board of Education elected new leadership, approved several grant budgets and received updates on enrollment, attendance and district projects during its September 10, 2026, meeting.
One of the first items of business was the election of a board chair and vice chair for the upcoming year.
Board members nominated Kenny Adkins and Bradford Polk for chairman. Following a roll-call vote, Adkins received the majority and was elected to lead the board.
“Thank you for your vote of confidence,” Adkins told fellow board members. He said his goal would be to work for each board member and, most importantly, each student in the school system.
“That should be all our goals, and I hope we can work together and work for the betterment of education in this county,” Adkins said.
Johnny Davis was then nominated for vice chairman and elected to the position.
The board also considered six resolutions intended to be sent to the Tennessee School Boards Association. Among the proposals were support for greater flexibility in reinstating expired Tennessee educator licenses and issuing teaching permits for hard-to-fill positions, including English as a Second Language, career and technical education, school counseling and school psychology.
Other resolutions supported additional state investment in K-12 networking infrastructure, cybersecurity and student internet safety; continued investment in the Tennessee HOPE Scholarship and state-funded dual enrollment grants; and additional flexibility and state funding for mandated special education preschool services.
Several policy updates were also reviewed. Changes addressed topics including electronic participation in school board meetings during certain circumstances, charter school renewals, family life education, instructional use of digital devices and interscholastic athletics.
The district also reviewed its graduation requirements. While Tennessee requires 22 credits, Hardeman County Schools has traditionally required two additional credits for a total of 24. Director Dr. Christy Smith said feedback from both high school principals supported keeping the 24-credit requirement.
The board approved Bolivar Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Organization as a school support organization and approved several school-based committee appointments.
Several newly received and continuing grant budgets were also presented, including funding for innovative school models, literacy programs, fresh fruits and vegetables, school-to-work transition programs and Tennessee tutoring.
The school-to-work transition grant focuses primarily on helping high school juniors and seniors prepare for careers. The Tennessee tutoring funding, meanwhile, provides targeted tutoring for elementary students, particularly students in grades three through five who meet certain criteria based on benchmark or TCAP performance.
Budget amendments included additional Pre-K funding and funding for new desks and chairs. Mr. Adkins said approximately 20 desks and chairs would cost about $10,000.
During the director’s report, Dr. Smith shared positive news about both enrollment and attendance.
Current enrollment was reported to be nearly identical to the same point last year, with the district approximately 12 students below last year’s number at the time of the meeting. Dr. Smith expects enrollment to increase as additional students enter the system.
Dr. Smith also reported an improvement in chronic absenteeism. Chronic absenteeism for August was 4.1 percent, compared with 4.9 percent during August of the previous year. The district’s yearly average last year was 6 percent.
Dr. Smith said that restroom renovation projects discussed at the previous meeting had been completed at Middleton High School and Central High School.
Personnel vacancies remained in special education, kindergarten and a special education paraprofessional position. An additional kindergarten teacher is needed at Whiteville Elementary after enrollment exceeded 25 students.
The district also recognized board members Johnny Davis, Anthony Ford, Gene Ross and Bradford Polk for advancing in their respective levels through a school board recognition program.
The next regular meeting will be held October 6, a change from the board’s normal second-Tuesday schedule because of fall break.
Click here to watch the full meeting on the Hatchie Press YouTube channel.
Click here to watch the August school board meeting.
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