The Dayton City Council sitting as the Dayton City School Board Monday night approved a new three-year contract with current school superintendent Trish Newsom. Ms. Newsom has been with the school system since 2007. She was appointed as principal of the system in 2017. In April 2020, she was selected as superintendent after then superintendent Robert Green left to go to Athens, Tn., City School System.
Ms. Newsom has a double major in physical education and home economics from Quachita Baptist University and a masters in school counseling from Dallas Baptist University.
She has a post masters certificate from UTC.
Vice Chairman Steve Randolph made the motion to give Ms. Newsom a three-year contract with a yearly salary of $91,000. Vice Chairman Randolph pointed out that this salary is well below what most of East Tennessee offers.
“From research that I have done on comparable size school systems, salaries range from $92,000 to $106,000. This is below the average so at the end of next year, I propose an increase of $1,500 at the end of each of the year's contracts. Also included will be cost of living adjustments. This will be based on an evaluation each year done in April," said Vice Chairman Randolph.
Board member Bobby Doss said he had a problem with a three-year contract. “We have got in trouble with three-year contracts before,” said Mr. Doss.
Vice Chairman Randolph reassured Mr. Doss that at the end of each year a satisfactory evaluation will have to be done.
Board Chairman Hurley Marsh stated, “There were times these past two years I have been disappointed in the system. But things are beginning to turn around. It’s a whole lot better today than a year ago. And with this renewal of a contract, I am expecting more community involvement.”
City Attorney Susan Arnold said she added in the contract where the city would include dues for the Rotary Club and the Tennessee School Board Association for Ms. Newsom.
Dayton City School currently has an enrollment of 820 students.
Ms. Newsom briefed the board on a traffic study that was underway at the school.
Prior to the meeting during public comment, Rick Dye apprised the board of an increasing problem of trying to get out of school when afternoon dismissal is being done. “The west side of the parking lot, no one is parking in a space. They are double parking at the end of the striping. The school sent out messages advising on how to park, but the parents are thumbing their noses and blatantly violating the rules of parking. It would be a nicety to have an officer there to keep order.”
Ms. Newsom said that there would be an update at the next board meeting. “We already have the city maintenance department putting up large metal posts to stop people from driving on the grass in that area,“ she added.
The board also voted to renew the contract with the First United Methodist Church, which operates a day care in two of the portable classrooms. They extended a one-year contract with the monthly rent going from $450 to $600, with an option to extend the contract at the end of the year term. The board also put a cap of 42 children, or the number of children that the state will allow the church to have. Currently there are 35 children enrolled in the daycare program, which now operates year-round from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. They also allowed the First Methodist Church program to have access to the front of the school to be used in case of an emergency to shelter the children. The program accepts children from pre-K to 10 years old.