Tag Archives: Dawn Fry

Several Upper Cumberland counties let their voices be heard in School Board races Tuesday. Putnam County School Board incumbents Kim Cravens, Dawn Fry, and Lynn McHenry ran unopposed in their individual primaries Tuesday. Putnam County Republicans cast 5,640 votes for Steve Pierce in the Property Assessor voting. No one ran on the Democratic side. On the Cumberland County School Board, ... Read More »

Long-time Putnam County educator and former school board member Jerry Maynard passed away Tuesday at the age of 80. Board Member Dawn Fry said she first came to know Maynard when she joined the board. She said Maynard will be remembered for his passion for education and his advocacy for employees of the school system. “Because I mean he worked ... Read More »

Putnam County School Board having to wait on new school funding formula numbers before they can have serious conversations about teacher salaries. School Board Member Lynn McHenry said they all agree that teachers deserve higher salaries to help recruit and retain good employees. He said the difficult part comes from having to balance what they want to give with what ... Read More »

Putnam County School System awarded a $4,000 grant to honor Board Member Dawn Fry’s service on the Utrust Board of Trustees. The Utrust Trustee Choice grant provides for Fry to choose up to $4,000 in projects that she wishes to fund. Fry chose to give the funds to the Upperman High School JROTC program in honor of 15-year-old Olivia Taylor, ... Read More »

Putnam County Schools now have a Medical Advisory Committee. The School board voted Friday to form the committee during a special called session. The committees purpose is to meet with medical professionals to revise the number of days a student is quarantined, who was exposed to COVID-19 but did not test positive. Putnam County Director of Schools Corby King said ... Read More »

The Putnam County School Board voted to allow five students affected by board rezoning to change schools. But School Board members warned parents this zoning exemption may not be possible going forward. “These families need to understand that that doesn’t mean we would make an exception the next year if they have siblings coming up,” School Board Member Kim Cravens ... Read More »

The Putnam County School Board approved its new fiscal year budget Thursday night with a shortfall reduced to $102,300. That shortfall will be paid from fund reserves. School Board Member Celeste Gammon said that is something the board cannot do consistently. “We’re in a good position to be able to take this from our reserve funds,” Gammon said. “Obviously with ... Read More »

Students in a traditional classroom setting….will COVID-19 change that? Several Putnam County Commissioners questioned that last Monday as they began discussions of the county budget. Will the county need a new school with COVID-19 changing the education model, they asked. School Board Chairperson Dawn Fry said projects could be postponed from a lack of funds, not from a lack of ... Read More »

The Putnam County School Board voted to prohibit priority three and four enrollment at the county’s elementary and middle schools as of this week. Priority three students are siblings of students already enrolled in a school. Priority four students are those who live outside the designated school zone. Attendance Supervisor Chris Pierce recommended allowing all enrollments at the three high ... Read More »

The salary for Putnam County’s Director of Schools salary sits about $38,000 dollars below the state average for a similar-size school district. County School Board member Kim Cravens said she believes the disparity needs to be addressed. “The director’s salary is low and we want to remain competitive,” Cravens said. “Just like we want our starting teacher’s pay to be ... Read More »