Sullivan East, Central HVAC woes pile up $5M price tag and climbing

BLOUNTVILLE — An electrical failure right after Christmas has had residual repercussions at Sullivan East High School's gym, and fixing Sullivan Central High's heating and cooling woes could cost upwards of $5 million.An engineer and heating and cooling experts told the Board of Education during a Thursday work session that doing needed repairs and renovations on the Sullivan Central High School HVAC system would cost $4.5 million to $5 million, one of a series of capital issues discussed.Also on the Monday agenda are a Sullivan South High carpet project, as well as an Indian Springs roof project, Blountville Elementary roof, various tennis courts and the track at North High/Middle Schools.In addition, maintenance supervisor Joe Davenport said a loss of one phase of three-phase power from Bristol Tennessee Essential Services to East High in late December "burned up" every three-phase motor at East.He said the aftereffects include a cooler-than-normal gym at East, which BOE member Michael Hughes said he was told got down to 58 but that Davenport said had been around 65 instead of the standard 68.In other action at the work session, Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction Robin McClellan gave an overview of testing data analysis for the school.She said in grades K-8, math achievement scores were slightly down in a combination of proficient and advanced TCAP or Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program testing although advanced by itself increased. Value-added math scores met expectations, she said.As for K-8 language arts, she said those scores were OK and value-added not as good as math, while K-8 science was in a holding pattern and negative in value-added except in fifth grade.Social studies had a jump she attributed to teachers forging ahead with more rigorous curriculum that won't be tested until 2015-16, with value-added scores not so good.Innovation Academy of Northeast Tennessee, a grades 6-8 science, technology, engineering and math school, did markedly better in all subject areas except math, and she said that was because its students took a high school Algebra I test. When compared to other freshmen in the system, the IA students did better at 76.2 proficient and advanced compared to 64.4 percent systemwide.In high school, end-of-course testing was up in all but English III and U.S. History, while value-added Algebra I was down and Algebra II was right at the state level. Biology I value added was at the expected level, while English I value added was below expected but II and III were at expected, as was U.S. History.She said the biggest news out of high school was a composite ACT score of 20.4, showing increases in college and career readiness.Director of Schools Jubal Yennie, however, said the board may want to set as a goal in a five-year plan to reach a composite of a 24 ACT. IA plans and ACT goals were part of a half-day work session the board had Saturday morning.McClellan said new testing would match Tennessee State Standards of whatever standards the General Assembly adopts this session. Measurement Inc. will do the new Tennessee Ready test, Yennie said.McClellan also said Response to Intervention, which targets struggling students, is showing success in having fewer students needing help in the spring than in the fall, with those students able to move on to enrichment work.The school board will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the first floor meeting room of the health and education building off the Blountville Bypass.