White County Schools has received an estimated $600,000 from the state as part of a TISA funding performance bonus.
Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger said the state provided the bonus after more than half of the district’s schools received an A letter grade. Dronebarger said only 22 out of 147 school districts across the state met the criteria to earn the bonus funding.
“Every dollar counts, and when you get over half a million dollars in unexpected funding, it’s really exciting, and it’s even more rewarding knowing that there were not that many school systems in the state that received it,” Dronebarger said.
Dronebarger said the school board will discuss how to spend the bonus money when budget season rolls around. Dronebarger said the school board will consider many options, including building projects and staff bonuses.
“It really opens the door to things that maybe were closed beforehand,” Dronebarger said. “So we will wait till late in the season to see where we are budget-wise, and we will talk with the school board and see what decisions might be made.”
Dronebarger said the achievement and recent success have been a team effort.
“I think you’ve got to start with the students,” Dronebarger said. “I mean, they are the ones that performed on the test and did so well, but certainly the work of our teachers, our staff, our administrators, and the buildings that are working hard every day. And credit to the community, to our parents who value education strongly and make sure that kids are at school every day. It’s a team effort. We say in White County, we win and lose as a team, and this was a big team win.”
Dronebarger said he hopes that the community will now further see how important it is for students to perform well.