Latest news with #WilsonCountySchoolBoard
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Yahoo
Green Hill High School to take part in LPR camera pilot program
WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Wilson County authorities are expanding their license plate recognition system to school grounds. On Thursday, April 24, the Wilson County School Board approved a contract to allow cameras at Green Hill High School to serve as LPRs. 'These systems are no strangers to the law enforcement that we have here in Wilson County,' Bart Barker, public information officer for Wilson County Schools, said. Law enforcement in Mt. Juliet and Lebanon frequently post about catching suspected criminals through their LPR systems. Now, Wilson County officials are expanding their eyes in the sky. Rutherford County bus drivers 'compelled to cease' driving May 1 if school board doesn't return to negotiating table 'The sheriff's office reached out to us. Currently, there are some cameras that have the technology available at Green Hill High School to activate the license plate reader system,' said Barker. The school board's unanimous decision Thursday night will allow the Wilson County Sheriff's Office to access three cameras at Green Hill High that have the ability to serve as LPRs. 'It's free to us for now. We're in a pilot program to see how it goes, to see if down the road we would want to incorporate this at other schools across the district,' Barker said. According to Barker, LPRS aren't just an extra tool for law enforcement, but an extra layer of protection for the school. Tennessee parent eager to apply for new school voucher program 'What kind of traffic is passing by our schools? And would it be flagged in a busy road like Lebanon Road near the heart of Mt. Juliet, or maybe a vehicle coming on campus that flags law enforcement and alerts them,' said Barker. Barker described this as another way the district is being proactive when it comes to safety, in addition to school resource officers and weapon detection systems. There is also potential to expand the program to other schools in Wilson County. 'This is that next step in terms of exploration of what it could look like down the road. Nothing is guaranteed, but at least to explore what this would look like and how beneficial it could be,' Barker said. According to Barker, the hope is to have the program running by the end of the school year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
County Mayor's speech highlights achievements, goals for future
Wilson County Mayor Randall Hutto gave his annual State of the County Address on Wednesday. Interlaced with comedy, the presentation showed some of the accomplishments the county saw not only in the past year, but in years leading up to 2025. Some insights into the future of the county were also given by Mayor Hutto. Between some segments, clips of comedian Nate Bargatze's stand-up routine about Wilson County were included. Held at the Wilson Bank & Trust Operations Center on North Castle Heights Avenue, topics discussed, which Hutto believed are important to the residents of Wilson County, included growth, achievements, quality of life, education and transit projects. Hutto took a few moments to recognize elected officials and educators during the address. '[I'm] proud to say we work with a great group of elected officials,' Hutto said. 'Every time they make a decision, they make it with your family on their mind.' Statistics on Wilson County were highlighted, especially rankings compared to other counties in the state. Hutto said the county is #1 in education, public safety and agriculture, adding that Wilson County has the highest number of Century Farms in Tennessee. For economic development, the county ranks second. 'Wilson County has been known as the place to be,' he added. 'We want to be the best in the state of Tennessee when you compare it to all 95 counties.' Video clips were included in the slideshow from various city officials across the county, and also a message from Governor Bill Lee. 'I want to take a moment to recognize your work to ensure Tennessee remains the best state in the nation,' Lee said. 'Wilson County plays an important role in the Middle Tennessee region, and we're grateful for the many ways that this community drives our economy, spurs job creation, strengthens Tennessee families and so much more.' Within the past 12 years, 12 new schools were constructed and seven buildings were renovated. Hutto said education has been a large contributor to the county's success. The Wilson County School Board said the county has above average graduation rates compared to the rest of Tennessee. The information was shared in a video clip featuring Wilson County Schools Public Information Officer Bart Barker. 'We are growing. In fact, new schools are being built as we speak,' Barker said. 'Because people want to be here, they want to raise their families here and they want to send their children to an incredible public school system.' Regarding public safety, the county has doubled the size of the jail, and Hutto said a new 911 center was installed to make emergency responses more efficient. He said plans are underway to overhaul the LaGuardo WEMA station to bring new equipment for the western half of the county. Funds would come from $6 million left over from the 2020 tornado recovery funds. Wilson County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Scott Moore spoke about school safety in another video clip embedded into the presentation. 'We're one of the first counties in the state of Tennessee to put a certified school resource officer in every school,' Moore said. A recent active shooter training was held at Friendship Christian School by first responder agencies across the county. 'I want to reassure every citizen of Wilson County that we will do everything we can to train our SROs so they are confident in their abilities to handle these situations,' Moore said. 'They will remain proactive rather than reactive.' Road improvement projects were also brought up, including the county's plans to revamp many of the roadways based on a 10-to-20-year projection. Hutto said TDOT is working with the county on these investments. The presentation said economic growth and new jobs coming to the county are a high priority for future plans. New restaurants and businesses are opening up in Lebanon and Mt. Juliet. In-n-Out Burger and Tim Hortons are opening two locations in the county, new sit-down restaurant Aubrey's plans to open in Lebanon. A Sam's Club, Walmart and Target are building in Lebanon. Hutto said the county plans to recruit more corporate, white-collar jobs to the area. According to data presented in the address, 49,000 people leave Wilson County on average every day to commute to work. Nearly 31,000 commute into the county to work. 'The 49,000 is probably something we want to continue to work at to try to find better jobs for our people here,' Hutto said. 'The goal is to continue to recruit good, high-paying jobs.' Information provided by Zip Data Maps claims Wilson County is the 27th fastest growing county in the nation with Lebanon as the 12th fastest growing city in the nation. Other projects like the rail yard turntable project currently underway in Watertown were briefly brought up, and Mayor Hutto ended the address by challenging people to do something for someone everyday without expectation of any payment in return.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sen. Pody meets with constituents
Tennessee Senator Mark Pody discussed his vote on the school voucher bill last Friday at a meeting with constituents at the Lebanon Wilson County Chamber of Commerce Office. Pody, Republican State Senator for District 17, which includes Lebanon, listened to concerns from individuals about the bills voted on in the Tennessee General Assembly's Special Session last month. The primary discussion was over Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee's Education Freedom Act of 2025, commonly referred to as the school voucher bill. The bill, which Governor Lee signed into law on Wednesday, sets aside 20,000 vouchers, 10,000 of which will be open to anyone to apply for. Another 10,000 are reserved for families with incomes below 300% of the income limit to qualify for free or reduced price lunch. That comes to about $170,000 for a family of four in the state. 'I am a person who believes in parental rights for education,' Senator Pody said. 'I've been consistent like this.' Bipartisan criticism of the bill claimed that money would be diverted from public education to the voucher program. During the Special Session, multiple amendments from Republican and Democrat legislators were tabled, one of which would have given extra protection to special needs students. Pody said the bill should have been presented and debated in the regular session, not a special session. He also said he 'only liked 60% of the bill' and had to vote on what was submitted. The Wilson County School Board and the County Commission spoke out against the voucher program before the bill was passed. Wilson County residents brought this and other public opposition to the bill up in questions to Pody. 'As a senator, your job is to be our voice,' one person said. 'And our voice said no.' 'We have literally had thousands [of messages]. Thousands of people have inputted this, and it was not in any way overwhelmingly against it,' Pody said. 'We had more people that were saying we would like to support this than the other way.' 'So, if I'm listening to the people and just the numbers that came in, it was more people saying please support it now,' he added. Later on, Pody said the response was closer to 50-50 in support versus non-support. During the meeting, Senator Pody said that of the $429 million put in the bill, the majority of the money will go to public education and that schools in Wilson County will not receive any less money than before. Wilson County Director of Schools Jeff Luttrell said, 'While the House and Senate vote was different than what our stance was on this bill, we will see how this ultimately plays out. But my job is to make sure that our students, teachers and staff receive the resources they need to be successful. That's where my main concern is, despite the bill's passage. We always comply with any new legislation that's passed, so any guidance we receive in the future regarding this bill, we will oblige.' Parents can apply for a scholarship, or voucher, for up to $7,000 for their child to attend a private school. The private school still has rights to approve or deny applications. 'I'm not trying to dictate to a private school what they should or shouldn't do,' Pody said. Not every county in Tennessee has a private school. According to Pody, parents will need to find a way to transport their children to a private school if one is not located in their county of residence. President Donald Trump has voiced support for school choice, which Pody said was a reason why the Education Freedom Act was written the way it was. 'Trump is going to have universal choice. States that don't have a backstop will lose money,' Pody said. 'If we don't have this, we will lose money.' 'The backstop here [is] that this state will make sure everybody is at the same floor in every school district across the state,' he added. '[No] school district is going to receive less money for dis-enrollment.' Other topics discussed were immigration reforms also passed by the Tennessee General Assembly, the Trump Administration's immigration policy changes and access to women's healthcare records.
