Kurt Dronebarger’s contract renewed as director of schools

White County School Board has approved, by a vote of 4 to 3 in favor of renewing the contract for Kurt Dronebarger to remain as the director of schools for the next four years.

During the Dec. 14, 2023, meeting, the primary concern among dissenting board members seemed to be the timing of the renewal. While historically, White County has had contracts for their directors run congruent with the school year, beginning on June 1 and ending on May 31. However, Dronebarger requested consideration for an early renewal with the explanation that, should the board choose not to renew his contract, he would have time to seek other employment as well as giving the board ample time to consider other candidates rather than waiting until the end of the school year when there were other pressing matters such as budget, hiring of teachers, curriculum selection, etc. to be considered.

Before discussions began, chairman of the school board Bob Young told those in attendance the purpose of the item on the agenda was not to be an evaluation of the director because that takes place at a later time and does not include community comment.

Young said the discussion would consist of three distinct parts: public comment with individuals who had pre-registered using the district’s website; comments from Dronebarger; and finally, the board would discuss the matter, with each member given the opportunity to speak before they held a formal vote.

During the public comments section of the discussion, five members of White County spoke about their displeasure for renewing the director’s contract. Three of those spoke about wanting another director, while two stated they were not in favor of the timing of the renewal. Additionally, six members of the community, three of which were current employees of the White County school system, spoke in favor of renewing Dronebarger’s contract, with none of them being concerned about timing.

After nearly an hour of listening to the public comments, all of which can be heard on the Warrior Media recording of the meeting and accessed through the White County Board of Education website, it was Dronebarger’s turn to speak.

“I’ve dedicated my life to serving here and it has been an honor,” Dronebarger said. 

He added that he began his career as a teacher in White County over 26 years ago, has worked as a coach and a principal, and for the past seven years has served in his current role.

“There are no perfect school systems out there,” Dronebarger said. “With over 4,000 students and 600 employees, there will be problems like any family. Leadership is tested in those times.”

Dronebarger talked about a few of the school system’s accomplishments – both in terms of student scores, school scores, and capital improvements – that have taken place over the past seven years before addressing those who took time to make public comments during the meeting.

“I appreciate everyone who spoke,” Dronebarger said. “I asked no one to speak on my behalf, but I appreciate your support. For those who spoke in opposition, I encourage you to get involved in your schools.”

He said community involvement can go a long way to improving schools. He then encouraged everyone to keep moving toward what has been his motto: “Love kids, work hard, and pursue excellence.”

As the discussion moved to its final stage, Sherrie Stone, who represents District 6, asked to speak.

“The biggest question I’m hearing is why early?” Stone said about speaking to constituents in her district.

Stone said with a November 2024 election that could potentially change five of the members of the current board as well as giving other people a chance to submit a resume, she was not in favor of offering a four-year contract.

“I think he’s doing a fine job, but I just don’t think we should renew early,” Stone said. “I think we renew for one year and let the new board come in and have a say.”

Tracy Fowler, District 7 representative, echoed Stone’s feelings about not wanting to renew the contract early and asked if other counties or school districts ended contracts in December as the contract renewal on the table would run from Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2027.

“I don’t know actual dates, but I do know that they don’t all land with the school year,” Chairman Young told her before reminding the board that if they decided to renew the director’s contract, they could discuss the terms of the contract and adjust them to whatever they felt, as a board, would be best for both parties.

Board member Adam Hickey, District 3, said that of the people who had reached out to him, 80 percent were in favor of the board renewing the director’s contract, with 10 percent against it, and the other 10 percent unsure of exactly what they felt would be best.

“The biggest thing has been communication,” Hickey said, adding that those who were against the renewal sometimes didn’t understand the big picture and are laying blame at Dronebarger’s feet for things that are out of his control. “There are laws we have to go by. There are children, teachers, and staff to protect. And he has done that and upheld the law. These things people are bringing up, some are policy, some are bylaw. I’m in favor of a renewal but change as well – don’t judge him on things not in his control and let people know that a policy is in place (when those issues arise).”

Similarly, Jayson McDonald, District 5, said he sent out 300 emails. While he only heard responses to 112 of those emails, he said that only 12 were against the renewal. “

Every person in favor does not necessarily agree with every decision he has made, but they are appreciative of the way he stands up for his teachers, staff, administrators, and community,” McDonald said, saying that his emails were directed at White County school staff to see how they felt about their boss and then added his own feelings. “I think he can improve on some things, but there are things he does great. A lot of good, a little bad.”

Diana Haston, District 1 representative, said that of those she had heard from, nearly 100 percent were in favor of renewing the director’s contract as well.

Dewayne Howard, who represents District 4, said that he was concerned with the divide throughout the community and that he felt it was his sole responsibility to listen to the community and be their voice.

“Not disregarding the teachers, but the people in the community feel they aren’t being heard or represented,” he explained and then directed his comments to a problem among the board members. “We have a serious problem in the leadership level. We aren’t representing the community half as well as he is the teachers. Stuff is still not being addressed yet. We need to postpone this. This is a personal request to have this done early. He could withdraw this and end all of this controversy. It should be a no-brainer – this should be postponed until April. There is no reason for this to be renewed early.”

When it was Young’s turn to speak on his thoughts of the contract renewal, he said that he was not going to speak of Dronebarger’s character or integrity because that had already been discussed, and he agreed with those who spoke to that in the citizens portion of the meeting.

“As I look to the district’s standpoint – those working for him have been complimentary, and it always comes back to being very student focused,” Young said. “Who would I choose to lead us on our mission over the next three-and-a-half years? It would be Mr. Dronebarger.”

Both student representatives who have begun serving on the school board, but are not voting members, were also given an opportunity to speak as well.

“The heart of any district is the students,” Max Simmons said. “The student environment here is incredible. We have teachers that care and do more than they have to. We have programs that are mind blowing that are here in Sparta. I’m a non-voting member, but, if I could, I would vote yes.”

“The academic opportunities we have are so accessible to us,” Joy McGill said. “Teachers and students – it’s an environment that is unlike any other. The teachers love their jobs. The students always think he’s (Dronebarger) honorable. I can’t vote either, but I would vote ‘yes’ if I could.”

After all board members had had their turn to speak, the difficult part of the meeting was to decide what action to take about the matter of renewing the director’s contract. The renewal of the director’s contract passed with a favorable vote of 4-3.

However, while the amendment to change the dates in the proposed contract passed, passing a contract renewal for just a term of one-and-a-half years failed to pass as it only received three ‘yes’ votes.

Next, a motion was made to deny early renewal of the contract but once again failed to pass by the same score as the amended contract had failed.

Finally, a motion to accept the contract as it was written, with a beginning date of Jan. 1, 2024, and ending date of Dec. 31, 2027, was made. The motion passed with four favorable votes and three opposed. Those voting in favor were Young, McDonald, Hickey, and Haston, while Fowler, Howard, and Stone opposed.

The full meeting, including all of the discussion and comments can be accessed via the district’s website whitecoschools.net. A copy of the contract as it was presented and eventually passed is also available. These items can be found under the Departments > School Board > School Board Meeting tabs.