# 11/2/26 KCS BOE Regular Meeting


**Body:** KCS TV
**Date:** November 01, 2026
**Jurisdiction:** SLED

**Tags:** Education, Construction & Infrastructure, Grants & Funding, Physical Infrastructure


The Knox County Schools Board of Education regular meeting on November 2, 2026, approved several spending and funding items. The board approved school-safety contract No. 26759 (no vendor or amount was stated), an owner-architect agreement with Cope Associates, Inc. for $95,300 to design partial roof replacements at L&N STEM Academy and Ball Camp Elementary, and a schematic design package from Design Innovation Architects, Inc. for an ADA toilet-room building at Powell High School Stadium (no amount stated). Grant items approved included $941,069.54 for FY2027 summer learning camps and transportation, a $4,000 Dollar General Literacy Foundation grant and a $3,250 Arcus Foundation grant for Austin-East Magnet High School, a $500 outdoor classroom garden mini-grant for Mill Creek Elementary, and $2,000 in Retired Teacher Association grants for four schools. A Tennessee STEM Innovation Network/TVA robotics grant and Tennessee tutoring grant assurances were also approved; the transcript does not provide a clear robotics grant amount or tutoring grant amount.

Public comments and board discussion focused heavily on school budget pressures, proposed staffing and special-education service reductions, school safety, and possible school closures. Speakers raised concerns about impacts to students and families, including at Bearden Middle School and South Knoxville Elementary; board members said they would consider the feedback and emphasized transparency. The board also discussed 2027 legislative priorities, including a proposed amendment concerning the Age-Appropriate Materials Act, but did not vote on them at this meeting. Community meetings on rezoning related to the new Farragut-area school were announced.»,»industry_tags:[

**Source:** KCS TV