Report: Maury County Superintendent Chris Marczak Misused School Credit Card

  Maury County School Superintendent Chris Marczak reportedly mismanaged his school-issued credit card, and he had to return it to the school system. This, according to The Columbia Daily Herald, which reported Marczak improperly and incorrectly filed expense reports. School system officials did not return The Tennessee Star’s repeated requests for comment Wednesday. The Daily Herald, however, provided in-depth information. “Records obtained by The Daily Herald reveal that of the 32 transactions charged since March to the credit card, 29 were filed incorrectly. The documented period included more than $2,800 in transactions for airline tickets, ride-hailing services, hotel rooms and purchases made at local restaurants in Maury County,” according to the paper. “The card, in possession of the superintendent and his assistant, was associated with more errors and improper documentation than any other card used by the county’s departments, according to the county finance department. In violation of the county’s policy, the superintendent and his office repeatedly used the card without obtaining purchase orders, turned in expense reports past deadline, used incorrect account codes associated with purchases and did not record all the transactions that occurred on the card. The reports also failed to include detailed receipts of the transactions.” The Daily Herald went…

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Maury County Officials Say Rising Population Won’t Pay for New Growth

  Maury County officials say their population boom can’t pay for all the new growth, at least not at first, and now they must decide if a sales tax or a property tax is the best way to get more money. As The Tennessee Star reported, County Mayor Andy Ogles said he’d veto any property tax increase to pay for new growth. Ogles says Maury is one of the fastest-growing counties in the state, if not the nation. He instead suggested a sales tax referendum next year. County Commissioner Don Morrow told The Star this week that it’s rare to see people vote themselves a tax increase. “However, I feel that the sales tax is fair because it spreads that tax out over everyone that spends money in the county, and it even helps our county with people who are spending money in our county from other counties,” Morrow said. “Currently we have a lot of people coming in to Columbia to shop and spend money on our square in various places.” But Morrow also said the growth cannot pay for itself. “If I can use the analogy of opening a business then you rent your building. You have to…

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Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles Says He’ll Veto Any Property Tax Increase

  Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles says he will veto any property tax increase county commissioners send to his desk. County commissioners are currently debating whether to raise property taxes by as much as 45 cents — or $120 per $100,000 in the value of a home. “That’s crazy,” Ogles told The Tennessee Star Tuesday. Maury County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the state, if not the country, because of people moving south, out of Nashville. Some people say this new tax revenue is needed to help pay for all the new growth. Instead of higher property taxes, Ogles said he and other local officials thought up an alternative solution to bring in more revenue. “We agreed as county mayor and city mayors to a sales tax referendum to help fund building projects for the schools,” Ogles said. “If you want new schools then we can raise the sales tax a half a penny to make it equivalent to Williamson County and, I presume, Rutherford County. That’ll be during the March presidential primary. The people will decide.” Ogles also told The Star he’s working with state officials so Maury County can eventually impose impact fees on new construction…

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Columbia Officials Want Public Art, Including a Mural in Multiple Languages

  Columbia officials reportedly want a permanent public art display, and one suggestion includes a mural saying “Welcome” in multiple world languages. This, according to OakRidger.com, which did not specify whether taxpayers would have to pay for this public art. The proposed mural “would showcase the county’s diverse citizenship, as well as tourists who visit from around the globe” and cater to people who people who do not speak English, according to the website. Arts Council Chair Ross Jaynes did not return The Tennessee Star’s request for comment Thursday. According to OakRidger.com, no one yet knows what the display will look like or where city officials will place it. “An arts council Columbia Public Arts Project (CPAP) committee consisting of arts council members was formed earlier this year to figure out how, and if a public art display can be done, and what that process would entail,” according to the website. City officials have tasked committee members with finding ideas to generate public interest in the arts, whether it’s murals, installations or other types of art, OakRidger.com reported. The Maury County Visitors Bureau is one potential location for the permanent art display, according to the website. Arts council member Meredith…

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Audit: Maury County School System Fined Nearly $400,000 in IRS Late Fees

The Internal Revenue Service has assessed nearly $400,000 in penalties and interests against the Maury County School Department, according to an audit Tennessee Comptrollers released this week. The fines and penalties come from 2016 and 2017, according to the audit. County taxpayers, of course, are the ones who must foot the bill. In the third quarter of 2016, school system officials paid $70,477 in late penalties plus interest. Later that year, in the fourth quarter, IRS officials fined the school system officials a total of $51,498. In the fourth quarter of 2017, the amount the IRS fined the school system was considerably less, only $707. “The School Department paid $79,321 on April 20, 2018, $40,478 on July 5, 2018, and the remaining $2,883 was paid using tax credits applied from other tax periods for a total of $122,682 ($79,321 plus $40,478 plus $2,883),” auditors wrote. “The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assessed additional Federal Tax Deposit Penalties of $99,789 for the 3rd Quarter 2016 and $148,543 for the 1st Quarter 2017 employment tax returns. These penalties were later abated. These penalties resulted from a lack of management oversight.” Therefore, auditors went on to say, the IRS assessed interest and penalties a…

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Maury County School System Test Scores Are Below State Average

The Maury County School System has performed below the state average on state assessments in math, English, science, and social studies, according to the Tennessee Department of Education’s website. This, according to an academic achievement indicator that measures the percentage of students who perform on grade level on state assessments as well as the improvement in this percentage from one year to the next “A student is considered on grade level if he or she scores on track or mastered on state exams, known as TNReady or TCAP,” according to the TDOE’s website. “Schools, districts, and the state can perform well on this indicator by having an overall high percentage of students on grade level or a significant increase in this percentage.” The data below is from the 2017-18 school year for Maury County: • Overall, 27.5 percent of Maury County students scored on track or mastered on annual state tests compared to the state average of 39.1 percent. • The mathematics achievement rate for Maury County was 20 percent compared to the state rate of 33 percent. • The English Language Arts Achievement rate was 23.8 percent compared to 32.8 percent for the state. • The science achievement rate…

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Maury County Schools Formally Oppose School Vouchers

By a vote of nine to one, members of the Maury County School Board voted to formally oppose school vouchers this week. According to the school system’s website, David Moore was the only board member to vote no to the resolution. Natasha Hopkins was absent. The rest of the board members all voted yes to the resolution. To date, Maury is the seventh known school system to formally oppose vouchers. Before she voted, board member Kristin Parker told The Tennessee Star it’s her job to support public schools. “I would probably support having vouchers, but I am open to hearing what other people in the community think before I cast my final vote,” Parker said. Parker later voted against school vouchers, according to the minutes of this week’s school board meeting. Meanwhile, board member Bettye Kinser, who voted the same way Parker did, said she vehemently opposes vouchers. “I feel like they will be a real detriment to public schools. If we need to spend some more money then let’s spend them on the schools and make them better,” Kinser told The Star. “Are there situations that maybe charter schools would work? Maybe in a large metropolitan area? I can’t…

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Andy Ogles Takes Oath as Maury County Mayor

Andy Ogels

Andy Ogles took office as Maury County’s new mayor Friday. He took the oath in front of a packed courtroom on the second floor of the county courthouse. Ogles takes over as the county grows dramatically. New growth brings new businesses. That brings new jobs. That brings more new residents. As the population surges the county will need new schools. Ogles told The Tennessee Star Friday he plans to attend to those priorities early on. “We’ve got a lot of growth coming our way, no doubt about it. Currently we have $181 million in debt,” Ogles said. “If you look at the schools, we will be required to build. The infrastructure we will have to put in place because of it could very easily hit $400 million over the next eight years. That minimizes the amount of dollars that we borrow. We will have to take a close look at the budget so we don’t have to raise taxes.” All the growth is an extension of what’s happening in Nashville, 46 miles to the north, putting Maury County in a great strategic position. The county also has a lower cost of living than Nashville, and that doesn’t hurt, Ogles said.…

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JC Bowman Commentary: The Intent and Spirit of Collaborative Conferencing

Tennessee Star

Are we striving toward achievement of the original objective of the PECCA law?  It is clear, a course adjustment may be in order.  Eliminating needless lawsuits, staying focused on the purpose, including more teachers in the process, and having impartial training moving forward will better establish a peaceful, stable employer-employee relationship. Who could oppose those common-sense changes? 

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Early Voting Turnout Heavy in Maury County

vote

Voters hit the polls heavily in the first two days of early voting in Maury County. The polls opened Friday at the Maury County Election Commission for early voting in the 2018 Tennessee general and primary election, The Daily Herald reported. On Friday and Saturday, at least 1,100 votes were cast even as Maury County candidates lined both shoulders of the road leading to the polling location. Maury County has 43,000 registered voters. Normally, about 30 percent of voters cast ballots early. During early voting in the 2016 presidential election, which included local races, more than 3,200 residents participated in early voting. The Tennessee Secretary of State’s office, which oversees elections, lists the advantages of early voting on its website: “being able to choose a day during the early voting period that best fits the voter’s schedule and the voter being able to change his or her address of registration and vote in the same voting location.” Each county’s election commission office may be found online here. Early voting will be from July 13-28. In Maury County, early voting will be held at the county’s election commission office at 1207A Tradewinds Drive in Columbia. The Secretary of State’s office also…

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Maury County Poll: Andy Ogles Leads By 10 in Race for Mayor, Bill Lee Leads GOP Gubernatorial Primary by 12

Andy Ogles, Bill Lee

A new poll of voters planning to vote in Maury County in the August 2 election show Republican Andy Ogles leading among all voters in his general election campaign for County Mayor by ten points. The poll also shows conservative Republican businessman Bill Lee leading among Republican voters in the GOP primary race for Governor by twelve points over Congresswoman Diane Black among Republican voters. The poll, conducted by Right Way Marketing on behalf of Power of Liberty, a non-profit educational group, has a margin of error of 5% for both the general election and the Republican primary election and was conducted from June 24 to 26, 2018. Voters were asked: “If the election were held today, who would be your choice for Maury County Mayor, the Republican nominee Andy Ogles, Independent candidate Amanda Kelton, Independent candidate Charlie Norman or Independent candidate Sonny Shackelford?” The poll results were: Andy Ogles 33% Charlie Norman 23% Sonny Shackelford 21% Amanda Kelton 4% Undecided 19% A previous poll conducted by Right Way Marketing from May 14-16 showed Ogles leading with 32.4% over incumbent Independent Charlie Norman – 25.4%. Early voting in the race begins on July 13. With respect to the GOP Primary for…

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