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Committee debates retirement contribution
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Warren County government’s contribution into its employees’ retirement is under review.

The county participates in the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, which is a defined benefit pension plan that covers state employees, higher education employees, K-12 public school teachers, and employees of political subdivisions who have elected to participate in the plan.
Currently, Warren County contributes 11 percent. The state is recommending a minimum contribution of 9.14 percent.

“The state has identified our minimum employer rate as 9.14 percent,” said Finance Department director Linda Hillis. “They are recommending we pay more than the minimum. Last year, we chose to pay the 11 percent. It’s entirely up to the committee.”

Commissioner Terry Bell motioned to lower the contribution to 9.5 percent and stated, “Couldn’t we reduce that to 9.5 and help with health insurance maybe? That’s 1.5 percent on every employee that could be used to actually help in some other area.”

While the committee can recommend to reduce the percentage, it cannot determine where to use the savings. That decision would be in the hands of the full Warren County Commission.

Road Superintendent Levie Glenn pointed out some employees do not participate in the county’s insurance plan.

“Some of the employees don’t take insurance and won’t benefit from the cut,” said Glenn. “The retirement they will benefit if they stay. It’s a good benefit for employees. My opinion is to leave it like it is.”

When questioned, Hillis said she would take time to generate how much 1.5 percent would be per employee.

“I’m not against it,” said Director of Schools Bobby Cox. “I would like to see what the dollar figure is to see how it affects everybody.”

Bell withdrew his motion.

The discussion was tabled until Hillis can estimate the difference if the percentage is lowered to 9.5 percent from 11 percent.

Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
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Warren County Schools has beefed up lunch menus this school year through a new community partnership. Thanks to a collaboration between the district’s School Nutrition Department and Barton Creek Farms, students at Warren County High School, Warren County Middle School, West Elementary, Eastside Elementary, and Dibrell Elementary are enjoying locally sourced, farm-fresh beef in their lunches as part of a pilot program.

The initiative, spearheaded by Terri Mullican, Director of School Nutrition, has already shown great promise in its first few months. The partnership with Barton Creek Farms, located in Rock Island, Tennessee, ensures that the beef served is not only local to Warren County but of the highest quality. Barton Creek Farms specializes in farm-to-fork beef, with grass-fed and grain-finished cattle. Each calf is born and raised in Rock Island and goes through USDA-inspected processing, ensuring it meets the strictest safety and quality standards.

“When the opportunity arose to provide fresh, local beef, we knew it was a no-brainer,” Mullican said. “The fact that it’s a product from right here in our community makes it even more special. We can’t wait to implement it district-wide.”

Barton Creek Farms delivers fresh ground beef to the district monthly, and the nutrition

department incorporates it into homemade recipes such as lasagna, meatloaf, chili, and tacos.

As of now, the beef is being served at five schools, but the ultimate goal is to expand the program to all ten lunch-serving schools in the district.

The pilot program originated from a conversation between Mary Roller of Barton Creek Farms and Mullican. Roller, recognizing the farm’s potential to support local schools, reached out to gauge the district’s interest in serving local beef to students. Around the same time, a Warren County school board member contacted Mullican to share information about a similar partnership in neighboring Dekalb County, which helped push the initiative forward.

The timing worked in the district’s favor, as the nutrition department was able to fund the purchase of the beef using existing resources, eliminating the need for additional funding. Now that the pilot program is enjoying a successful run, the department has budgeted to extend the partnership district-wide for the 2025-26 school year.

Dr. Grant Swallows, Director of Schools, praised the program’s economic approach to student nutrition.

“This pilot is a perfect example of how we can use local resources to continue providing nutritious, healthy meals for our students,” he said. “We are grateful for partnerships like this one that benefit both our students and our local community. We always strive to support our local businesses when we can because our community is so good to us.”

In addition to working with Warren County Schools, Barton Creek Farms also partners with local restaurants to offer farm-fresh beef on their menus. The farm’s offerings include ground beef, steaks, roasts, and custom cuts by the quarter, half, or whole cow, meeting diverse consumer needs.

As the program continues to grow, the district hopes to expand its focus on farm-to-school meals, benefiting students’ health and connecting them to the agricultural roots of the community