Jerry Levengood, the director of schools in Rhea County, Tenn.

DAYTON, Tenn. - Rhea County school board members late Thursday approved a bid to provide furniture and fixtures for the county's new high school, and they recognized six students and two bus drivers for exemplary conduct.

The board approved the furnishings bid from Interior Elements subject to review by department officials. The company bid $829,749 to provide all furnishings and fixtures except for cafeteria furniture. Schools Director Jerry Levengood and administrators will review the bid to see if it meets specifications before authorizing purchases.

During the recognitions, Levengood said bus driver April Dunn was driving her route on Oct. 12 when her bus developed an electrical fire. She steered to the side of the road, notified authorities, and with the help of four students evacuated the bus. Students Jacob Edge, Jade Hope, Matthew Morgan and Brandi Newman "did exactly what they had been taught to do" to help with the evacuation, Levengood said. The students and Dunn cared for the other young people until another bus came and took the students on board.

The second incident, involving members of the high school girls cross-country team, happened during the recent state championship meet. Levengood said team member Madalyn Garland experienced physical difficulties and dropped to the ground. Teammate Kierstynn Conley stopped to help her, sacrificing a potentially better finish time in the race. While the two were running together, they saw a girl from another team fall. They stopped, helped her up and helped her finish the race, Levengood said.

"These young ladies forgot anything about what they were doing and [helped] the other girl to the finish line," he said as he presented certificates of appreciation from the board.

The school board also appointed a committee of teachers and administrators to poll teachers to see whether they want to enter into "collaborative conferencing" with the board.

The poll is to be conducted before Dec. 1.