Federal Judge Blocks Governor Lee’s Executive Order to Opt-Out of Mask Mandates in Williamson County Schools and Franklin Special School District

Group of young students at table, reading and wearing masks

On Friday, a federal judge temporarily blocked Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s executive order allowing parents to opt their kids out of wearing face coverings at school. Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw ruled Williamson County Schools and the Franklin Special School District can enforce mask mandates in their school systems despite Governor Lee’s executive order.

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Comptroller Report Shows Tennessee Public Schools Spent an Average Nearly $10K per Pupil in 2019-20 School Year

New data from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability shows Tennessee public schools spent an average of $9,753 per student during the 2019-20 school year.

The comptroller data shows the Franklin Special School District had the highest per-pupil spending in the state at $15,582.19. Oak Ridge Schools was second at $13,041.51 per pupil, and Metro Nashville Public Schools was third at $12,374.33 per student. Union County Public Schools had the lowest spending per pupil at $7,935.77.

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Fired Williamson County Teacher Sues to Clear Her Name

FRANKLIN — A former teacher dismissed from her job in Williamson County wants the people who allegedly helped to get her fired to retract a written statement they made about her. And that woman, Nedra Finney, is using the courts to try to make that happen. Finney and her Nashville-based attorney Michael Clemons filed a defamation lawsuit against two parents she says wrote a letter that cost her her job. The parents, who are unidentified, allegedly wrote a letter to members of the Franklin Special School District and accused Finney of mistreating their child and acting unprofessional on the job. Finney told The Tennessee Star the accusations are untrue. On Tuesday, Finney and Clemons attended a hearing where those parents, who did not attend, made a motion to dismiss the lawsuit Finney filed against them. In her lawsuit, Finney said all she wants is for the parents to write a letter retracting the statements they made about her — and to cover the cost of her legal fees while she tries to exonerate herself. “My understanding is the parents refuse to write a letter of retraction of the false statements,” Finney said. “I didn’t pay much attention to the (Brett)…

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