On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy discussed the legal implications of Williamson County schools Superintendent Mike Looney who has allegedly gone rogue and avoiding the law for implementing racist and anti-American un-authorized in-service teacher training modules.
Towards the end of the segment, the men discussed the lack of response from the Williamson County school board members and the possible legal ramifications due to evidenced neglect for Tennessee State law.
Gill: One of the lead stories at Tennessee Star today, focuses on again this Williamson County video series and it’s not X rated it’s just I rated for idiot.
(Leahy laughs)
Gill: It’s the I rated Mike Looney video series that promotes the racist idea that ALL WHITE PEOPLE ARE RACIST and it’s WHITE PRIVILEGE if you’re not being successful and you’re not white it’s not your fault. It’s because of all those white people that are keeping you down. And that’s the agenda that Mike Looney and the Williamson County school board have decided needed to be taught as in-service training to teachers.
Leahy: Well, we don’t know if the Williamson County school board actually…
Gill: Well, they haven’t fired him, have they?
Leahy: Actually. Well, there you go.
Gill: If I have an employee who goes and produces a racist video portraying my company, my community in a negative light. If I didn’t approve it why wouldn’t have I had fired him?
Leahy: Now that’s a very good question. We asked that and many questions the twelve members of the Williamson County school board. And when the phone didn’t ring laughs we knew it was eleven of them and the only one who responded to us basically said, all he said was “I started serving on the board in August 2018.” Now…
Gill: And state law requires that the “plan” for this in-service training be provided by June. So this guys basically saying I didn’t get on till after.
Leahy: Right. Well but the state law, and by the way you need to go to our story, “Williamson County School Board Members Dodge Questions About Whether They Gave the OK to White Privilege Training”. And here’s why this is important. According to state law, and we’ve listed the law. It’s Tennessee code annotated forty-nine dash six dash three thousand four. You can go to the Tennessee Department of Education website and see what the law actually says. I’m going to read the very first sentence of this section Steve for you. “In service days shall be used according to a plan recommended by the local superintendent of schools in accordance with the provisions of this section of law and other applicable statutes and adopted by the local board of education.” That’s the first part of it. Let’s just focus on that. It says adopted by the local board of education. Now, how is a plan adopted by the board of education? Do they like hold a vote? Do they approve it?
Gill: You would presumably do it in your school board meeting and say yeah this is our plan for school in service this year. We are adopting and approving this plan.
Leahy: Right ok so there would be minutes of that. And there would be a public record of that?
Gill: Now here’s where it gets dicey. And apparently, there is an argument being made by the superintendent of schools in Williamson county and others. That plan just means we’re planning on having something. It’s not the detail of what the curriculum and what we’re going to teach and those other things.
Leahy: Before we get to that. Let’s say it’s a plan, schedule. You and I have talked about this. Is it a plan? What does a plan look like? Is it a schedule? Well, that’s a lot less. That’s just the days we’re going to hold events. A plan is a little bit more involved, maybe not as involved as a curriculum. But here’s the thing. This requires, under the law, under the law, the school board of Williamson County had to adopt the plan whatever it is, be it a schedule or a plan. Now we asked every single member of the Williamson County school board to produce evidence that they approved this plan
Gill: As required by Tennessee law.
Leahy: As required by Tennessee law. They have not produced that evidence. Therefore, at present, the white privilege in-service training being delivered since August to every teacher in Williamson County is apparently in violation of the law.
Gill: And that doesn’t even get to who approved the script. Who approved the budget. Who’s idea was this. None of that has been answered by the Williamson County superintendent or the school board. They’re claiming ah this is information that is leaking. It didn’t leak out, we did a foyer request people can see these videos. There’s actually three of them, modules one, two, and three that you can watch. And they’re all equally offensive. And the real question I think here is what is the legislature going to do? What is the Tennessee Department of Education going to do when you’ve got a rogue superintendent and a rogue school board that are allowing this sort of thing to happen with impunity because they’re arguing the semantics that a plan means we were just planning on doing something. If you go into a football game and your game plan is simply, the game starts at one o’clock on Saturday. That is not a game plan.
Leahy: Not a game plan.
Gill: And they’re using the semantics to try and dodge the fact that they didn’t put this out there.
Leahy: Well not only that. They’re not producing anything to prove it at the school board. So I think right now, and Superintendent Looney, Carol Birdsong, you’re a public information officer, you can call us. 615-737-9532. Call us right now and tell us you’re going to produce the evidence that the school board has approved your white privilege in-service training plan as required by law. Because if you don’t and you can’t produce that information and provide that evidence, I’m telling you right now. This is an illegal plan out in the school system that has been paid for by taxpayer dollars.
Gill: And the problem then comes into who has standing to sue the school board maybe collectively and individually for failing to perform their duties? What are the implications failing to do what Tennessee law requires? And again I think the comptroller, the state comptroller ought to do an audit to find out exactly what was spent how it was spent. Who allocated it, was it approved property. I mean we’re hearing all this in Washington. The Democrats and Republicans want to stop President Trump because they didn’t allocate this money. Well, when did the school board allocate the money for a white privilege racist video who approved it, who presented it? Where’s the background on how they produced this video. How is it paid for? And the Comptroller of Treasury of the state of Tennessee, Justin Wilson ought to be investigating and auditing this expenditure.
Leahy: Is this an illegal white privilege training that has not been adopted by the Williamson County school board as required by law and implemented by a rogue superintendent who’s a far left socialist, anti-American who is absolutely against Governor Lee’s teaching of “unapologetic American exceptionalism.” This is what we appear to be having right now.
Gill: And part of where this heads is should the state impose a specific detail. Here’s what you’re allowed to teach when you’re in service here’s what you’re not allowed to teach and set some bright lines. Because I don’t think the anticipation was that you would have to worry that local school systems would run this rogue. Now we know that will or at least they are in this particular case.
Leahy: Wait a minute. Mike Looney. Here’s the deal. Let’s be honest. Mike Looney thinks that he can do whatever he wants. If he has an idea, it’s going to happen regardless of the law. That’s a big problem.
Gill: And the school board thinks they work for him rather than he works for them. That allows him to do whatever he wants and it’s been a pattern down in Williamson County for quite some time.
Leahy: Well the school board has some exposure here.
Gill: Well I think again the issue is I don’t generally want the state or the federal government to come to tell local agencies and departments what they should do. But when my state tax dollars are funding education in these local communities I think we all as taxpayers have a right to say you shouldn’t be teaching that America’s evil. That white people are evil. Any more than I would want a school system in some other county teaching (Nasty voice) all black people are bad, all black people are ignorant, all black people are evil. If they were doing that it would be outrageous. It is equally outrageous when you’re teaching the white privilege and the ll white people are bad agenda and the state has to step in and say we’re not going to tolerate it.
Listen to the full show here:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 am to the Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
