WCS Board Member on White Privilege Training: ‘Everyone, Including Dr. Looney, Are Not Happy with the Training and It Will Not Be Used Anymore’

Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney and other school system officials are none too pleased with the “Cultural Competency” training videos he and district officials have imposed on teachers that preach “white privilege.”

This, according to a statement School Board member Jay Galbreath made on Facebook Friday.

On top of that, school system officials have also cancelled the Southern Poverty Law Center workshop that teachers were scheduled to attend in May.

This statement was only one part of a public dialogue Galbreath had with Williamson County Commissioner Barbara Sturgeon on her professional Facebook page Friday about this “white privilege” training.

Galbreath is apparently telling more to Sturgeon than he and other school board members would tell The Tennessee Star each time we’ve asked.

Sturgeon began the conversation Wednesday by posting a Star article. That article said Looney failed to show he got the Tennessee Department of Education’s legal approval to carry out this “Cultural Competency” training. In her post, Sturgeon asked her constituents to call their school board members and Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s office to discuss the matter.

On Friday, the third day of the public dialogue conducted on social media, Galbreath said the following:

“Barb Sturgeon Everyone, including Dr. Looney, are not happy with the training and it will not be used anymore. In addition, the SPLC workshop was cancelled,” Galbreath wrote.

“I understand that people are concerned, but you must listen and understand that we have a problem that needs to be addressed. Students of all backgrounds, races, and colors must be treated with empathy and respect, and we must all come together to find the right solution. We have to stop thinking that by understanding the needs of the minority has to be signling (sic) out kids for preferential treatment.”

You can see a screenshot of that dialogue here:

As reported, Galbreath and all of the other school board members have refused to answer The Star’s questions about the situation.

Looney, meanwhile, has long evaded The Star’s questions about the “white privilege” in-service training. On Thursday Looney stated outright he will not talk to us.

In a comment below the post, Galbreath wrote the following:

“Barb — please confirm with our attorneys before you as a Williamson County Commissioner accuse the WCS Board and the Superintendent for not following the law.”

On Friday, Sturgeon told The Star that no school system attorneys had contacted her to discuss the legalities of the matter.

“No. No attorneys contacted me,” Sturgeon said.

“But I think the school board meeting on Monday night is an opportunity for the school board to explain to the residents what happened and what level of transparency they can expect in the future. That’s what I’m hoping.”

Sturgeon said she plans to attend that meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Williamson County Administrative Building in Franklin.

The public dialogue between Sturgeon and Galbreath also contained references to a factually inaccurate description of state laws with regards to in-service training approvals, and particularly as they apply to Williamson County Schools “white privilege” training, made in a Tennessean article on Friday.

Here’s what The Tennesseean said:

School districts are required under state law to submit a calendar for five in-service training days for employees; however, districts are not required to submit specific teaching materials.

State law dictates that certain topics be covered in those training days, including teaching the Juvenile Offender Act and suicide prevention, and the law suggests that districts use some of the time to address signs of student mental illness.

The state approved the WCS in-service training calendar May 8, 2018.

Tennessee Education Department Communications Director AE Graham confirmed WCS followed state protocol for in-service days.

“The state does not offer any guidance on diversity and inclusion training,” she said.

 

The Tennessean description is factually incorrect in a number of areas.

• State law governing in-service training (Tennessee Code Annotated Section 49-6-3004) clearly states that a “plan” must be approved, not a “calendar”
• Tennessee Code Annotated Section 49-6-3004 does not require school districts “to submit a calendar for five in-service training days for employees.” Instead, it states that “Each public school system shall maintain a term of not less than two hundred (200) days, divided as follows: One hundred eighty (180) days for classroom instruction; Ten (10) days for vacation with pay; Five (5) days for in-service education; One (1) day for teacher-parent conferences; and Four (4) other days as designated by the local board of education upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools.”
• The “calendar” submitted for approval by Williamson was not an “in-service training calendar,” it was simply a full year academic calendar
• The state did not approve “the WCS in-service training calendar May 8, 2018.” The Tennessee Department of Education approved the full academic year calendar on May 8, 2018.
• The assertion made by The Tennessean that, “Tennessee Education Department Communications Director AE Graham confirmed WCS followed state protocol for in-service days,” is not at all confirmed by the statement attributed to Graham and immediately following that assertion in which she is quoted saying, “The state does not offer any guidance on diversity and inclusion training.”

Here is the factually correct description of how WCS apparently violated state law in the development and implementation of the “white privilege” training, as reported by The Tennessee Star:

Tennessee Code Annotated Section 49-6-3004 makes it clear that every superintendent of a public school district in Tennessee must submit an in-service training plan that has been approved by the local school board to the TDOE by June 1 of the preceding academic year, and that the Commissioner of Education must approve that plan: (emphasis added)

“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 and other applicable statutes, and adopted by the local board of education. A copy of this plan shall be filed with the State Commissioner of Education on or before June 1 the preceding school year and approved by him.” (emphasis added)

The Tennessee Star asked the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) to provide a copy of the in-service training plan for this school year (2018-2019) that, by law, Superintendent Mike Looney was supposed to file with the state before June 1, 2018, as well as a copy of the document that would show the submitted plan had been approved by the Commissioner of Education.

The Star asked the TDOE for this plan through an open records request.

On Wednesday, TDOE officials finally complied — and the only thing they gave us was a calendar outlying days set aside for, among other things, In-service teacher training, holidays, and parent-teacher conferences.

“Please see the below calendar that Williamson County Schools submitted to TDOE for 2018-2019. This is the only record we have responsive to your request,” TDOE’s Nikkie Kiene told The Star in an emailed statement received on Wednesday.

Note that the calendar is merely a simple schedule of event types organized in chronological order beginning on August 3, 2018 and continuing until May 24, 2019. It is not a plan of in-service training, which is a detailed description of exactly what concepts will be taught on each in-service training day, and does not include schedule information for the twelve other event types; Instructional Days, Other Holiday, etc.(emphasis added)

The law clearly specifies that a plan must be submitted, not a calendar. (emphasis added)

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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Barbara Sturgeon” by Barbara Sturgeon.