Fulton County School Administrators Fight New TikTok Trend While They Also Want to Keep COVID-19 Mask Mandates

Fulton County School System officials are currently fighting to keep a COVID-19 mask mandate in place while they’re also trying to clamp down on reported vandalism and violence within the schools. The Atlanta-based Reporter Newspapers said late last week that several parents want a Fulton County judge to issue a temporary restraining order and restrict the schools from imposing a mandatory mask mandate.

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Members of Williamson County Group Question Whether School Board Members Should Hire Jason Golden

  A group of Williamson County parents came forward Tuesday to question why their local school board members are considering hiring a man with no formal education experience to replace Mike Looney as superintendent. This, one day after board members unanimously voted to enter formal negotiations with Jason Golden to take over at an annual salary of $250,000. Members of the Williamson County-based group Parents Want Facts are unhappy. “Mr. Golden has no classroom experience, or educational training whatsoever.  He does not possess a Masters or Doctorate in Education.  He has never even spent a day (as a) substitute teacher to anyone’s knowledge.  Many school board members have acknowledged his shortcomings and have stated that he will have a quality team around him to provide support in these deficient areas (an admission he is not wholly qualified),” members said in a press release Tuesday. The parents said their concerns about Golden are not personal. “One of the reasons cited by those in power, is that he is the obvious choice because of the enormous amount of educational time lost if someone else were considered or hired.  Funny, nobody in Fulton County, where Looney is heading thought educational time would be lost…

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Despite Some Residents’ Misgivings, Williamson County Will Negotiate with Jason Golden to Replace Mike Looney

  Williamson County School Board members voted unanimously Monday to enter formal negotiations with Jason Golden to replace outgoing Superintendent Mike Looney at an annual salary of $250,000. But the vote didn’t happen without certain people speaking out against the board’s hiring process. Residents made their displeasure known during the board meeting’s public comment phase. Golden, now the interim superintendent, was the board’s deputy legal counsel. Certain county residents said the person who replaces Looney should have some sort of professional education background. They also protested board members’ apparent lack of interest in hiring anyone other than Golden. County resident Jonlyn Nation, for instance, said she had nothing personal against Golden, but she also wanted a more open selection process. Mike Hinton, meanwhile, said someone with no previous ties to Looney could have provided a fresh perspective. “The way this selection process was handled was wrong. The job is not even posted. No one, not even our interim superintendent, was even granted an interview. It was shameful, unorthodox, unethical, and inconsiderate to everyone, including Mr. Golden,” Hinton said. County resident Rae Sanchez followed. Sanchez, who is African-American, told board members she has six children and has worked in the school…

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Mike Looney Reportedly Will Do Away with Cultural Competency Training Videos

Williamson County School Superintendent Mike Looney has reportedly decided to never again show the controversial Cultural Competency videos to teachers, according to Nashville Public Radio. This information was revealed during an interview The Tennessean reporter Amelia Knisely gave to the station Wednesday. Knisely also said district officials will roll out a new social studies curriculum in August. What she called “extensive training” to teachers on issues like slavery and race will accompany that curriculum, she said. As reported, the Cultural Competency videos preached “white privilege” and America’s supposed dysfunctional history. The Tennessee Star broke the story, something Knisely alluded to during her on-air interview with Nashville Public Radio’s Jason Moon Wilkins. “The [online conservative news outlet] Tennessee Star filed an open records request with the district about the videos,” Knisely said. “That was how the Williamson County Republican Party picked up on them and that language of ‘indoctrinating students’ and teachers, which is what the Republican Party accused the district of doing, kind of came out of those Tennessee Star stories.” Knisely, who covers education for The Tennessean, went on to say a group of parents approached Looney with concerns about school field trips to local plantations. As The Tennessee Star reported last month, slavery…

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Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney May Soon Depart for New Job in Atlanta

Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney may soon vacate his position and relocate to Atlanta. Officials with the Fulton County School System said on their official website Wednesday that Looney is their top finalist for their open superintendent job. Looney was in Atlanta Wednesday morning, about 12 hours after he oversaw a Williamson County Board meeting Tuesday night. According to The Williamson Herald, decision day is only a few weeks away. “Vying as the Fulton County School District’s top finalist, Looney could be soon exiting the position he’s held in WCS for just over 10 years if he chooses to officially accept the position May 2 at the competing district’s school board meeting,” the paper reported. Williamson County School Board Chair Gary Anderson told The Herald he and his colleagues could soon hire an interim superintendent, if Looney takes the Atlanta job. According to a statement on the Fulton County Schools’ website, board members have searched nationwide for a new superintendent since December. “As prescribed by Georgia law, the school board must give a minimum of 14 days for public input on a finalist for the position of Superintendent,” the press release said. “To ensure Dr. Looney has the opportunity to…

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Williamson County School Board Members Don’t Plan to Discuss Controversial ‘White Privilege’ Training Tuesday Night

Williamson County School Board members will assemble for their April meeting Tuesday night, but, according to that meeting’s agenda sheet, no one plans to discuss a subject that has generated controversy in the community. As The Tennessee Star reported, Superintendent Mike Looney implemented a Cultural Competency curriculum that includes “white privilege” training for teachers. School board members thus far won’t say if they plan to address these matters. But members of a group that want more information said they plan to send a representative to Tuesday’s meeting. Members of this group, WCS TN Parents Wants Facts, say it’s time for Looney and other school system representatives to show greater transparency. As reported, the group already has a Facebook page. “We hope to have transparency on the entire curriculum that is being rolled out. Our overall goal is to have political persuasions and parties not influencing our teachers or the curriculum,” said Stefanie Rose Miles, one of the page’s creators, Monday. “It is quite interesting that we have around 200 or so followers, but on the other side we get several thousand views per post. Our private messages, well, we can’t answer them all in a timely manner, but we are…

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TIP: Williamson County School System Blocks The Tennessee Star on Servers

The Tennessee Star has apparently fallen out of the good graces of the Williamson County School System. Sources in-the-know, who requested anonymity, told us last week The Star was no longer available for viewing through the school district’s Internet network. Teachers, students, school administrators could not read The Tennessee Star, at least not at work, and not while using the school system’s Internet. This week sources told us our stories are still unavailable for viewing. The Star emailed school system spokeswoman Carol Birdsong for comment early Thursday afternoon. By Friday evening Birdsong had not responded to our request for comment. As The Star reported during March, school teachers had to watch videos preaching “white privilege” and America’s supposed dysfunctional history. Superintendent Mike Looney thought up the idea. At a gathering in Franklin late last month, Looney told parents they were never supposed to see these videos and even publicly scolded a County Commissioner for asking questions about this curriculum. Many parents have told The Tennessee Star they don’t believe Looney has shown enough transparency with board members, the public, or the media. Many parents wonder if transparency is the order of the day when it comes to how the Williamson County School…

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How WCS Superintendent Mike Looney Hid the Truth About ‘White Privilege’ Training from His Own School Board

One day a Williamson County School Board member says she was caught off guard to learn school teachers had to watch videos preaching “white privilege” and America’s supposed dysfunctional history. On another day, another school board member, when pressed for answers about these videos, referred all questions to Superintendent Mike Looney, who thought up the idea in the first place. Later that week, at a gathering in Franklin, Looney told parents they were never supposed to see these videos and even publicly scolded a County Commissioner for asking questions about this curriculum. Many parents have told The Tennessee Star they don’t believe Looney has shown enough transparency with board members, the public, or the media. Many parents wonder if transparency is the order of the day when it comes to how the Williamson County School System does business — and they say the problem starts at the top, with Looney. ‘Blindsided’ At last week’s Williamson County School board meeting, Looney told board members that, yes, they approved the in-service training program for academic year 2018-2019 when they approved the top line budget. But board member Candy Emerson said she had no idea she voted for such a thing as in-service…

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Williamson County School Board Member Rick Wimberly Passes the Buck to Mike Looney on Cultural Competency Committee Questions

If you live in Williamson County and have questions or misgivings about the school system’s Cultural Competency video series then, like most people, you’re likely to contact your school board representative. And you would expect your school board representative is on top of things and knows just as much as the superintendent. If you’re in Williamson County, however, assume nothing. Your local school board representative might just pass the buck to Superintendent Mike Looney. Franklin resident Christine Deekens said she learned that lesson this week when she tried to reach out to school board member Rick Wimberly about the videos. Teachers in the school district must watch these videos, which preach “white privilege” and America’s supposed dysfunctional history. Deekens said she met with Wimberly for an hour but, afterwards, said he still didn’t address her concerns. “His responses to me were outright copouts,” Deekens told The Tennessee Star this week. So, she sent Wimberly an email recapping their meeting and all her questions that remain unanswered. Deekens forwarded those emails to The Star, which, among other things, communicated the following to Wimberly: “As I reflect on our meeting, however, I am troubled by what you supposedly DIDN’T know – given…

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Angry Parents Tell Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney They Disapprove of His ‘White Privilege’ Videos

FRANKLIN, Tennessee — Williamson County parents and members of the public were never supposed to see the Cultural Competency videos that preached white privilege, School Superintendent Mike Looney told a group of about 20 people Thursday evening. Only teachers were supposed to see the videos, Looney said. Taxpayer paid for those videos. The Tennessee Star obtained the videos through a public records request and posted them on its website this month. “We have not shared these videos. They were not meant for public consumption,” Looney said, adding students were not supposed to see them either. Later, Looney told about 20 parents “the video was not meant for you, and you should not have seen the video, in my opinion.” Some parents opposed the videos. Other parents supported them. Looney held the meeting at the school system’s Professional Development Center in Franklin. Looney also told parents his decision to create a Cultural Competency Committee began after some parents complained about the school system’s choice of field trips where slavery was a topic. The people giving the tour — and not the teachers —said insensitive things about slaves that upset African-American parents, Looney said. ‘Gobbledygook’ A woman named Anna, who did not…

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Another Smoking Gun: WCS Cultural Competency Committee Backers Want Social Justice, But No Publicity About Their Meetings, Emails Reveal

People involved in the Williamson County School System’s Cultural Competency Committee and people who support those efforts sent emails about the need for social justice and how to handle teachers who resist change. Emails also reveal Cultural Competency Committee members did not want publicity or for members of the media to attend their meetings. Committee members and other people who support their efforts sent these emails to one other earlier this month, and Superintendent Mike Looney received some of them. The Tennessee Star obtained these emails through an open records request to the county school system. In a March 6 email, a woman named Sara Melamed gave a rundown to Looney about the prior Cultural Competency meeting based on notes she took. A woman by the same name ran for the Williamson County Commission last year, according to The Tennessean, and she also served on the Williamson County Democratic Party’s Executive Committee. “They discussed ‘what to do about teachers who are resistant to change,’” Melamed wrote Looney. “For some teachers it has been considered life-changing and given them new perspective.” Melamed’s notes also included the following as it pertains to publicizing the committee’s work: “Why is the committee not being…

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WCS Superintendent Mike Looney Refuses to Answer The Tennessee Star’s Questions About Violations of State Law

Williamson County School Superintendent Mike Looney has long evaded The Tennessee Star’s questions about the “white privilege” in-service training he imposed on teachers during the current academic year, but Thursday he made clear he refuses to talk to us. “You have mislead [sic], editorializied [sic] and been less than honest in your ‘reporting’ [sic] until this changes I will not recognize your online publication as legitimate and will not respond to requests for comment,” Looney wrote in an emailed statement. In his email to us, Looney failed to identify a single factual error in any of the stories The Star has published regarding the “white privilege” “Cultural Competency” series. This was the first time Looney responded directly to The Star, even though for weeks we have sent several emails with several questions to him and his public information officer Carol Birdsong. As reported, the “white privilege” training is part of a “Cultural Competency series of videos that preach left-leaning social justice themes and America’s supposed dysfunctional history. On Thursday, The Star tried to ask Looney about an email he sent a parent about the fourth video in that “Cultural Competency” series. We also wanted to ask him about his claim to that…

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Mark Levin’s TV Program Spends Full Half Hour on ‘White Privilege’ Videos from Williamson County Schools Obtained by The Tennessee Star

  On Wednesday’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 held a special discussion after Mark Levin featured the WCS boards in service training modules on the Mark Levin’s show BlazeTV Tuesday evening. Throughout the segment, Gill and Leahy discussed Mark Levin’s response to the videos and talked about how other counties might be putting this racist and biased agenda into their in-service teacher trainings. The men called for citizens to take control of their schools and to investigate whether or not their schools are taking part in this anti-American agenda. (BlazeTV Show audio plays) Gill: That’s Mark Levin on his show on The Blaze last night literally took an entire segment, thirty minutes of the show and dissected the Williamson County white privilege video as you heard it there. That’s just kind of the initial part where he was breaking it down. He literally went segment by segment tearing it apart as it went. And again in the way that the brilliant Mark Levin can do. He illustrates the idiocy of this whole thing including…

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SMOKING GUN: TDOE Document Shows Williamson County Schools Delivering ‘White Privilege’ In-Service Training in Violation of State Law

Williamson County School System officials apparently went against Tennessee law when they imposed an in-service training curriculum that preached “white privilege” and other social justice causes. They did this, of course, through a new Williamson County Schools Cultural Competency series of videos. 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…

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WCS Superintendent Looney and TN Dept. of Education Fail to Produce Evidence ‘White Privilege’ Training Is Legally Authorized

By Tennessee law, the Williamson County School Board is required to approve In-service training plans for teachers. As reported, this year’s In-service training of Williamson County Schools teachers for the academic year 2018-2019 includes a “Cultural Competency” video series that preached “white privilege.” At present, there is no evidence that Superintendent Mike Looney ever prepared the statutorily required In-service training plan, nor is there any evidence the Williamson County School Board ever approved that plan, as is required by law, nor is their any evidence that Superintendent Looney submitted that plan to the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) by June 1, 2018, as is required by law, nor is their any evidence that former Commissioner of Education Candace McQueen approved that plan, as is required by law. Superintendent Mike Looney is supposed to file that training plan with the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE)  every June before the start of a new school year, and the plan may not be implemented without the approval of the Commissioner of Education. So, if those plans, and a document containing former Commissioner of Education Candace McQueen’s approval of those plans are on file with the TDOE, then surely members of that department have…

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The Tennessee Star Report’s Gill and Leahy Discuss WCS Superintendent Mike Looney and the ‘Unresponsive’ Williamson County School Board

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.…

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Williamson County School Board Members Dodge Questions About Whether They Gave the OK to ‘White Privilege’ Training

By Tennessee law, members of the Williamson County School Board must adopt the In-Service training for teachers before Superintendent Mike Looney files it with the Tennessee Department of Education. Again, it’s state law. The Tennessee Department of Education’s (TDOE) website says so. Here is exactly what Tennessee Code Annotated Section 49-6-3004, which is displayed verbatim on the TDOE website says: 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) So, did the Williamson County School Board approve an In-service teacher training curriculum that preached, among other things, “white privilege” leftist social justice causes, and America’s supposed dysfunctional history? County school board members did not respond to The Tennessee Star’s request for comment, despite having more than two days to do so. Only one school board member, Brad Fiscus, responded to The Star, via email. His response, however brief: “I joined the board in August 2018,”…

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The Tennessee Star Report: Gill and Leahy Discuss WCS Video Series and the Forced Education of Global Citizenship

On Monday’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 talked in depth about the Williamson County school districts “Cultural Competency” video training series that have been forced upon teachers and hence their students. Towards the end of the segment, the men asked the question of why nobody is speaking up about this. They begged the question of where are the parents, the administrators, the Governor who in his State of the State address promised that Tennessee schools would be teaching American Exceptionalism. The duo expressed concern for the lack of basic skills being taught and lack of Americanism and push of Globalism centered agenda. (Audio plays) Gill: How about the test of any school system being the ability to teach children to read, write, do arithmetic, to learn the basic skills so that they can for a lifetime pursue learning because they’re going to have those fundamental skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Leahy: Oh Steve. (Chuckles) Gill: How about if that is the fundamental schools and tests instead of this double speak educrat speak that…

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Williamson County Parent of Sunset Middle School Student Says Alleged ‘Racist Incident’ at School Claimed by Tennessean Never Happened

A Sunset Middle School parent familiar with details of what The Tennessean alleged last Friday was a “racist incident” that occurred on January 18 at Sunset Middle School in Brentwood told The Tennessee Star in an exclusive interview on Thursday, “The alleged incident at the school did not happen.” “That was a lesson in the classroom about the Irish settlers. The lesson was how people locked arms to block the Irish settlers. That is where that all came from, and it has been grossly exaggerated into this story where students locked arms to block minority students. There was no Trump wall being built. There was no students arm-in-arm blocking any other students. None of that happened,” the parent told The Star. The parent, who confirmed they have a child who currently attends Sunset Middle School, contacted The Star by email on Thursday and offered to talk anonymously about the allegation, as well as the current environment at Sunset Middle School. This parent, our first source for this story, portrays a situation where media accounts of alleged racism at the school are a gross mischaracterization. Another person familiar with the alleged January 18 “racist incident,” a second source for this story, confirms the…

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Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney Attempts to Defend Leftist ‘White Privilege’ Videos Teachers Forced to Watch

Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney attempted to do damage control on Tuesday over the growing rebellion among parents and teachers about his pet project, The Williamson County Cultural Competency Series, which features the controversial left wing “privilege theory” of Dr. Peggy McIntosh and advances the concept of “white privilege.” As The Tennessee Star reported Thursday, a number of Williamson County School teachers are outraged at being forced to attend , including one who said Looney’s program called white teachers racists and was “super offensive.” One resident of Williamson County, Frank Wegerson, also took Looney to task on Thursday, telling The Star that he emailed Looney to express his concerns over the “Cultural Competency” videos and the school district’s involvement with the Southern Poverty Law Center. Wegerson told The Star that superintendent Looney called him right away, “and said he wanted to hit it down the middle, wanted to be straight, not going too far left or right and I thought ‘Well, that’s interesting because he chose the most left organization.’ I didn’t say it to him, but that’s what I was thinking.” Looney posted a two minute video–in which the comments section has been disabled–on the Williamson County Schools website Tuesday.…

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Williamson County Resident Skeptical of Looney Claim the SPLC Can ‘Hit it Straight Down the Middle’ with ‘White Privilege’ Training

Brentwood resident Frank Wegerson was unhappy reading about the reported white privilege “Cultural Competency” series Williamson County teachers are having to watch. Wegerson said he was also worried about the leftist Southern Poverty Law Center holding a workshop in Franklin that county teachers will attend. So Wegerson emailed Superintendent Mike Looney Wednesday morning – and, much to his surprise, he got an almost immediate response. Only minutes after pressing the ‘send’ button, the Brentwood resident said Looney read the email and called to tell him that he wanted the conference to go “straight down the middle,” without “bias toward the left or right.” Looney told Wegerson he doesn’t watch CNN or FOX News because he believes both networks push an agenda. “He didn’t commit to anything,” Wegerson said of Looney. “He simply said that he was going to look at it some more.” Wegerson also sent Looney an article FOX News personality Tucker Carlson wrote warning people about the SPLC’s leftist politics. “He [Looney] just thanked me for sending him the article and said he wanted to hit it down the middle, wanted to be straight, not going too far left or right and I thought, well, that’s interesting because…

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Williamson County Schools Teacher on ‘White Privilege’ Training: ‘They Basically Are Telling White Teachers That We Are Racist. It is Super Offensive.’

A Williamson County Schools teacher who was forced to sit through the Williamson County Schools Competency Training Series video on “white privilege” contacted The Tennessee Star on Wednesday and delivered a searing critique of the in-service training created and mandated by Williamson County Schools superintendent Mike Looney. “Please investigate this as I am a Williamson County school teacher and had to sit through the ‘White Privilege’ training. It was a joke. They basically are telling white teachers that we are racist. It is super offensive,” the teacher, who requested anonymity, told The Star. “We can’t speak up for fear of losing our jobs,” the teacher added. “You have the power to investigate and hold the leaders of Williamson County accountable,” the teacher told The Star. “Teachers can’t, we need our jobs but are being forced to endure such offensive assumptions. I judge/see all students’ character. This is what speaks to any teacher. The idea that because a person is white, they are privileged, is ludicrous and offensive,” the teacher continued. “I am attaching a copy of papers we were given during the training,” the teacher continued. You can see those papers below: [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/scan-1.pdf” title=”scan (1)”] As The Tennessee Star reported this month,…

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Report: Williamson County Schools Teaming Up with Leftist Southern Poverty Law Center 

Williamson County Schools will send teachers to a series of workshops in Franklin this coming May that is a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, according to a source. Those workshops, called Teaching Tolerance, are scheduled for May 3 and May 4 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Franklin, according to tolerance.org The event’s website clearly states that Teaching Tolerance is “a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center.” “Social Justice 101” is one of the scheduled topics. The move is seen as further evidence that Williamson County Schools superintendent Mike Looney, who created and launched a series of videos titled Williamson County Schools Cultural Competency Series that promote the concept of “white privilege” and the anti-American exceptionalism “privilege theory”–now required viewing by all teachers in the system during in-service training, has his own educational agenda. The Teaching Tolerance project has a full time staff of 20 who are dedicated to teaching teachers about left wing views of America that are inconsistent with Gov. Bill Lee’s statement on March 4 at his State of the State address that Tennessee public schools will teach students “unapologetic American exceptionalism.” The project’s website notes that “Teaching Tolerance Educator Grants support educators who…

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The Tennessean Claims ‘Racist Incidents Are Occurring in Williamson Schools’

The Tennessean published a story Friday which claimed “racist incidents are occurring in Williamson Schools.” The story made specific reference to only one such incident, however, and apparently relied on the word of just two parents to verify that it occurred. Those parents — Revida Rahman and Inetta Gaines— are both members of the district’s cultural competency council, which “was formed last year by WCS superintendent Mike Looney after parents expressed concerns about field trips to plantations,” according to The Tennessean, which also reported that the incident occured in January at Sunset Middle School in Brentwood when some students at the school allegedly “linked arms in between classes, forming a human chain, and then barred non-white students from passing.” “The students likened it to President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall,” the paper reported, adding: Rahman and Gaines, both African-American, verified that the wall incident happened at Sunset Middle, along with a number of regularly occurring inappropriate incidents: use of the N-word on school buses, history lessons that glorify slavery and insensitive field trips on the state’s history with slavery. Gaines, however, according to the Brentwood Homepage, has no children attending Sunset Middle. “I don’t have a student at Sunset Middle, but I have friends that have…

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BREAKING: Two Williamson County School Teachers Resign After School Director Mike Looney Holds Secret Meeting Closed to Media

The two Williamson County school teachers who asked students to hand out tasks to their pretend slaves have reportedly resigned from their jobs because of a “strong backlash from the community.” This, after parents met with Williamson County School Superintendent Mike Looney Tuesday night — a meeting reportedly off-limits to the press. Brentwoodhomepage.com reported the news Wednesday. As reported, the two teachers are Kim Best and Susan Hooper, and they teach at Sunset Middle School in Brentwood. The parents reportedly called for Best’s and Hooper’s resignations, according to Brentwoodhomepage.com The website quoted Inneta Gaines, who said the county school system has a problem with “cultural insensitivity.” “I don’t have a student at Sunset Middle, but I have friends that have students there,” Gaines reportedly said. “One in particular, there was an incident that happened about building a wall in a classroom, this [being] the Trump wall. This is stuff that’s going on in our school that doesn’t get brought to light.” Gaines told the website it “was not an appropriate assignment to give, especially in the political climate we’re in, especially with the diversity training that they (teachers) are supposed to be getting.” As The Tennessee Star reported this week,…

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Williamson County School System Director Apologizes for ‘Gross Error in Judgement’ on Slavery Assignment

As part of an assignment, eighth-grade social studies teachers at Brentwood’s Sunset Middle School asked students to pretend their family owns slaves. Students then had to create a list of expectations for the family’s slaves. The assignment didn’t sit well with Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney, who has publicly apologized for what he said was a “gross error in judgement from WCS personnel.” [Editors note: “Judgement” is not generally accepted as the proper spelling of ‘judgment” in American English, although it is considered acceptable in British English, primarily in legal documents.] “We have been providing professional training to our staff members on cultural awareness this year, but I admit that we have more work to do in this area,” Looney said in an email sent out to school parents Thursday. “Please know, we are absolutely committed to ensuring all of our students feel welcome, wanted and worthwhile.” Looney also tweeted a copy of his letter. School officials pulled the assignment, and they will not take grades on it, Looney went on to say. In the same email, school Principal Tim Brown said he was “very remorseful that this situation occurred.” “I recognize this assignment was inappropriate, and steps are…

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Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney Retains Attorney as Court Date is Delayed Until March 27

After a bizarre series of events that led to his arrest for assault on a student, Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney has retained attorney Mark Puryear of the Franklin, Tennessee law firm Puryear, Newman and Morton to defend him against the simple assault charge he faces for allegedly accosting a student and forcing her into his personal vehicle – a Class A Misdemeanor. Originally, Looney was booked and released after posting a $1,500 bond, and instructed by the court to return March 8 at 1pm to begin his trail. That date has now been rescheduled for March 27, the Williamson Herald reports. After news of the incident became known, Looney issued a statement denying the charge, stating, in part: I apologize to the community for the distraction that this accusation has caused. I completely deny the allegations and have faith that the legal process will result in a positive resolution. Looney’s arrest has sparked concern with area parents, who have called for his ouster. However, after a carefully choreographed public meeting recently, the Williamson County School Board affirmed their support of the embattled superintendent, reading detailed a joint statement to the packed room of citizens, which said, in part: Based on…

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Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney: ‘I Apologize to the Community for the Distraction That This Accusation Has Caused. I Completely Deny the Allegations’

Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney, who was arrested on assault charges Wednesday, released a statement on Thursday that, according to WKRN, said, in part “I apologize to the community for the distraction that this accusation has caused. I completely deny the allegations and have faith that the legal process will result in a positive resolution.” “News 2 reached out to all 12 Williamson County School Board Members for comment. Only one got back to us and directed us to the District Communications Director. Several board members have spoken out on social media,” WKRN reported. Looney has not been placed on administrative leave by the Williamson County Schools Board of Education. Three of the board members who have made public comments on Facebook appear to be strongly supportive of Looney. According to WKRN: Anne McGraw, who serves District 4 wrote on her Facebook, “I cannot, and will not, comment on the incident at Franklin High School this week other than to say that knowing what I know, I’m 100 percent in support of Dr. Looney and his leadership in our district. The official statement issued by Williamson County Schools is below for those who have yet to see it. I expect…

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WKRN: ‘Report States Looney Then Grabbed the Teen by Her Arm and Pulled Her from a Chair Before Escorting Her to His Personal Vehicle’

UPDATE (1:25 p.m): The Tennessee Star has obtained a photo of what it believes to be the original affidavit of complaint in the case of the State of Tennessee vs. Dr. Mike Looney, which can be seen below:                       12:30 p.m. Late Thursday morning, WKRN reported that, according to an affidavit, Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney, who was arrested Wednesday on assault charges as a result of this incident, “grabbed” a female high school student experiencing a psychological emergency at Franklin High School on Tuesday “by her arm and pulled her from a chair before escorting her to his personal vehicle.” “According to an affidavit, the teen’s mother requested her daughter be taken to the hospital. At some point, according to the report, Looney placed himself between an officer and the student and said the teen would be taken to his office,” WKRN reported, adding: Dr. Looney reportedly told the student he would not have a scene at school and told her to stop crying. The report states Looney then grabbed the teen by her arm and pulled her from a chair before escorting her to his personal vehicle. The teen’s…

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Williamson County Director of Schools Mike Looney Signs Letter Sent to Voters By Supporters of Sales Tax Increase

Williamson County Director of Schools Mike Looney signed a letter sent to Williamson County voters by Citizens for School Funding, a political action committee supporting the proposed sales tax increase on the ballot in the county today its supporters say is necessary to fund increased construction of Williamson County Public Schools. The proposal, widely panned by limited government conservatives, is the only issue on the ballot, and has a chance of passing primarily because its supporters have orchestrated the vote to take place in the dead of winter. In the letter, which is clearly intended to support the sales tax increase, Looney advances the fiction that he is not taking a position on today’s vote: My position does not allow me to advocate for-or-against the election, but I can confirm WCS currently lacks the funding needed to build additional classrooms needed for students. More specifically, we need to build schools and upgrade some of our older campuses. Please use your voice to help our elected officials best determine how to provide for the school district’s needs. Time is of the essence. As always, if you have questions about our schools feel free to contact me at 615-293-0997. Presumably, both Dr.…

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Williamson County Teacher Sues School District, Says She Was Bullied Into Resigning

Tennessee Star

  A well-liked Williamson County elementary school teacher is suing the school district, alleging she was bullied and harassed into resigning. Melanie Lemon, who taught second grade at Walnut Grove Elementary, filed a lawsuit Friday in Williamson County Circuit Court. The defendants are Williamson County Schools, superintendent Mike Looney, assistant superintendent Denise Goodwin and Walnut Grove principal Kate Donnelly. The suit seeks compensatory damages and asks that the school district extend its anti-bullying policy to adults. Lemon’s resignation on May 12 prompted an outcry in the community. Supportive parents and former students started a petition of protest and quickly collected more than 1,800 signatures. Some showed up at a school board meeting dressed in black to object to how they felt the school district mistreated her. The lawsuit says that Lemon went from getting stellar observations to suddenly receiving a poor one, and that school officials falsely accused her of child abuse. A teacher for 14 years, seven of them at Walnut Grove, Lemon had tenure. The lawsuit states that Tennessee’s Teacher Tenure Act is supposed “to protect teachers from arbitrary demotions and dismissals.” At the start of the 2016-2017 school year, Lemon “became the target of a systematic plan…

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