Tag: Rutherford County

Six Books Removed from Tennessee Schools Contained Graphic Sex Scenes, Depictions of Slavery

Tom Pappert
School Board Meeting

Six books were successfully removed from schools in Rutherford County, Tennessee on Friday after school board members voted Thursday to place literature with graphic adult themes on a “mature reading list” that would prevent students from accessing the materials.

Multiple members of the public spoke ahead of the meeting, including a father named James Faulkner, who read from one of the books he argued includes “clear and obvious sections of pornographic scenes” that are unsuitable for minors.

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Murfreesboro Approves Salary Increases for Police, Firefighters

Kaitlin Housler
Murfreesboro Approves Salary Increases for Police, Firefighters

The Murfreesboro City Council approved pay adjustments for public safety in the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget last week, raising the annual pay of police officers, sergeants, firefighters, and AEMTs.

At its meeting on July 25, the council voted to approve the pay adjustments after reviewing a survey of neighboring Middle Tennessee cities to compare the city’s police pay plan to peer cities.

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Head of School at Rutherford Classical Academy Phillip Schwenk Announces New Charter School Will Be Located in La Vergne

Kaitlin Housler
Phillip Schwenk

Phillip Schwenk, the founding head of school at Rutherford Classical Academy, announced that the charter school will be located in La Vergne on Ingram Boulevard, close to I-24, and will accept 340 students the first school year.

The Rutherford County School Board voted last April to approve the building of the charter school by a vote of 5-2.

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Mysterious Email Supporting Property Assessor Rob Mitchell Sent to Rutherford County Employees

Matthew Giffin
Rob Mitchell

Several Rutherford County officials received a mysterious email message cautioning them to support incumbent property assessor candidate Rob Mitchell following a Tennessee Star report about his hiring practices, according to an email obtained by The Star.

Ahead of Mitchell’s bid for reelection, he hired the son of two Rutherford County officials, Michael Maxwell, for a position in the property assessor’s office created for Maxwell after determining he was unqualified for the original job posting, The Star previously reported.

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Rutherford County Property Assessor Hires Son of County GOP Chairman and a School Board Member for Newly Created Position After He Was Determined Unqualified for Original Position

Matthew Giffin

Rutherford County Property Assessor Rob Mitchell hired the son of the Rutherford County GOP chairman for a position he was unqualified for ahead of Mitchell’s bid for reelection in 2024.

Mitchell hired Michael Maxwell, son of Rutherford County GOP Chairman Austin Maxwell, in January 2024 despite not meeting the minimum requirements of the position he applied for, according to documents obtained by The Tennessee Star with an open records request.

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Commentary: Ensuring Substitute Teachers Are Trained on Safety Procedures in Tennessee

Admin

Our schools are the bedrock of our communities, serving not only as centers of education but also as places of refuge and safety for our children. In an era of heightened concerns about school safety, it is essential that we leave no stone unturned in ensuring our schools are secure environments. One critical aspect of this is the requirement for substitute teachers to be adequately trained on lockdown procedures and safety protocols. It’s a seemingly small detail, but it plays a pivotal role in keeping our schools safe and our students protected.

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Former Tennessee State Sen. Dolores Gresham: Story Claiming American Classical Education Charter Schools’ ‘Core Knowledge’ Program Has ‘Links’ to Common Core Is False

Susan Berry, PhD

American Classical Education (ACE) board member Dolores Gresham, a former Tennessee state senator, said Tuesday the story at Tennessee Lookout that claimed Hillsdale College’s affiliated ACE charter schools are teaching a curriculum with links to the Common Core Standards, is “false.”

“The Core Knowledge Foundation program is not the same thing as Common Core,” Gresham said in a statement. “It is decades older than Common Core and is already in use by many schools in Tennessee – including all three of Nashville’s top-performing charter schools.”

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Rutherford County Seeks Parity from Legislature in Options for Cities and Counties to Deal with Growth

Laura Baigert

Rutherford County is seeking parity from the state legislature in terms of options available for cities and counties in dealing with the expansion of services demanded by the unprecedented growth in the state.

At the regular meeting of the Rutherford County Board of Commissioners held Thursday evening, a resolution was passed by a vote of 18 to 3 requesting the county’s legislative delegation to support any bills presented in the 2023 legislative session to amend the 2006 County Powers Relief Act.

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American Classical Education Announces Intent to Apply for Charter Schools in Five Tennessee Counties

Michael Patrick Leahy

American Classical Education (ACE) informed the Tennessee Department of Education and school boards of education in five counties – Rutherford, Montgomery, Madison, Maury, and Robertson – in separate letters last week it intends to apply for public school charters to operate classical schools in those five counties.

“We’ve filed our letters of intent with the school districts and the department,” Dolores Gresham, an ACE board member, former Tennessee State Senator, and former Senate Education Committee Chair, told The Tennessee Star.

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Sumner, Rutherford County Sheriff Offices Warn of Scam Caller Falsely Claiming to Represent the Sheriff’s Office

Kaitlyn Osteen

The Sumner County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning to the public on Friday to be aware of an increase in scam calls impersonating the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sumner County Sheriff’s Office released a statement on Facebook, saying, “Recently there has been an increase in scam calls. When the calls are answered, the subject claims to be from the Sheriff’s Office and will even provide a name, in some cases they have used a third-party application, so the caller ID shows the Sheriff’s Office phone number. When you check the number, it appears to be from the Sheriff’s Office. The caller will request payment for bond or claim you missed jury duty and need to pay a fine to avoid being arrested.”

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Rutherford County School Board Says Schools Are at Full Capacity

Kaitlyn Osteen

The Rutherford County Board of Education expressed their concerns regarding the lack of space available for teachers, students, and storage at the board of education meeting on Wednesday.

Dr. Sullivan expressed his concern at the board of education meeting, saying, “We have an extra gym class on what used to be the stage. We have split our structured setting CDC classroom into four different classrooms, so they have different pods within that structured setting. Every teacher work room but one has been turned into a classroom.”

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The Tennessee Department of Environment Announces over $34 Million for Infrastructure Grants

Kaitlyn Osteen

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) announced on Tuesday that 12 grants totaling $34,585,121 from Tennessee’s American Rescue Plan, will be administered in the form of water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure grants.

“These grants will address important water infrastructure needs across our state, especially in disadvantaged communities. We commend communities who have gone through the application process, and we look forward to the substantial improvements the grant will bring,” said Governor Bill Lee.

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Commentary: Joe Carr Is the Right Choice to Be Rutherford County’s Next Mayor

Admin

After several repeated attempts to serve his country and state it appears Joe Carr has found a place where the voters will appreciate his service.

Former State Representative Joe Carr was victorious in the Rutherford County Republican Mayoral Primary. Carr won with 38% in a field of three other candidates. County Commissioner Rhonda Allen came in second with a respectable 34% of the vote, Mayor Bill Ketron came in a disappointing third place with less than 25%. Aaron Coffey finished a distant fourth with 3%.

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Tennessee Approves of New Vanderbilt Hospital in Rutherford County

Morgan Nicole Veysey

Vanderbilt Health announced Thursday that Rutherford county officials have approved plans for new hospital. The medical center will hold 42 beds, and be located at the intersection of Veterans Parkway and state route 840 in Murfreesboro.

“We are pleased with the outcome and want to thank members of the Health Services and Development Agency for the approval to build this new hospital. Our goal continues to be to serve the needs of the many citizens of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County who choose Vanderbilt for their care, and we can now do that with Vanderbilt Rutherford Hospital,” C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Health System Officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center said in a statement.

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MTSU Removes Rutherford Juvenile Court Judge from Adjunct Staff Amidst County Lawsuit

Morgan Nicole Veysey
Judge Donna Scott

Juvenile Judge Donna Scott Davenport will no longer hold her position as adjunct professor at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) following a recent lawsuit. The suit claims that Davenport sent nearly 1,500 students to jail, regardless of the crime.

Individuals born after October 1997 who were jailed at the Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center may file a claim to collect a portion of an $11 million settlement connected to the class action lawsuit. 

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Rutherford County Parents Fume, Say Local School System is Mishandling COVID-19

Chris Butler

A group of parents said Monday they are seething after Rutherford County Director of Schools Bill C. Spurlock decided his month to unilaterally remove and then quarantine non-symptomatic and non-COVID-19 positive students from schools. The parents said Spurlock did this without consulting with members of the Rutherford County School (RCS) Board. RCS Board members had previously approved a procedure that would have prevented COVID-19-free or symptom-free students and staff from quarantine, parents said.

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Nashville Area’s Population Approaches Two Million People

The Center Square

The Nashville metropolitan area was the 20th-fastest growing statistical area in the country since 2010, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

With a growth rate of 20.9% from 2010 to 2020, the Nashville area now is the 36th-largest metropolitan area in the country with nearly 2 million residents. The census numbers showed the metro Nashville population increased by 343,319 people to 1,989,519.

Tennessee’s population grew by 8.9% between 2010 and 2020; lower than the 11.5% and 16.7% increases during the previous two census counts. Four of the past six census counts have shown double-digit increases in Tennessee’s population growth.

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Tennessee Man Arrested After Feared Copycat Vehicle Attack

Peter D'Abrosca

Police in Rutherford County arrested a man Sunday afternoon when they feared he was about to perpetrate a copycat attack similar to the Christmas day bombing in downtown Nashville.

“Sheriff’s deputies in Rutherford and Wilson Counties are investigating a box truck parked at a store playing audio similar to the Christmas explosion in Nashville. The driver was stopped by deputies and detained. Residents evacuated. Investigation active,” the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) said on Twitter.

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Details of Tennessee Opioid Crisis ‘Will Turn Your Stomach,’ Rutherford County Official Says

Chris Butler

Rutherford County officials are scheduled to hold a town hall forum on opioid abuse and mental health issues at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Smyrna’s Parkway Baptist Church.

Rutherford County Commissioner Craig Harris, one of the scheduled panelists, told The Tennessee Star Monday that the problem has hit his county particularly hard, as it ranks No. 4 statewide for overdoses.

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