Tag: Shawn Joseph

Nashville Court Rules Portion of Shawn Joseph’s Severance Agreement is Unconstitutional

Chris Butler
Shawn Joseph

A part of former Nashville Metro Schools Director Shawn Joseph’s severance agreement is unconstitutional.

This, according to the Nashville-based FOX 17 News, which reported that a Davidson County Chancery Court made the finding. The station reported that Metro Nashville School Board members Amy Frogge, Jill Speering, and Fran Bush “found issue with the nondisparagement clause in Dr. Joseph’s severance agreement” that said board members could not “make any disparaging or defamatory comments regarding Dr. Joseph and his performance as Director of Schools.”

Read the full story

Nashville School Board Members Wanted to Raise Property Taxes, Despite Past Excessive Spending

Chris Butler

  Metro Nashville School Board members will not ask voters to raise property taxes this year, as some people expected, said board member Fran Bush (pictured above). This, because of a decree county officials put out Monday, Bush told The Tennessee Star. “It’s too late to submit the resolution. This comes straight from the Metro Election Commission,” Bush said. “We got the information from our attorney today.” No one from the Metro Election Commission’s office returned our request for comment Monday. The Tennessean reported last week that school board members might ask voters to raise the property tax rate by 16 cents so they would have more money for schools. Assuming school board member signed off on the referendum, the vote would have taken place Aug. 1, the paper reported. On Monday, however, The Tennessean reported that Tennessee law could stop school board members from asking for the referendum this year. “Under state law, the election commission cannot put to voters a question less than 60 days before an election,” the paper reported. As The Star reported, there were reportedly problems with the Metro Nashville Public Schools’ spending habits this year. According to a recent audit, district leaders failed to use…

Read the full story

Big Problems Reportedly Found with Metro Nashville Public Schools’ Spending

Chris Butler
Shawn Joseph

There are reportedly problems with the Metro Nashville Public Schools’ spending habits, according to Nashville Public Radio. “Last month, the district claimed victory when an audit found most allegations about its vendor contracts were ‘unsubstantiated.’ But those findings have been clarified in a revised audit,” according to Nashville Public Radio. “Now using different language, Metro Auditor Mark Swann says district leaders made mistakes. They failed to use a competitive process in picking some vendors and paid more money than contractually allowed to two companies. All told, instead of two critical findings, the auditor now notes nine.” Metro Nashville Council member Bob Mendes, who serves on the Metro Audit Committee, reportedly wanted the auditor to clarify the initial work because the prior report repeatedly used the word “unsubstantiated,” even when there was evidence of policy violations. “So now it’s clarified: Schools Director Shawn Joseph and his top staff were not found to have intentionally circumvented rules about procurement; nor did they commit fraud,” according to Nashville Public Radio. “But they did break policies.” As reported last month, The Nashville-based NewsChannel 5, quoting a confidential report, said the school system, under Schools Director Shawn Joseph “faces seriously low morale and other issues that threaten…

Read the full story

Nashville Metro School System Reportedly Has More Morale Problems

Chris Butler

More problems are reportedly unfolding at the Metro Nashville School System, according to various reports. According to The Tennessean, more inquiries into Nashville’s school spending are likely. “Board member Amy Frogge said during a Tuesday night board meeting she has plans to craft a motion outlining next steps to address further allegations of misspending by Director Shawn Joseph’s administration,” the paper reported. Frogge, the paper went on to say, asked for an independent investigation. “While the Metro Audit investigation was able to debunk many of the numerous allegations of district misspending, it also left open some questions that Metro Auditor Mark Swann said weren’t part of his investigation,” the paper reported. The Nashville-based NewsChannel 5, quoting a confidential report, said the school system, under Schools Director Shawn Joseph “faces seriously low morale and other issues that threaten the district’s ability to keep qualified employees.” “The 11-page report, prepared by the Nashville law firm of Bone McAllester Norton, also warns that a key Human Resources official hired by Joseph is viewed as ‘extremely divisive, dismissive and, in their belief, incompetent,’” the station quoted the report as saying. “It suggests Sharon Pertiller either be terminated, transferred or retrained.” The law firm, according to the…

Read the full story

Report: Nashville Schools Director Shawn Joseph Gave Favored Company No-Bid Contract

Chris Butler

A software company got a no-bid $1.8 million contract, courtesy of the Metro Nashville Public Schools and, more specifically, Director of Schools Shawn Joseph, according to NewsChannel 5 of Nashville. Joseph, according to the report, had already done business with this company, the Utah-based Performance Matters, in the past. In doing so, the school system violated state purchasing laws, according to NewsChannel 5. “Our exclusive investigation also uncovered evidence that, in doing so, Joseph and his team repeatedly misled members of the Metro School Board about key aspects of the deals,” the station went on to say. Metro Schools told NewsChannel 5 they made mistakes “in good faith.” Performance Matters markets student assessment software. The goal is to allow educators to track student progress and professional development software to monitor training that teachers must complete, the station said. “Joseph, who took control over the Nashville school system in July 2016, had appeared in a slickly produced video that touted how Performance Matters’ student assessment software had been utilized in his previous job in Prince George’s County, Maryland,” NewsChannel 5 reported. “A complimentary quote from Joseph was included in the company’s promotions. He had even been the keynote speaker at a Performance Matters…

Read the full story

New Chairwoman for Nashville School Board Brings Dissension

Chris Butler
Sharon Gentry

By a 5-4 vote, and not without controversy, Metro Nashville Public School Board members elected a new chair, Sharon Gentry. But one of the four board members who voted against Gentry, Fran Bush, told The Tennessee Star she had good reasons. “With my research, with just her history, I felt we need a chairman a lot stronger,” Bush said. “My preference would have been Amy Frogge because she has been on the board a long time, and she has major experience in leadership and she understands and follows policy.” As other media outlets have reported, much of the strife on the board now revolves around Director of Schools Shawn Joseph and whether board members do a good enough job holding him accountable. The Tennessean quoted Board Member Jill Speering as saying she didn’t think Gentry capable of doing that. Board Member Anna Shepherd, who cast her vote for Gentry, told The Star it was a process of elimination. “I didn’t think either Amy (Frogge) or Jill (Speering) could lead the board in any kind of rational semblance. The fallback was Sharon,” Shepherd said. Board Member Christiane Buggs, meanwhile, told The Star she also voted for Gentry. Bush, though, said previous…

Read the full story

Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Makes $285,000 Per Year, Has Outside Consulting Business, Taxpayer Provided Car, and Much More

Chris Butler
Shawn Joseph

Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Shawn Joseph has a pretty sweet arrangement with his employer, according to his four-year contract, which began in 2016. He makes $285,000 a year. That salary, all courtesy of taxpayers, will never decrease — but it could increase. Joseph’s contract clearly states he must devote all his full working time to the school district and can have no other gainful employment — except for later in the contract when it says otherwise. Joseph, as the contract goes on, owns an LLC named Joseph and Associates. “The board agrees that the director is entitled to engage in outside professional activities, including writing, consulting, and lecturing, with or without honorarium, as long as such activities do not interfere with the performance of his duties as the director,” according to the contract. The school district did not return a request for comment Wednesday. Among the other luxuries in Joseph’s contract: • The school system pays for the medical, vision, and dental benefits for Joseph and his family — using the program of their choice. • Joseph gets a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, an answering machine, a printer, and a computer installed at his house. Taxpayers are billed…

Read the full story

Metro Nashville Public Schools Administrator Accused of Sexual Harassment

Wendy Wilson

An administrator with Metro Nashville Public Schools has been put on paid administrative pending an investigation into charges of sexual harassment. Moreno Carrasco, executive officer for priority schools, received a letter from employee relations last week citing “accusations of harassment committed by you towards female staff members at MNPS.” The letter noted that “this period of administrative leave is not a form of disciplinary action, it is just for the purpose of investigation.” Carrasco was tapped by Superintendent Shawn Joseph in summer 2016 to lead efforts to turn around the district’s lowest-performing schools. Joseph had recently been named superintendent and knew Carrasco from when they both worked in Maryland. Carrasco held positions in Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland as a central office administrator and school principal. In 2007, he won the Met Life High School Principal of the Year award for Maryland, given by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. In a Metro Nashville Public Schools newsletter at the time Carrasco was hired, Joseph called Carrasco “one of the strongest school leaders I have worked with.” “He can be a coach, a strategist and a mentor, which is exactly what our highest priority schools need,” Joseph said. “He learned…

Read the full story