Tag: Sumner County Schools

Sumner County School Whistleblower Makes Explosive Allegations About Policy Violations Against Only Candidate Recommended by Tennessee School Board Association for District Director Position

Laura Baigert

A Sumner County Schools employee whistleblower has made explosive allegations of multiple policy violations and the creation of a hostile work environment against the only candidate recommended by the Tennessee School Board Association (TSBA) for the district director position.

Dr. Scott Langford, the Sumner County Schools (SCS) Chief Academic Officer (CAO), was the sole candidate recommended as a finalist by the TSBA for the director position that will be open at the end of June.

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Sumner County Commission Votes to Return Comer Barn to Rogers Group and $250,000 Grant to the State

Laura Baigert

At the regularly scheduled meeting on November 14, the Sumner County Board of Commissioners in an unprecedented move voted to return the Comer Barn to the Rogers Group and give back a $250,000 grant to the State of Tennessee.

The resolution rescinds all previous actions and resolutions accepting ownership of the Comer Barn, relinquishing previous deeds so that ownership and control is given back to the Rogers Group.

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Sumner County Commission Passes Resolution Calling Out Local School System for Inappropriate Books

Laura Baigert

GALLATIN, Tennessee – Sumner County’s Board of Commissioners passed a resolution Monday night that calls out Sumner County Schools (SCS) for having books in the system’s libraries that contain pornographic material and divisive concepts, in apparent violation of two different sections of Tennessee state law.

After about 90 minutes of debate and hearing from SCS Chief Academic Officer Scott Langford, the measure passed with a vote of 15 yes, 5 no and 1 abstention, after an earlier debate that resulted in adding the item to the agenda.

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Sumner County Schools Announce Closure Next Week to ‘Help Mitigate Spread’ of COVID-19

Olivia Adams

Sumner County Schools announced on Wednesday that all district schools will be closed next week “to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 among students and staff.” The announcement, which was made on Facebook, noted that the schools “will utilize inclement weather days.” In addition, “There will be no instruction via GoogleClassroom during this time period.” The school further noted that “extracurricular activities, including athletic games and practices, will continue but must occur after normal school dismissal time.” The schools will resume normal operations on September 13.

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Bill Lee Joins ‘Career Technical Education Day’ Celebration in Sumner County

Laura Baigert

GALLATIN, Tennessee – Governor Bill Lee came to Sumner County to celebrate Career Technical Education Day, part of the larger recognition of the national CTE month of February. The event was held at the Bagsby Ranch, where Lee held a town hall on July 25, 2018, when there were still three days of early voting in the Republican primary before the August 2 election day. Reflecting on that day with its big crowd, the Governor said, “As we pulled in here today, I said it sure does feel different. A whole level of peace and calm,” adding, with a bit of levity, “I don’t gotta talk y’all into anything.” Attendees of the CTE Day event included Director of Sumner County Schools Del Phillips, several school board members, State Representatives William Lamberth (R-Cottontown) and Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville), Compass (Community Outreach Making Partnerships At Sumner Schools) members, several elected officials as well as Sumner County Schools CTE educators and students. As Governor Lee was introduced, he was presented with two gifts made by students of local CTE programs. While the Governor said he talks a lot about CTE, he painted a broader picture when he said he also talks about vocational technical…

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Parents Group Calls for Resignation or Termination of Sumner County School Director Del Phillips Over School Rezoning

Laura Baigert

GALLATIN, Tennessee – Dozens of parents attended Tuesday evening’s Sumner County Board of Education meeting in opposition to the rezoning plan of Sumner County Schools (SCS) Director of Schools Del Phillips and called for his resignation or termination by the board. The major point of contention for the parents, several of whom wore shirts displaying a Stop Stage 1 logo, is that some elementary and middle school students will be temporarily re-zoned from their current schools for the 2019-2020 school year before being permanently rezoned to newly constructed schools for the 2021-2022 school year. The temporary and permanent series of zone changes have been named by Director Phillips as Stage 1 and Stage 2, respectively. The group of parents organized on October 23, 2018, the same day the rezoning plan was introduced by Director Phillips in a non-voting “retreat” of the school board. The goal of the group, named “Stop Stage 1 – Better Solutions for SCSC Temporary Rezoning,” is to stop the temporary or transitional rezoning of students. Stop Stage 1 is not against the permanent rezoning to the new three-school campus, and in fact, has specifically stated their support for the building of it. Per the school system’s…

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After Spending Over $238,000, Sumner County School Board Loses Appeal In Open Records Case

Laura Baigert

After more than three years and spending over $238,000, the Sumner County Board of Education loses its appeal in the Jakes vs. Sumner County Board of Education (SCBOE) dispute over open records, and blames the state’s Office of Open Records Counsel (OORC) for bad advice. In March 2014, Joelton citizen activist Ken Jakes requested the Sumner County School Board policy on open records of the school system’s community relations supervisor, Jeremy Johnson, by email and phone via a voice mail message. Jakes’ request stated, “If the records policy is online, you can simply provide the link.” Johnson denied Jakes’ request in an email response, which stated, “In keeping with our practice regarding open records requests, you’ll need either to submit your request in person or via the postal service.” Indeed, the School Board’s policy at the time required a “forced election,” as Sumner County Judge Dee Gay termed it in the original chancery court ruling November 13, 2015, when one of the choices – that a records request be in writing – is “expressly prohibited” under the Tennessee Public Records Act (TPRA). The OORC website’s “frequently asked questions” states that “Given that a requester is not required to make a…

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