Live from Music Row, Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed former national guardsman and Metro Nashville Public Schools Board candidate for District 2, Todd Pembroke in the studio to discuss Thursday nights parent meeting regarding Oliver Middle Schools scheduled loss of teachers by years end.
Leahy: Now we are joined in studio by Todd Pembroke, a candidate for Metro Nashville Public School board in the 2nd district. Talk about timing. Todd, last night you attended this contentious meeting.
It wasn’t contentious because you attended, but it was contentious at Oliver Middle School. That Todd is in the 2nd district, right?
Pembroke: Yes, sir, it sure is.
Leahy: Just for our listeners, where exactly is the 2nd district?
Pembroke: So district 2 is pretty large. It ranges all the way up to Harding Road. So it’s basically South Nashville, North Brentwood, parts of Antioch, and all the way down to Lennox village area.
Leahy:Â That’s a pretty large geographic area.
Pembroke: Yes, sir, it sure is.
Leahy: And there is an incumbent there. What’s her name?
Pembroke: Yes, sir. Her name is Rachel Anne Elrod. She’s the incumbent that’s been there for the past four years.
Leahy: And she is a left-wing lunatic. That’s me saying it, not you.
Pembroke: I will say she’s 180 degrees opposite of everything I stand for.
Leahy: Yes. With the exception of Fran Bush, all the incumbents are left-wing lunatics. They’re just destroying the schools with propaganda and political correctness. So Oliver Middle School is one of the schools in this district.
A bunch of parents showed up. They had some questions about security at the school, and the administrators were there and the bureaucrats were there, and they wouldn’t even let you talk. What was the issue, how many people were there, and who presided over this debacle?
Pembroke: Sure. So a little backstory to this. This is the third meeting they’ve called. They called one last month that 100 plus parents showed up to.
Leahy: Who are they?
Pembroke: Concerned parents called.
Leahy: Concerned parents called…
Pembroke: Called for this meeting for Oliver Middle School due to the fact that they knew that half of the teaching staff were leaving at the end.
Leahy: Okay, so this is the issue. Half the teaching staff at Oliver Middle School is leaving at the end of the year.
Pembroke: Yes, sir. And how do the parents get to call the meeting at a school?
Pembroke: So they didn’t call it at the school. They just did it on their own. They put together their own meeting. They call to action a group of, like I said, 100 plus. This was the first meeting.
Leahy: The first meeting. Now, where was the first meeting held?
Pembroke: It was at a church right next door.
Leahy: And then there was a second meeting.
Pembroke: There was a second meeting just on Monday.
Leahy: Okay, so the first meeting was just parents, is that right?
Pembroke: It was. They invited everybody, though.
Leahy: When they say everybody, who?
Pembroke: Involved in all of our middle school principals, administrators, school board members. Not only did they not show the incumbent school board member, Ms. Elrod said that because no MNPS presence was there, no parent should go either. It was a waste of time.
Leahy: Well, that’s not exactly transparent.
Pembroke: It is not.
Leahy: Yes, Ms. Elrod, you’re welcome to come in and explain your lunacy. But come on, let’s be honest, K12 public schools are a disaster in America, but they’re a particular disaster here in Metro Nashville Public Schools because they’re not teaching kids how to read and write.
All the performances is like 30 percent, 20 percent. It’s just terrible. Okay, so tell us about the second meeting. When and where, who was there?
Pembroke: The second meeting was just this past Monday. Again, it was a testimonial. The leader of this meeting, Ms. Christie Mayo, read tons of testimonials of more teachers that are upset, leaving, etc. Just trying to get the message out.
Leahy: Where was this meeting held?
Pembroke: Same place at the church.
Leahy:Â Did they invite the school principal and all that?
Pembroke: I believe everybody was invited again.
Leahy: Did they show up?
Pembroke: No, sir. I’ll take that back. Ms. Elrod did show up. She did.
Leahy: She did.
Pembroke: She showed up for a few minutes and answered a few questions and prefaced that she knew this upcoming meeting that she called from last night was supposed to be supposedly a Q and A for the parents.
Leahy: Okay, so then last night at Oliver Middle School there was a Q and A for parents. No, there was a meeting.
Pembroke: There was a meeting.
Leahy: How many parents showed up?
Pembroke: I’d say 200.
Leahy: And who were the school administrators here?
Pembroke: Yes, sir.
Leahy: And did they take questions?
Pembroke: They turned it from a Q and A into a welcome back to school. So it’s introducing the teachers’ staff.
Listen to the interview:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
