Knox County school board meetings are gaining viewers on YouTube but it’s not because of best practices. No, folks from out-of-state are watching insanity in real time. At least that’s the opinion of Keith Britt.
Britt, a West Knoxville father of three, sat through almost three hours of Wednesday’s school board meeting before being allowed three minutes to address the board. He made it count.
“You guys have turned this board into a sideshow circus. I have friends from out of state who ask, ‘Is this real?’”
Britt said the board has $114 million coming from the federal government for one-time spending. “You need to spend it wisely.” He said the board is setting up incoming Superintendent Jon Rysewyk to fail by not talking about substantive issues like third grade reading or ninth grade math. “Instead, you’re spending time debating B.S. national issues. It’s insane.”
Lance McCold followed Britt, saying, “He is hard to follow because I don’t disagree with much he said.”
What went wrong?
The school board certainly has had cantankerous members in the past – folks who did not play well with others. But generally, the core held. A calm majority, working with a strong superintendent buffered the offending members until they either developed manners or left the board.
- The Covid-19 pandemic destroyed civility, first in the audience and then on the board itself.
- Betsy Henderson’s election in 2020 brought an ambitious, politically skilled player.
- Superintendent Bob Thomas lost control of the district’s Covid response early and never regained it.
Just this week, Henderson ruthlessly attacked Law Director David Buuck, calling him unprepared to defend the board’s voluntary mask policy in federal court. She challenged his legal acuity, and demanded that the board hire outside counsel to try to overturn U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie Greer’s mask mandate for Knox County Schools.
Henderson, along with board members Susan Horn and Kristi Kristy, attended the February meeting of Knox County Commission, asking for approval to hire outside counsel. Henderson said Wednesday that the women did not intend to speak but were called upon by commissioners (who just happened to have a resolution already prepared).
And sure enough, the board voted Wednesday to hire outside counsel, despite warnings from Mike McMillan and Buuck himself that it would be expensive and wasn’t necessary.
The unseen hand
It’s tempting to say that Mayor Glenn Jacobs is working overtime to choreograph the chaos, but there is no proof and nobody’s talking.
Here’s where we stand (I think):
Judge Greer has ordered the original plaintiffs and the BOE to enter federal mediation and conclude it within 60 days.
The original plaintiffs have agreed to a 60-day suspension of the mandate pending mediation. Judge Greer would have to sign off and the BOE would have to agree, but there is no reason not to.
Unmask Knox County Kids has tried to join the lawsuit on behalf of unnamed parents who say their kids are being harmed by wearing masks.
And now the BOE has voted to find another lawyer to assist Buuck.
Henderson told Buuck the outside counsel would be “another tool in his toolbox.” A skeptic said afterwards that was strange. “If your job is to hammer a nail, why do you need a wrench?”
In conclusion, I’ve pondered on whether there is anything on which this BOE would agree. And the answer is yes. Not a single one would invite Mike McMillan over for dinner.
Sandra Clark is editor/CEO of Knox TN Today.