Latest news with #RutherfordCountyBoardofEducation
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
Director of Rutherford County Schools says there will be no strike, addresses some parent concerns over safety
RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Changes have come to Rutherford County's Parent Responsibility Zone and to the proposed bus strike. The Rutherford County Board of Education decided to eliminate some bus routes for students who lived near their schools last week in an attempt to fill a $20 million budget hole. The elimination of about 44 bus routes would have saved the district about $3 million. PREVIOUS: Rutherford County Schools cuts bus routes, considers tax for funding However, one father disagreed with the decision. Chuck Isbell's son, Nate, was killed almost five years ago by a distracted driver while Nate was out trick-or-treating. The Mayor of La Vergne had also pushed for the school board to rescind the vote. 'Hearing about this and seeing all this, it actually makes me sick to my stomach thinking about kids having to walk or find alternate means to get to school,' concerned resident Chuck Isbell said. However, on Tuesday, a video from Dr. Jimmy Sullivan — director of schools — said that the PRZ would be tabled for a year. Sullivan said that he wanted to address some 'top of mind' issues. 'Please know that student safety is always my top priority and I am confident that we will find a solution that meets the needs of the district and also our families,' Sullivan said. Isbell had written a four-page letter to school board members expressing concerns about speeding cars, crime, severe weather, wildlife, and a lack of sidewalks. 'Less than 10% of roads here have sidewalks, and the average speed limit on residential streets is 40 MPH,' Isbell said in his letter. 'These roads are not designed for people to walk on, let alone kids trying to get to school.' Sullivan's video also addressed a letter from the Rutherford County Bus Contractors Organization that said some drivers would have been 'compelled to cease' driving on Thursday if the district did not negotiate with them for a greater pay increase. 'We heard [Tuesday] from an attorney representing some of the bus contractors group that they are not planning to strike later this week as some had previously announced,' Sullivan said. 'We are hopeful that any strikes will be limited, and we anticipate the majority of our contractors continue operating their routes throughout the school year.' RELATED: Rutherford County bus drivers 'compelled to cease' driving May 1 if school board doesn't return to negotiating table Not every bus contractor within the county had planned to strike. The owner of Gossett Bus Lines, which operates about 13 routes in the county, said the strike would have created more conflict. 'This should not expand out into the parents, the schools and the children,' owner of Gossett Bus Line, Cynthia Gossett, said. 'I do not feel that those people should suffer because we are not getting exactly what was asked for.' Sullivan said that the district intends to keep parents informed throughout the process. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Divided Rutherford school board reinstates meeting prayer 'for some divine guidance'
The Rutherford County Board of Education will start meetings with prayer instead of moments of silence, the majority recently decided. Board member Caleb Tidwell called for the 5-2 vote March 20 to allow for a short prayer and "ask for some divine guidance at the beginning," which was practiced at meetings in prior decades by elected school officials. Board member Stan Vaught opposed Tidwell's motion, which was proposed near the end of the meeting and excluded from the agenda. Vaught said he was concerned the district could face expensive First Amendment challenges for bringing back prayer at board meetings, "if it went all the way to the Supreme Court. "You're asking for trouble," he told Tidwell and the others in the majority. "You're asking for the taxpayers of this county to bail us out." TN ACLU attorney: Lawsuit coming soon for Rutherford Schools 'appetite for banning books' Prior to the March 20 vote, Board attorney Jeff Reed estimated that school officials could spend more than $1 million in legal costs to defend a lawsuit all the way through to the nation's top court. In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court in Engel v. Vital ruled that public school prayers provided to all students in a classroom or campus violated the establishment clauses of the First Amendment, according to a webpage from the national Free Speech Center based at Middle Tennessee State University. Reed previously told The Daily News Journal that school board meetings are expected to follow the same public school requirements by offering no official prayers, based on a ruling from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, which has jurisdiction over parts of Tennessee, including Rutherford County. "Given recent Supreme Court rulings, the courts could view the case different than previously," Reed said. Courts have permitted legislative bodies such as the state legislature and Rutherford County Commission to open meetings with prayer, Reed said. Meeting prayer in 2018: Buddhist monk served as Rutherford County Commission's guest chaplain Tidwell's motion for prayer had support from Butch Vaughn, Katie Darby, Tammy Sharp and vice chairwoman Frances Rosales. Chairwoman Claire Maxwell joined Vaught in opposing. Vaughn, who seconded the motion to approve, suggested there are "lots of kids who want to pray with us." He also asked why the school board had to give up prayer at meetings in the first place. "I'm ready to fight," he said. "The structure of our country is based on that. I'd just like to get it back myself." 'I will do my very best': New Rutherford school board chairwoman Claire Maxwell faces challenges As part of his argument, Vaught said he'd rather observe moments of silence so each board member, district employee, person in the sometimes 150-plus strong audience and everyone watching the video-recorded meetings can send up his or her own prayer. "You're infringing on other people's liberty by doing this," Vaught told the majority. "I don't know if you're thinking about that or not, but we have to protect everybody's liberty: right, wrong, black, white, pink, purple, polka dot, Jew, Christian, Muslim, Hindu." Vaught also pointed out how the district has 52 different languages spoken by students and employees at Smyrna High School, alone. He noted that Rutherford County Schools is home to several different religions observed among its 52,000 students and 7,000 employees. Before the board's vote, Darby convinced a majority to amend the motion to include a statement making it clear that elected school officials are "not asking anyone to pray with us" and that audience members can step out of the meeting room if they "don't want to join in prayer." School board politics: Rutherford school board Zone 2 race gets divisive with RINO insult to GOP officials After the meeting, Vaught told The Daily News Journal he'd received praise for his stance on the prayer issue from Nashville's Rae Levine. "As a Jew in TN and especially, a retired MNPS (Metro Nashville Public Schools) teacher, reading Stan's words, renews my faith and hope for Tennessee," Levine said in a letter to the editor in The Tennessean. "Our Constitution, the supreme law of the land, is being trampled upon by Trump and his legion, by Governor Lee, and TN GOP legislators, by school board members all over our state, as separation of church and state has become a 'woke' thing, which is unfathomable." Prior to the meeting and subsequent prayer vote, Vaught, who attends First Baptist Church on East Main Street in downtown Murfreesboro, offered to meet in prayer with elected school officials. "We can pray right there, right then, before the meeting starts," he said. 'We are banished': Rutherford schools book banning upsets free speech advocates Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@ To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription. This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Tennessee school board to reinstate meeting prayers after split vote
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rutherford school board rescinds resolution supporting border closure: 'Damage is already done'
Rutherford County school board members rescinded their resolution urging closure of national borders recently after hearing from upset parents. Mother Valeria Diaz de Leon shared her concerns about the resolution in person by speaking during the public comment portion of the Feb. 6 meeting 'In this political climate, we all know the implication that has," Diaz de Leon told the seven-member all Republican Rutherford County Board of Education. 'Diversity is a good thing': Split Rutherford school board backs DEI by 1 changed vote Many of the packed school board audience in a room that can seat 170 people applauded the mother's comments prior to the elected school officials unanimously agreeing to rescind the resolution in question. The board on Jan. 23 approved the now rescinded resolution in a 5-1 vote a few days after Republican President Donald Trump took his oath of office. Trump soon sought to secure the national borders and deport immigrants who entered the country illegally. Immigration issue: Rutherford school board votes in support of closing nation's borders due to rising ESL needs Only board member Tammy Sharp opposed the initial resolution in question. "This is going to send a message to our children − and not a good one," Sharp said after the other present board members approved the now rescinded resolution. The resolution from vice chairwoman Frances Rosales had support from fellow board members Butch Vaughn, Caleb Tidwell, Katie Darby and chairwoman Claire Maxwell. Board member Stan Vaught was absent. The resolution also had requested more federal funding for the district to help serve the increase of students needing English as a Second Language instruction. Republicans capture all seats: Vaught, Vaughn, Tidwell and Maxwell win to join all GOP Rutherford County school board Diaz de Leon said the district should have just asked for more federal funding to hire additional ESL teachers without making a statement about the border. 'This resolution personally affected me and my family because my three sons will be attending RC (Rutherford County) schools as ESL students, and you have just stereotyped all ESL students as coming from the southern border," the mother said. Diaz de Leon told the board that she was glad to learn prior to the meeting that the school officials were prepared to rescind the resolution. 'With all due respect, the damage is already done,' Diaz de Leon said. Partisan politics: Democrat fears new GOP majority county school board may mean book banning, teacher firing Diaz de Leon also suggested that some student absences are correlated with deportation actions. "Students are afraid that they'll go home to find their parents missing," Diaz de Leon said. "Parents are afraid to send their kids to school for fear that they may not come home. And our school board decided to respond to this by releasing a statement that completely vilifies our ESL community." Rather than approving the now rescinded resolution, the board should have reaffirmed its opposition to the state approval of funding vouchers to help parents pay for private schools for their children instead of providing the money to support public schools available to all students, Diaz de Leon suggested. "We need to believe that you did not write that resolution in good faith but to further divide our community," Diaz de Leon said. State legislation: Rutherford's 2 state senators tout legislation for school vouchers, farmland preservation Rosales, the board vice chairwoman who called for the resolution in question, requested that the board rescind the previous position. The vice chairwoman provided the following statement to The Daily News Journal prior to the Feb. 6 meeting. "I advocated for ESL because I am a product of ESL within the public school system," Rosales said. "The effort got lost in translation as a way to raise awareness about the little to no help the federal government provides to the district, and for that, I was mistaken. Districts have no control over the decisions made by the federal government. All we can do is our best as a district to educate everyone." The vice chairwoman during the recent meeting mentioned spending her early childhood years in Puerto Rico before moving to the U.S. and being the only Hispanic student at her high school. First Amendment issue: Rutherford schools removal of 160 more books draws opposition from free speech advocates In addition to rescinding the motion, the board also rejected a motion by Tidwell to oppose diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. Rosales initially supported Tidwell's resolution in a 4-3 vote before she requested another vote to reconsider. She then voted to reject the resolution to oppose DEI with Vaught, Vaughn and Maxwell. Tidwell's rejected resolution kept the support of Sharp and Darby. 'We are banished': Rutherford schools book banning upsets free speech advocates Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@ To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription. This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Rutherford school board rescinds resolution supporting border closure
USA Today
11-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Rutherford school board rescinds resolution supporting border closure: 'Damage is already done'
Rutherford school board rescinds resolution supporting border closure: 'Damage is already done' Board reconsiders 2 controversial motions at same meeting Show Caption Hide Caption Rutherford County Schools father speaks against anti DEI policy Rutherford County Schools father Matt Fee speaks against anti DEI policy Unanimous board reverses previous 5-1 border resolution vote Mother: 'This resolution personally affected me' Mother says absences on rise due to deportation Vice chairwoman asks to rescind her resolution Rosales also switches position on DEI Rutherford County school board members rescinded their resolution urging closure of national borders recently after hearing from upset parents. Mother Valeria Diaz de Leon shared her concerns about the resolution in person by speaking during the public comment portion of the Feb. 6 meeting 'In this political climate, we all know the implication that has," Diaz de Leon told the seven-member all Republican Rutherford County Board of Education. 'Diversity is a good thing': Split Rutherford school board backs DEI by 1 changed vote Many of the packed school board audience in a room that can seat 170 people applauded the mother's comments prior to the elected school officials unanimously agreeing to rescind the resolution in question. The board on Jan. 23 approved the now rescinded resolution in a 5-1 vote a few days after Republican President Donald Trump took his oath of office. Trump soon sought to secure the national borders and deport immigrants who entered the country illegally. Immigration issue: Rutherford school board votes in support of closing nation's borders due to rising ESL needs Unanimous board reverses previous 5-1 border resolution vote Only board member Tammy Sharp opposed the initial resolution in question. "This is going to send a message to our children − and not a good one," Sharp said after the other present board members approved the now rescinded resolution. The resolution from vice chairwoman Frances Rosales had support from fellow board members Butch Vaughn, Caleb Tidwell, Katie Darby and chairwoman Claire Maxwell. Board member Stan Vaught was absent. The resolution also had requested more federal funding for the district to help serve the increase of students needing English as a Second Language instruction. Republicans capture all seats: Vaught, Vaughn, Tidwell and Maxwell win to join all GOP Rutherford County school board Mother: 'This resolution personally affected me' Diaz de Leon said the district should have just asked for more federal funding to hire additional ESL teachers without making a statement about the border. 'This resolution personally affected me and my family because my three sons will be attending RC (Rutherford County) schools as ESL students, and you have just stereotyped all ESL students as coming from the southern border," the mother said. Diaz de Leon told the board that she was glad to learn prior to the meeting that the school officials were prepared to rescind the resolution. 'With all due respect, the damage is already done,' Diaz de Leon said. Partisan politics: Democrat fears new GOP majority county school board may mean book banning, teacher firing Mother says absences on rise due to deportation Diaz de Leon also suggested that some student absences are correlated with deportation actions. "Students are afraid that they'll go home to find their parents missing," Diaz de Leon said. "Parents are afraid to send their kids to school for fear that they may not come home. And our school board decided to respond to this by releasing a statement that completely vilifies our ESL community." Rather than approving the now rescinded resolution, the board should have reaffirmed its opposition to the state approval of funding vouchers to help parents pay for private schools for their children instead of providing the money to support public schools available to all students, Diaz de Leon suggested. "We need to believe that you did not write that resolution in good faith but to further divide our community," Diaz de Leon said. State legislation: Rutherford's 2 state senators tout legislation for school vouchers, farmland preservation Vice chairwoman asks to rescind her resolution Rosales, the board vice chairwoman who called for the resolution in question, requested that the board rescind the previous position. The vice chairwoman provided the following statement to The Daily News Journal prior to the Feb. 6 meeting. "I advocated for ESL because I am a product of ESL within the public school system," Rosales said. "The effort got lost in translation as a way to raise awareness about the little to no help the federal government provides to the district, and for that, I was mistaken. Districts have no control over the decisions made by the federal government. All we can do is our best as a district to educate everyone." The vice chairwoman during the recent meeting mentioned spending her early childhood years in Puerto Rico before moving to the U.S. and being the only Hispanic student at her high school. First Amendment issue: Rutherford schools removal of 160 more books draws opposition from free speech advocates Rosales also switches position on DEI In addition to rescinding the motion, the board also rejected a motion by Tidwell to oppose diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. Rosales initially supported Tidwell's resolution in a 4-3 vote before she requested another vote to reconsider. She then voted to reject the resolution to oppose DEI with Vaught, Vaughn and Maxwell. Tidwell's rejected resolution kept the support of Sharp and Darby. 'We are banished': Rutherford schools book banning upsets free speech advocates Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@ To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.
