I was sitting around this week reflecting on all the wonderful people that share info about Metro Nashville Schools with me and how blessed I am to have so many readers. It suddenly dawned on me, I should do a poll.
I think it is extremely important to always self evaluate and to evaluate the information you are receiving. It doesn’t mean that I’ll necessarily change what I write, but I do want to give credit where it is due and if my opinions are in the minority I need to acknowledge that.
In that light, every Friday I’ll ask three questions and we’ll see what kind of responses I get. Please no dead people voting and if you can, only vote only once and share with as many people as possible.
Categories: Uncategorized
Dad Gone Wild 
This administration and school board is a joke. I am sorry, but after being an employee for 17 years I am fearful that anything I say can be used against myself or my friends. Dr. Joseph, Felder and Narcisse preach about their level of approachability but it is disguised as a way to get rid of those that think against their “Prince George Way.” I guess our school board members who were just elected have nothing to say since they have nothing to worry about until 2020. Wake up MNPS!
The thing that breaks my heart is that I feel compelled to use an anonymous moniker for fear that I will lose my job with MNPS. In my 10+ years at Central Office I have never worried that my job will be taken from me everyday. The culture of fear that has been created here by The Prince George Crew, is borderline dictatorship. I used to feel at ease talking with a board member when I saw them at Bransford, but no more. Are they on the take as well? Do they even care what Dr. Joseph is doing to our culture? our district?
MNPS School Board,
For the love of God wake the hell up!! This new administration is not healthy for the students, the district or your constituents. I don’t give a damn about Dr Joseph’s contract. I don’t give a damn about some “vow of silence” he had you sign. I certainly won’t give a damn the next time one of you asks for support in some initiative you need help with.
This week has been the worse for us here at Centeal Office. I can count about 10 in my department that are actively looking for positions in neighboring counties. In less than a year they have took what used to be a fun career and turned it into a nightmare. It will be good when our gym opens because I know the majority of MNPS employees will use it to work off the stress Felder & Narcisse have created. Change is good MNPS Board, but at what cost to your employees. Do you even care?
As I have been watching from the sidelines for a few months now I have one question.
What happened to the Will, Amy & Jill that used to not be afraid of a Director of Schools?
I received this link to your blog from a fellow teacher today. Wow!!! Thank you for helping us teachers have a voice in a district where our leaders have now turned their backs to.
You are very welcome. You guys are incredible and I consider it an honor that you share your stories with me.
Long time reader here. I have never wanted to comment because of what could happen to my future as a teacher. The only thing keeping me going is the bright, smiling faces I see every morning in my class. Our principal is part of this new regime and much like the rest of them has no idea what they are doing. It is as though they are building the airplane while it is in flght.
Our principal is hardly ever at school and when she is her lack of understanding of what really happens in a classroom is astounding. Did they even check references before being hired, or did they just rubber stamp her application like the rest? She knows which parents to suck up to so there will be major blowback with our PTO.
But then again she knows the right people so she is “protected.” 🤦🏽♀️
When are we gonna #Resist Dr Joseph and his “best of the best?” Wil it be before or after they run off more high quality educators and leaders? I never thought I would think our school board and leaders are just as “transparent” as our current POTUS.
Wonder when the call to Sean Spicer will hapoen?
I too am a teacher at a school with a new principal that is Team Joseph. In a meeting she told us point blank: “You can leave if you want. I know I ain’t going anywhere!”
Seriously?!
What happened to checks and balances? What happened to having a system in place where people were held accountable for their words and actions.
Right above my principal and all the way through the chain is a string of hand picked supervisors that all are friends with Dr Joseph, Sito or Monique.
That my friends is a sick and twisted joke.
I need to apologize. At the beginning of the school year I falsely assumed that you & Phil Williams were bigoted in your reporting.
After working with and observing this administration from within Bransford for the last 7 months I can be man enough to say I was wrong and I am sorry.
I am sick to my stomach for believing Dr. Joseph was gonna be the leader we needed and deserved. They are about to rip our district apart and create a class divide that does not need to happen.
I have a feelig you have media that read your blog and if anyone is reading this…
PLEASE DON’T STOP INVESTIGATING!
Get them out of here
Nice job board members. You know who I am talking to… The ones who kept tweeting and posting and pleading with us to call our State Senators to have them vote against Betsy Devos because she is soooo bad for public schools.
Whatever… At least we know what we are fighting against with Betsy Devos. Who knew while we were protesting on West End that you would be tightening your blinders to the atrocities going on behind closed doors in our district.
You make me regret spending my precious summer vacation to get you re-elected. Maybe we should have drained our school board swamp.
Know this those that are running in 2018. We are watching.
Here is an idea if you need help with culture. Hire & promote from within. I am sure there are plenty of leaders already cultivated here in our district ready for the chance. I will take advice and listen to the teachers down the hall and in my building over any Scholastic or any other organizational consultant they bring in.
Heck, our PTSO President could lead better PD than the incompetent consultants I am made to sit in front of.
#NotMyDirectorOfSchools
Who knew both Dr Joseph & Trump would have the desire to decimate public schools in common.
Please consider a survey focused on school building maintenance since custodians were outsourced. Teacher friends tell me schools are filthy. Mice in classrooms.
Thank you for giving us a forum to anomalously give our opinion about the distress that is happening within. Not everything is as positive as they make it seem.
I am frustrated. In years past teachers and principals have seemed happy, school board concersation seemed robust and programs seemed on the right trajectory, so I felt optimistic. This year, there has been a change. Teachers seemed quiet and angry. Principals seem changed. School board visibility has gone dark. Changes are happening behind the scenes that seem very negative for my kids and foe the first time in years I am scared about the future of our public schools. It seems that corruption and self dealing abounds and that everyone has forgotten about the children. How have things gone so wrong so quickly?
Can you explain why there are so many feeling nervous this year and why there is fear?
Thank you for shining light on this darkness.
I am trying to understand where these comments are coming from all of a sudden. Am I just living in a bubble and not paying attention to my son’s teachers and their needs?
I’ll let teachers speak to this
You want to know what my biggest concern is as a middle school teacher?
Discipline.
Restorative discipline is a joke. Students in middle school especially know they can get away with pretty much anything. We are told to keep our referrals down so the new administration will not come down on our school’s leadership. How is this helping?
I understand these students need an education and for some being at school is a much safer place to be. But the educational rights of my other students are suffering and I will take the fall once scores come in. Plus what about the safety of us as teachers? If a student punches or disrespects a teacher, they know it is basically a slap on the wrist and they will be back in the classroom the next day.
Where is the justice in that?
Here’s an idea:
Promote from within. Quit bringing in outsiders who have never been in the classroom. I find it hard to believe there was not one qualified educator already in MNPS that they could have promoted. That tells me a lot about the new administration’s leadership style.
If you want teacher buy in, then show respect to those that are in the classroom. Otherwise go back to the D.C. area where political favors are more in common.
I have never felt like I was supported less than this year in MNPS! I’m thankful for parents like you who can see through the crap and support teachers like myself. I hope Dr. Joseph will wake up and realize he is has lots of dedicated teachers that he is forcing to question their abilities and look elsewhere for jobs. Shame on him, the people that brought him, and our school board members who are not taking a stand. Go Norinrad10… I’d gladly take you as our next director of schools!!!
Wow! Discovered your blog on a group text with some other teachers today. Good to know we are not the only ones who are literally screaming from the inside. I have only been teaching for 4 years, but the culture has shifted completely to one of fear this year. I can’t speak to what it was like before the former administration, but I am now having regrets about moving here. And if you think I am the only one you are deceiving yourself.
Dr Joseph came to visit our school. He ran in as if to touch the wall and say he had been there and then left. Hardly a meaningful school visit. Teachers are losing their planning periods to cover for no subs every single day. They have done nothing to fix it. Other districts don’t have this problem. Joseph is judgmental about our progress without hearing our stories. He doesn’t try to get to know anyone but sticks with his tightknit group that keeps his secrets. Why do he and Sharon Gentry carry on like they are having an intimate relationship? Surely he could do better. I heard this week they are starting to move the central office losers around which is fine because leadership and learning hasn’t led or learned in years. They have long lunches and head home early. If my principal gets moved I’m off to Rutherford co. She is the only reason I stay. This blog gets under the admins skin because it’s the only one posting the truth. Will, Amy, Jill and Anna do you see or hear what’s happening? Why don’t you act anymore?
I have never felt as disconnected from the central office as I have this school year. The imposters who are running this district do not know Davidson county nor do they demonstrate a desire to get to know the professionals who have been doing great things in this district for years. There are roughly 10,000 employees in this district. Do you expect me to believe that there wasn’t ONE qualified person within this District to fill any of the leadership vacancies? How in the world is it possible that our Chief of Schools has one year of experience as a principal (and a failed year at that)? How is it possible that our Executive Director of PD has no classroom experience? How is possible that our Executive Officer of Diversity, which happens to be over the EL department, has no classroom experience? I could go on and on. How is it possible that our Chief Academic Officer has never expressed an original idea on improving instruction and, instead, outsources her academic leadership to Scholastic? Back to the Executive Director of PD…..how is it possible that it is nearly March and she has never led a PD, emailed about PD, or presented anything about PD? For what are we paying her? There are good people in this District who are more than qualified to lead in senior positions (and amazing teachers and APs who were more than qualified for the open principal positions.) but our District leadership does not seem to think our “own” are competent enough to lead. There has never been a stronger culture of fear in MNPS, to my knowledge, than there is now. People are scared. People are exhausted. People are confused with no direction. The most astonishing thing about all of this is our School Board members, who are the protectors of the system and the funds, are SILENT. They rubber-stamped this administration at a recent Board meeting without even so much as one critical question. Someone please save MNPS.
Not only does Felder not have any original ideas, but she chose to greet the teachers and school admin last fall by saying she was mad enough about the literacy scores to take her earrings off, lather herself with vaseline and fight. She not only said it once – she said it four times to four different groups! Who chooses to introduce herself like that?She showed her true self right then and there and lost the respect of most of the teachers. Felder needs to go and Joseph needs to cut his ties with her if he expects to gain any ground with this school district.
Looking at your comments one can ascertain an indisputable fact. If there is not a culture of fear created by Dr Joseph and his minions then people would feel free to use their real names. I know I would still feel the freedom to use my name if I had an inkling that my board member had my back. See if I and others in Old Hickory have your back with your reelection efforts in 2018 Anna Shepherd. #DrainTheMNPSSwamp
Brannon, Pierce, Hunter & Shepherd:
If you have any political moxie left I would suggest you start now to show why you should win another term. 2018 will be here before you know it.
I can only hope more teachers and employees come forward on your blog and share their stories. Then maybe some media will start to ask questions and not let them get away with the destruction of our district.
I for one would be perfectly fine if I never saw or post another tweet from a school board member railing about the evils of Betsy DeVos, Trump, vouchers or charters and their “zealots” ever again. At least until they deal with what they were elected to do.
Maybe all that Arbinger training has brainwashed them and now their cult leader, Dr. Shawn Joseph, pulls their strings and thinks for them.
Do your damn job!
Finally people are coming out from the shadows and dropping truths. Thanks for giving us this forum to vent. Dr. Joseph, Pinkston and their crew came to our elementary school on Friday.
Last year whenever there was a school visit from Bransford most of us felt comfortable enough to wave or greet those who visited. Not this time. It was as though we had “celebrities” in house and no one could make eye contact.
I personally have to have respect for someone before I make the effort. Pinkston has definitely lost his mojo and my respect.
Last night I was part of a conversation with a few teachers from my school. The topic of was how we can do more for our principal. She is a great woman and a phenomenal leader. This year however, she has not had the same bright light in her eye and has lost a pep in her step. It hurts us to see her strain to smile through the pain. She has always gone above her role to take care of those she is responsible for. When she discovers a student is without a bed, she spends her weekend finding one and making sure that family has what they need. You can’t measure her worth by simply stepping into our school for ten minutes and then making an assumption that we don’t have rigorous teaching methods or suggesting that we are not the right “people” to understand our students and their situations. How about you step out of your “funded by us Tahoes,” and walk in our shoes for the week. How about you step out of your townhomes in South Nashville and spend a weekend with a crying third grader as a family member was shot or arrested. You want rigor? Our students face more rigor in a day then you can imagine. So you go spend your time at exclusive resorts like The Ritz Carlton. Just stay out of our way. We got this.
The above comments are ripping my soul. Is our school board really allowing this to happen under their watch or are they just oblivious to the situations? I find it hard to believe the Amy Frogge and Jill Speering I canvassed for in the middle of July is letting this happen. There has to be more to these stories. It simply cannot be this widespread and our school board not notice. I am just a parent so I am not in the schools everyday but I have noticed the lack of communication from MNPS when compared to previous years.
If the above statements are known by Amy & Jill and they are choosing to stay silent because of some “vow of silence contract…” well then we need to look at getting them out before 2020 as well as the others who choose to remain silent.
“Check Out The Comments!!”
That is what my text from a fellow teacher started with. I have never seen your blog before this morning. So as I was trying to familiarize myself with your spot on analysis of our culture I came across this beauty from October of 2016:
“In looking to hire the best executive team possible, Dr. Joseph sought to bring people to Nashville who have the experience and knowledge necessary to make major improvements to our educational system.”
WTF?
How in the world does Tamika Tasby have the “experience and knowledge to make major improvements?” I am sure there are more examples of incompetent leaders, but I lead PD at my school and I have yet to hear one jewel of wisdom from her. To be honest after reading about her hire in our Forward Focus I have simply forgotten she existed in our district because I have yet to meet her.
Keep digging Dad Gone Wild. Maybe you can dig them a route back to Montgomery County.
I appreciate your blog as one thing that education lacks is a good checks & balance system. Hence, the reason the new leadership has been able to pad their pockets, their friends’ pockets, & consultant friends’ pockets. I’d love to know how much has been spent on their salaries, their consultants/vendors, & their travel. (Yes, while there’s been a travel ban for everyone else, they’ve been traveling quit a bit.)
Speaking of money….Since our board meme era won’t help, let’s lobby our metro council members & Mayor to NOT APPROVE the MNPS budget this year until we have lots of answers as I’m tired of seeing Nashville taxpayers’ money being wasted.
Who’s with me?
I appreciate your investigations as one thing we lack in education is a checks & balance. Hence, the reason the new leadership has been able to come in & take our money. They’ve used it to pad their pockets & their friends’ pockets (incompetent hires, consultants, & vendors). (And to think I had hope for them.)
As we enter budgeting season, let’s ask some questions about salaries, consultant/vendor payments, & travel. (Yes, while there’s been a travel ban, there’s one group who have continued to travel or approve travel.)
Since the school board won’t help, let’s reach out to our metro council members & Mayor Berry to stop the MNPS budget, so Nashville taxpayers’ money will not continue to be wasted.
Really Anna Shepherd?! Last night our MNPS Board Chair, Anna Shepherd said in a tweet about the above poll: “We are watching and listening. I’m encouraged that the BOE received a majority percentage of support.” Are you f**king kidding me? What are you drinking and may I have some? Are you not reading the same comments that I am? You are encouraged!?
You know what? I’m sorry. I forgot this is the same district leader who when asked by News Channel 5’s Phil WIlliams a multitude of questions about Dr Joseph, his spending and his hiring decisions replied with, “You know, I don’t know.” or “I really can’t answer that.” or “I really don’t know what the district policy is.”
Is it 2018 yet?
For everyone out there who is wondering, “Is it really that bad in MNPS?” I can tell you, without a doubt that, yes, it is really that bad. The administration talks about “culture” all the time but has driven the culture of the district into the ground in just 7 months. Several people on this thread have commented that they can’t believe the Board members are aware of this and are allowing it to happen. Well, they may actually not be aware because employees will be reprimanded for talking directly to a Board member because, according to an MNPS memo, all communication between Board members and employees must go through Dr. Joseph. Furthermore, Board members must be accompanied by a member of the executive leadership team if they want to visit a school. That is not a rumor or gossip; that is FACT, and it is in print from Dr. Joseph himself. So, there is a loophole to that memo, and the loophole is this comment thread on this blog. Pass this around to all your friends and ask them to share their MNPS experience on this blog. Maybe, then, the Board members will listen and take notice.
I love and agree with your statement. There is a level of paranoia I have not seen in my 8 years with MNPS. Not to be conspiratorial, but it has made a couple of us teachers begin to wonder how high this might go since our warriors at the School Board are remaining silent. I mean one has to start to ask if this Board was forced to choose Dr. Joseph by The Chamber and NPEF. They (NPEF) continually brag about Shawn Joseph in their email communications and always point out how he is here because of them. What are they holding over our elected board’s head?
When we were younger, we were most likely warned by our parents to be careful of whom we choose to spend our time with. They said this in reference to the way others would judge us in accordance to our friends, in addition to the influence our friends would have upon us. We have all heard the saying that birds of a feather flock together, meaning that the company you keep reflects your personality. A smart person surrounds himself with other smart people. If you hang out with not nice people, you will be perceived as not nice people.
Well our Executive Lead Principal, Karen Gallman, who is friends with our Director of Schools, Shawn Joseph, has some explaining to do. I will just leave these links here for your own reading.
http://patch.com/maryland/bowie/brothers-sentenced-claiming-224-million-fake-tax-refunds-0
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-brothers-admit-filing-fraudulent-tax-returns-seeking-refunds-over-218-million
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-brothers-sentenced-prison-filing-fraudulent-tax-returns-seeking-refunds-over-224-million
I wonder what else is out there.
The above comments while absolutely heart breaking have given this old teacher hope that we as a district have not simply given up. There is still fight left. Even though our unions, board and elected officials have turned their backs on us it is great to know that parents and other teachers have not.
Thank you Dad Gone Wild for giving us a safe forum to let each other know they are not alone and we will fight back.
Get ready teachers and parents. Changes are coming this week and more in the weeks to come. They are making changes for the sake of making changes. Nothing that I have seen makes an ounce of sense. The changes that are occurring are only happening to make it look like they are doing something. As Ellen Glasgow said, “All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.”
Some of the positions that are being created is just to give their fellow Prince George peeps more money and power.
None of the upcoming changes have been discussed with any parents of students that this will affect. Not one parent has been called in and asked for their opinion. Just like that dog and pony show they had where parents and the community had the illusion that they could help with the selection of their principal. Yeah just ask some parents and teachers at Sylvan Park or Cumberland how that is working out.
Some people have already been laid off, and just like a certain Presidential administration they are terrified of leaks. I believe you should want your employees to be talking to others about the amazing things you are planning. When you are honorable you should not worry about leaks. When you have things to hide, like the fact that you are in over your head, well we see how they act then,
I have nothing new to say that hasn’t already been mentioned above. I am just a teacher of three years in the Cane Ridge Cluster that is exhausted and I just wanted to be included in this online resistance to Dr. Joseph, his Prince George Crew and our MNPS School Board. Please send help.
I am late to post because I was afraid of the repercussions, but like my friend (ELA Teacher) above I just wanted to let you know I agree with everything I have read in the above comments. There are more teachers like myself who are simply scared and have been tossing back and forth whether to comment on your blog which is so sad. Keep it going and maybe someone will listen.
History will repeat itself. Shawn Joseph will leave after a year or two just as he did in Delaware. Just like there he will spend all of our money and make an excuse like his wife was not able to move here. Oh wait.. Is his wife and family here? Are they in the Hillwood cluster schools he said they were going to attend? Didn’t think so.
Shame on you MNPS Board. We see were your priorities really are. Thanks for removing the scales from our eyes to see your true nature.
I have watched our es school get decimated this year all because of a new principal who has clearly shown over the course of this school year that she is not ready to lead a school. I have tried to help our teachers have a voice and to try to change the situation so they will consider staying around and not looking elsewhere for new and better opportunities. And I have watched what i used to consider a school board that WAS willing to fight for our children now only forward emails of concerned parents pleading with them to do something for our teachers and children. What happened that this elected board sign a contract to Joseph not to fight the wrong but just allow things to happen. We have a seriousproblem and the school board isnt doing anything but helping the problem grow. If i would have known that speering, frogge and pinkston were done fighting the good fight then i wouldnt have supported their re election. Parents and teachers are not able to break this iron curtain and it is a shame these three cant see what they are doing by not looking at the problems. They are just forwarding emails from parents to the main office. I am frustrated with them and sadly want them off the board if they aren’t willing to see what they aren’t doing for mnps.
Is Joseph creating an education mafia? Sounds like it to me. Here is a situation worth mentioning. Our new Principal seems to be on Team Joseph and is being protected by the education mafia on Bransford Ave.
I have been repeatedly asking for help at Central office for our teachers that are being mishandled and my pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Narcisse, Gallman and Garcia have done nothing to protect the teachers at our elementary school. I have asked for help from our school board member. That really has gone nowhere. They have let a new principal come in and run rough shod over a sweet neighborhood school that absolutely loves and respects their teachers. We have lost teachers mid-year and are slated to lose many more over the summer. I am so sick and tired of hearing the party line of, “change is hard.” Change is change, doing irreparable damage is what we have. We have veteran teachers who are going to leave our school because they just can not take the ill-treatment that they are getting. They are being made to acquiesce to an administrator who has no tact or grace and has no management skills. She is a bully and has never taught at the elementary level. She has no idea what these teachers do day-to-day. Our new principal is a con-artist. She has conned the parents, she has conned the kids, but it is the teachers that are suffering and they will exit to be replaced by whom?
Just wait folks, if this can happen at our school, it can happen at yours. I fear this is a trend and for the life of me I can’t figure out why Joseph and his mafia family are wanting to undermine our district.
Reblogged this on MY TWO CENTS and commented:
My friend TC Weber writes a helluva blog here in Nashville.
He put together a poll about local issues within Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), and I encourage you all to read it, and if you’re local, take the poll and maybe leave a comment. (And oh, those comments……. wow….)
I’m working on a post about my own reaction to what’s been happening within MNPS since the arrival of our new Director of Schools, so stay tuned…
Answer: Not. So. Great.
I’m just now reading this post and all of the comments. So sad. I can’t even call up the right words right now. My heart goes out to all involved. Sounds much worse than what drove me and many others to resign in 2003. My principals had nothing to do with it, and do think they had more of a voice (as did the school board) than now. This is truly shameful. Where is MNEA in all of this? I remember feeling conflicted about joining the union when I first started my career in Metro schools, but quickly saw, while not perfect, MNEA was often our only ally. Have things changed? Would love to hear how they are reacting to all of this.
Follow the politics and the money and there you will find the truth! Parents…It is time for a REVOLUTION!!! Define Revolution…a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system. The School Board Members are elected officials by the parents and community to represent us and our children’s best interest. They failed. POINT BLANK – THEY FAILED. They hired Dr. Shawn Joseph and gave him a 4 year contract. They hired a man from another state with only 2 years Superintendent experience. A district with less than 800 students. Really, this is the best you could do? He compares his salary and his staff’s salary to other districts, which all have over 30+ years experience. I believe we call that comparing apples to oranges. Dr. Joseph has been called out on multiple occasions on the local news, on blogs, on websites, etc. His staff has been exposed for “Less Than” qualified. There is a long list of unethical and baffling actions inside MNPS. The school board members hired someone outside our community that wasn’t vested in our community, our schools, our teachers, and our students. Whether in general conversation among parents, or on websites, blogs, newspaper articles, local news broadcasts – these are a few words associated with MNPS Leadership, UNETHICAL, BAFFLING, UNSATISFACTORY, UPSET, WORTHLESS, CARELESS, ALARMING, DECEITFUL, SICKENING, ATROCIOUS, REVOLTING, AWFUL, QUESTIONABLE, FAILURE, MESSY, CORRUPT, CONTRADICTORY, POLITICAL ZOMBIES, BROKEN, DETRIMENTAL, SUBSTANDARD, TERRIBLE, CORRUPT, UNDER QUALIFIED, ARROGANT, DETACHED, AND ON AND ON AND ON. Someone forgot to tell the school board members that the superintendent works for them and they work for the people that elected them. I can’t imagine another 3+ years with the same people in charge. Our teachers will suffer, our children will suffer and all taxpayers will suffer!
OKAY, EVERYBODY PULL UP YOUR BIG GIRL PANTIES AND LISTEN TO THE REAL TRUTH – OUR YOUTH IS 24% OF OUR POPULATION BUT THEY ARE 100% OF OUR FUTURE. If this is the best we can do for them, they will lose and so will we. There is power in “WE THE PEOPLE”! We the parents, the community, anyone who cares about young people and cares about their future and our future – it is time to RISE UP! The MNPS School Board Members will not be the first to be replaced – their seat can be recalled. Yes, a petition is involved, yes signatures are involved, but YES, it can be done. If you elected them, they work for you! It is time to make them work and work in the best interest of our students and our teachers – not their own personal political agenda. We teach our children to be responsible and hold them accountable for their mistakes, it is time we require the same from them. They hired him, they allowed him to make ridiculous demands on them and the taxpayers, they continue to allow him to spend the taxpayers dollars on ridiculous things, cars, drivers, inflated salaries, hire under-qualified staff, and on and on and on. WE THE PEOPLE (THE TENNESSEANS), we love our kids, we love our communities and we want to love our schools again. WITH THAT SAID – We have a few board members that do care about our schools, our teachers and our children. We have many teachers and principals that care about our schools and children. We have some central office staff that cares about our students and schools and teachers. It is up to us, WE THE PEOPLE, the parents, the business owners, the taxpayers, the community to STAND UP AND DEMAND CHANGE. The greater Nashville/Davidson County area will suffer. Bad schools and bad school systems don’t attract good businesses, don’t increase home sales, and the community as a whole, loses. Everyone wants to move to the counties with the good schools, NEWS FLASH – Davidson isn’t that county. Most people shop where they live, business owners lose. We will see less revenue generated in our community and county. That means the people that are here, we will pay. Increased property taxes, higher permit charges, increased business taxes, increased license fees, somebody has to pay for it. So bottom line people, make a change or start considering moving to another county.