Roy Exum
Two weeks before the August election where three members of the Hamilton County School Board were angrily replaced, the organizer of what was called “a great way for the (challengers) to raise great money to help them run smart campaigns” made a bold statement. “I'm sure the current board is well-intentioned, but the results are not there," said Paul Brock.
"Leadership matters and that's why I'm working really hard to help get some change on the school board," he added and this morning he appears to be the one in the corner wearing the Dunce hat. Kathy Lennon, who took more than $12,500 in campaign lucre from the elite group of Chattanooga 2.0 supporters so eager to change the world, is now a principal figure in a movement that will assure there is no change at all in the worst metro school district in the state. Ain’t that a kick in the head!
Minutes before the school board would choose a search firm for a new superintendent at the start of Thursday’s monthly meeting, Lennon made the motion to make interim Kirk Kelly the permanent pick. That Kelly would be nominated was so well-known by the end of last week it was reported by Chattanoogan.com on Saturday. By yesterday morning, a rash of knowing emails virtually guaranteed it and the only thrill was wondering which of the puppets would pull the string.
A special session of the school board met for 2 ½ hours on Tuesday with each of the nine members espousing their ideals for a new superintendent and, last night, one praised the others for their harmony and cohesive efforts to work closely with one another. Oh my goodness, was it just a script, poorly written at best? Face it, the school board is not trusted, admired or thought to be responsive to the real needs of children by the public at large. Please, the last three superintendents have each left prematurely and test results are the lowest in the state.
Kelly, a longtime employee of the Hamilton County Department of Education, was “kicked upstairs” years ago after he, as a middle school principal, was found wanting in a flagrant discrimination lawsuit that was settled for $125,000. Andy Berke, now the city mayor, represented his accuser. Since January of this year, the HCDE has been torn asunder by extremely critical reports, facts as well as allegations, and – in the face of such gloom and doom -- Kelly’s rise to prominence within the system has been nothing short of mind boggling. It has to be the greatest “good ole boy” achievement in history!
In fairness, the consensus among all who have a vote is that Kelly, with his team of Jill Levine, Lee McDade, Zac Brown and Justin Robertson, have performed quite admirably. They have made long-overdue improvements in almost every area of the HCDE but when you’ve been as down as the school district has fallen in the past four years, everything looks like up from here.
The fact is “the Kelly solution” is absolutely nothing like the public has envisioned would take place earlier this summer in a broken system desperate for change. The leader in the desire for change and accountability was former chairman Jonathan Welch but he was beaten by fewer than 100 votes by Kelly’s foremost cheerleader – Lennon.
Since then, there have been virtually no changes in the central office where it is both known and documented that certain personnel are ill-equipped to handle the challenges and decisions of the day. There is little if any accountability among “lifelong friends” and the principals and teachers of the district’s 75 schools continue to live under fear of censure, false allegiance and outright tyranny, to hear them tell it. The operations system is status quo. Please, if a stupid supervisor said it last year, what do you think this year’s verse will be?
Kelly, Levine, McDade .. they know this!
As we ask ourselves “why did this happen,” a prominent belief is that earlier this week, the board received an email of a proposed education plan, called an LEA, that HCDE had already sent to the state Department of Education. (As in the past, it was not presented to the school board beforehand and now it has been learned an ignored civil rights matter that was swept under the rug in July by the masters of the guise is a ticking time bomb.)
According to the central office grapevine – and it’s a thick one -- Lennon immediately responded to the plan in a pointed email, telling Kelly the only reason she ran for the school board was so art could be returned to HCDE schools. She said it was “critical and vital” that the children embrace and enjoy the arts. Kelly immediately acquiesced to her wish in a blanket email to the board, replying “the arts” would certainly be included in a move one estimate claims will cost the cash-strapped HCDE approximately $2.2 million during the next school year.
But, wouldn’t you know, before the school board meeting could ponder the choice of three search firms, Lennon read a carefully-prepared and obviously professionally written statement that Kelly “and his team” should be chosen instead. Kelly, beaming just so, had several other board members saying that was an idea worth considering and, “ … you know, I hadn’t even thought of that!” Please, our grade school class plays have better acting!
Board Chairman Rev. Steve Highlander assured the large crowd that no “Sunshine Laws” had been violated – drawing laughter he apparently didn’t totally understand – but the star of last night’s show was Lennon, who repeatedly begged for live streaming of meetings and “community involvement” and “advisory councils” when the truth was – in front of the Bible and the American flag – she proposed Kelly as the “permanent” with absolutely none of the above in her heart or her mind at all.
Is America great or what? Welcome back to square one.
royexum@aol.com