VOL. 53 NO. 32
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IN THIS ISSUE CHS golden grads
August 13, 2014
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Heading back to
Betsy Pickle covered the reunion of Central High School’s golden grads, and Ruth White previews the Halls High School band show. All this plus new teachers.
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See pages A-2 and 3
Bean gloats a bit Lawyers aren’t supposed to forum shop, but it happens. And there’s going to be a bunch of it after the new “Red-to-theRoots” judges take the bench next month, particularly in Chancery Court, Division II.
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See Betty Bean on page A-4
50 years since Dickey debut If memory and the calendar are correct, we are approaching the 50th anniversary of Doug Dickey’s first team at Tennessee. Time for a reunion? Think about it – 50 years since the conversion from single wing to T formation, and the Volunteers are again looking for a quarterback.
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Central High health science teacher Chris Hammond receives chicken mini biscuits from Nancy Heatherly with the Central Baptist Church of Fountain City women’s ministry. The ministry served breakfast to the faculty and staff on the first official day back. Photo by R. White
Read Marvin West on page A-5
Replacing Kincannon Knox County Commission to select interim board member By Sandra Clark
This place is a zoo! Folks of all ages have stopped by the Knoxville Zoo this summer to partake of ice cream, to enjoy the splash pad and to watch the penguins slip and slide on the rocks by their watering hole. Come Aug. 16, the zoo’s residents will welcome a different kind of party in the name of fundraising.
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Read Sara Barrett on page A-8
Sterling takes the helm of ETABPA It has been only one month since Justin Sterling accepted the presidency of the East Towne Area Business and Professional Association. The smooth transition speaks volumes for the leadership of the group and the tight bond many of the members have formed. This business alliance has achieved much in a short time.
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Read Nancy Whittaker on page A-9
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Ten people have applied for County Commission’s appointment to replace Indya Kincannon on the school board and others may be waiting for the November election. Fountain City activist and former Town Hall president Jamie Rowe is lining up support, but opted not to seek the appointment. Second District Commissioner Amy Broyles has coordinated applicants and says she “could not be more pleased with the diversity, depth and quality of all the candidates.” The League of Women Voters and the Knox County Education Association will host a public forum at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug.
14, at Gresham Middle School for residents of the second district. The forum will allow questions from the audience and 90-second responses. Each candidate will get a two-minute closing statement. At 3 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18, following the regular work session at the City County Building, County Commission will interview applicants. The appointment will be made on Monday, Aug. 25, at the commission’s regular meeting, which starts at 2 p.m. The appointee will serve until the winner of the Nov. 4 special election is certified. District 2 roughly encompasses the Fulton and Central high school zones.
Applicants ■ Juanita Cannon, a retired principal with Knox County Schools who chaired the KCDC board and served on the Knoxville Chamber board. Holds a master’s degree from UT. ■ Emma Ellis-Cosigua, office manager with JIG-Insurance Group, who facilitates a college-readiness class for middle-school children and an adult ESL class for immigrants. Her grandson attends Christenberry Elementary. ■ Charlotte Dorsey, former principal; holds doctorate in education from UT; retired from KCS in 2003 and has worked for the state Department of Education to improve high priority schools. Was a candidate for school board in 2010 from District 7. ■ John Fugate, vice president of Commercial Bank in Fountain City, a former principal in Claiborne County and an active member of the Fountain City Business and Professional Association. ■ Laura Kildare, a former Knox County teacher currently working on her doctorate in special education. Has
published extensively and been active in Knox County Education Association. ■ Elizabeth Lane, a former employee of Texaco and Shell Oil, working in administration and supervision, and a volunteer locally with Friends of Literacy. ■ Diana Ray, a former community-development manager for the local Girl Scouts Council, holds a bachelor’s degree from MTSU and is mother to a rising 1st-grader in KCS. ■ Tracie Sanger, a special-education teacher for KCS and field experience supervisor for Tusculum College. Cofounder of Shannondale Foundation. Would resign as teacher if appointed/elected to school board. ■ Jennifer Searle, a board member for the Knox County Council PTA Clothing Center and school volunteer. Former PTA president and past president of North Hills Garden Club. ■ Rick Staples, a Knox County deputy who helps inmates obtain a GED. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Knoxville City Council against Nick Della Volpe. Board member for Fraternal Order of Police.
School board ‘emergency’ vote under scrutiny By Betty Bean Knox County’s law director is taking a close look at school board chair Lynne Fugate’s declaring an emergency at the August meeting to allow a vote on Knox County Schools’ five-year strategic plan. “We’ve received a lot of questions and complaints from the perspective of open-meetings laws and whether voting on a plan that doesn’t take effect until 2015 fits the definition of an emergency,” said David Buuck, chief deputy law director. Fugate declared the emergency after a one-minute meeting of the board’s executive committee – Superintendent James McIntyre and herself – when Mike McMillan invoked personal privilege to postpone a vote for 30 days.
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McMillan said he wanted four new board members (who will be sworn in Sept. 1) to have a say. Invoking personal privilege is an established school board practice, most recently used by board member Indya Kincannon to postpone a vote on a textbook-censorship issue in 2010. “With almost half of the board going to be new members next month, do you not think they would like to have an opportunity to take a look at this plan? What would happen if we didn’t rush through it? Any penalties? Any fines? Would we lose any funds?” McMillan asked. “This school board has worked on this part plan for most of a year. We’re about to start a new school year, and this is the time when people are planning. Hav-
ing our strategic plan in place would be very beneficial …” McIntyre said. The strategic plan, titled “Deepening Our Work: Excellence for Every Child,” has been in the works for nearly a year, but the final draft wasn’t released until July 31 – leaving scant time for interested citizens to study it, critics say. McMillan was responding to complaints that the present board members, four of whom are lame ducks, should not be setting policy for the new board. The plan was approved unanimously, but it wasn’t the only contentious matter at the August meeting. When asked whether all Knox County teachers had received minutes of meetings of the Teachers’ Advisory Group (which McIntyre formed in response to
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teachers’ complaints last fall) in a timely manner, McIntyre said that all teachers had received all the minutes from all the meetings. Lauren Hopson, an advisory group member and a leader of the teachers who have been speaking out against KCS policies, approached the lectern to address the board. She stood silently at the front of the room until a security guard approached and ordered her to return to her seat. A few minutes later, McMillan asked Hopson returned to the lectern, and, struggling against tears, she warned the board that not everything they were hearing was the truth. She told them that advisory board minutes had not been distributed in a timely manner to KCS teachers, or even to board members.
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