VOL. 53 NO. 34
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NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Sports in Section B Check out pages 2-3 in Section B to find regular columnist Marvin West, new columnist Stefan Cooper and pictures from Friday’s game.
Teacher info State Rep. Gloria Johnson wants to make sure teachers of subjects that don’t have TCAP tests know about the Sept. 1 deadline to comply with a new state law that could affect the way they are evaluated. In the past, 15 percent of their evaluation scores have been based on school-wide or county-wide “literacy” or “numeracy” scores (i.e., reading or math scores of students they never taught). Johnson posted this announcement: “Is everyone aware that teachers who teach untested subjects now have the ability to choose whatever relevant method they want for their 15 percent as of 7/1/2014? “You can make up your own measure as long as it is relevant! It has to be approved by superintendent and if there is a disagreement it will go to state BOE.” State Rep. Harry Brooks sponsored the new law.
Jamie Rowe campaign kickoff Second District school board candidate Jamie Rowe will have a campaign kickoff 5-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the Fountain City Lions Club building in Fountain City Park. Andy LeGrand will play the guitar, and light refreshments will be served. School board races are nonpartisan, and Rowe says she won’t take money from political parties or special-interest groups. The election to replace Indya Kincannon will be held Nov. 4. Knox County Commission was set to appoint an interim board member Aug. 25.
August 27, 2014
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The drive to 55 By Ruth White Gov. Bill Haslam stopped by Gibbs High School last week to talk with juniors and seniors about Tennessee’s Promise and the opportunity for students to attend community college or technical school for free. “Many students would love to attend college but don’t know how they can,” said Haslam. “Tennessee’s Promise helps provide the way.” Participants will have some responsibility, including meeting with a mentor, performing community service, filling out necessary forms and attending orientation. The program is designed not just to get students into college, but to get them through it, too. Approximately 32.6 percent of Tennesseans have a degree or
Gov. Bill Haslam visited Gibbs High School where students Zack Beeler, Zach McCormick and Justin Park asked to take a selfie with the governor to post on social media. Haslam, wearing a Gibbs High cap, was happy to oblige during his visit last week. Photo by R. White
certificate, and Haslam hopes to drive that number to 55 percent by
the year 2025. Deadline for this year’s seniors
to apply is Nov. 1, 2014. Sign up at www.TNPromise.gov.
Tennova gets OK for cardiac cath lab By Sandra Clark Tennova’s north medical center is expanding. Administrator Rob Followell said a certificate of need has been approved to enable construction of a cardiac cath lab. Designed by Barber McMurry, the new center will be constructed on the ground floor of Building C (main hospital) and will include offices and a diagnostic space. Construction and equipment will cost about $4.3 million, Followell said. “We’ve been talking about this for three years.” He expects construction to start in September. The lab will feature the latest diagnostic equipment, and physicians will be able to treat abnormalities found in the heart or ar- Dr. David Harrison and Tennova North administrator Rob Followell discuss plans for hospital expansion. Photo by S. Clark teries.
When we caught up with him, Followell was meeting with a new Tennova physician, David Harrison, D.P.M., who is opening a practice, Tennova Foot and Ankle, in Clinton and at the Dannaher Road facility. He will perform surgery at the North Knox hospital. Dr. Harrison was genuinely excited about the growth prospects at Tennova, saying he and his partner feel it’s the best place to grow their practice. Tennova has spent $211 million on service and facility improvement, according to the company’s website. Followell said Select Medical Corporation will be relocating from the former St. Mary’s Medical Center to the new hospital off Emory Road.
IN THIS ISSUE Showdown at the K-12 corral It’s high noon and Jim McIntyre faces Tim Burchett on the dusty street. “Not room in this town for both of us,” says Burchett. But McIntyre can’t draw. “It’s the doggone Common Core,” he says. “I have to conceptualize all the steps involved in pulling the gun from the holster. I know engineers who can’t do it.”
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Mama makes three: Rountree attends orientation By Betty Bean Superintendent James McIntyre is off to a rocky start with one of his new school board members. Ninth District school board representativeelect Amber Rountree will be sworn in Sept. 2. She is due to have a baby Sept. 6, and stayed on her job as an elementary school librarian through the end of last school year. She has taken “sick time” as medical leave this summer to preserve her health insurance and will resign Sept. 1. Her Knox County Schools coverage will remain in force until Sept. 30. Rountree was elected to the school board on a “no rubber stamp” campaign promise and was one of the most vocal of the teachers who spoke out last year against McIntyre’s policies. Her maternity-leave status became an issue after she participated in a tour McIntyre conducted at Dogwood Elementary School Aug. 11. Her former opponent, incumbent Pam Trainor, also attended the tour. On Aug. 13, McIntyre sent Rountree an email informing her that he had “fielded a few questions … about your status, which I answered tactfully. I’m starting to become a bit
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concerned that some people may perceive it as inappropriate for you to be accompanying me on school visits while you are a paid school librarian out on medical leave. “Sorry to broach a potentially sensitive subject, but I just wanted to make sure you know that such questions are being asked.” On Aug. 18, McIntyre sent another email informing her Rountree that she would not be allowed to attend an Aug. 21 orientation session for incoming board members “given the fact you are out on maternity leave due to physical disability.” He said he’d set up a separate session for her after Sept. 2. Later that day, Rountree sent McIntyre an email reply telling him she’d checked with David Buuck, the chief deputy law director, who assured her that there was no legal reason to bar her from attending the orientation session with fellow board members-elect Terry Hill and Patti Lou Bounds. McIntyre responded the next day:
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“I certainly appreciate the opinion of the deputy law director, but I’m not willing to accept the risk, nor any potential appearance of impropriety.” Rountree again asked the law director’s office for guidance. Buuck replied quickly: “Amber, I am astounded at the disrespectful response of Jim McIntyre to a member of the BOE which body is his employer.” Buuck shot off an email to McIntyre: “I can find no reason that she should be denied the right to attend the orientation meeting on account of her pregnancy and have so advised her.” McIntyre responded: “Unfortunately, I believe you have significantly mischaracterized my correspondence with Ms. Rountree.” The next day, Buuck escorted Rountree across Gay Street to the Andrew Johnson Building where she attended the orientation. McIntyre tweeted a picture of the three new board members. There were smiles all around. The Shopper-News obtained the emails last Friday after submitting a public information request to the law director’s office.
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