001this meeting of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Board of Education is now called to order we'll all stand for pledge of allegiance and a moment of silence I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. next item is point of pride awards Dr. Luna-Vedder yes i'd like to welcome Anthony Johnson our chief communications officer to go over tonight's points of pride there we are good evening board and I definitely need this tonight i apologize for my allergies we are so excited tonight to celebrate so many points of pride we have all of our valedictorians and salutatorians uh from our high schools here today and I just want to say believe it or not in just
002a month we will be celebrating the class of 2025 at graduation ceremonies this year has definitely gone by quickly but tonight is about honoring those who worked very diligently throughout their school career to earn the title of valedictorian and salutatorian so we're going to go in alphabetical order and I will ask that any school representatives that are here with students tonight also join the students so first Clarksville High School if Sara Haake valedictorian and Ava Annikov salutatorian could please come forward congratulations next Kenwood High School if valedictorian Anthony Krantz and salutatorian Iyanah Irvine could please come forward congratulations next Kirkwood High School Valedictorian Riley Walker and Salutatorian Amelia Ferreira congratulations april is a busy month so is May and next Montgomery Central High School Valedictorian Valedictorian Camden Cooper and Salutatorian Raegan Reynolds could please come
003forward and next Northeast High School if Valedictorian Kara Meyer and Salutatorian Ma’Kayla Coates could please come forward and next Northwest High School Valedictorian Timothy Burley and Salutatorian Zoey Melendrez and next Rossview High School Valedictorian Cade Deterding Salutatorian Madison Schwartz let's say that one more time and from West Creek High School Valedictorian Arianna Anderson and Salutatorian Jes’onia Barefield and if we could just give one more big round of applause for all of our Valedictorians and Salutatorians our next point of pride uh was unable to attend tonight but you might recall a few weeks ago we had the Northwest High School JROTC academic team here and they earned their spot at the national competition and in just the past week we have found out that cadet Te’Onja Hinds was also the winner of the national JROTC essay
004contest for the seventh brigade and will also be joining that team in DC this summer so congratulations to Cadet Hinds and our final point of prides and I will let you know there's 26 of them and that's a very proud number just a few years ago I was standing up here with Councilman McLaughlin and we were talking about how we know CMCSS could be the first large district in the state if not in the nation to have 100% of our schools earn the Purple Star School award and I'm honored and proud to share with you tonight that we met that accomplishment so we now have 100% of our schools who have been named a Purple Star School Award for their dedication to our military connected students and as you all know we have over 12,000
005military connected students in our school system and so this is a representation of the pride and the care that we take in taking care of those so I'm going to ask for uh comm uh Councilwoman McLaughlin and anybody else who is here from the Tennessee military interstate compact as well as our uh chief academic officer Dr. Schanda Doughty and our level directors to please come forward we're going to go in alphabetical order but they're going to get their pictures taken 26 times so last year we had uh 15 schools that um either were first time or renewals uh tonight we have 26 we're going to start with our first time award recipients could I have representatives from Barksdale Elementary School to please come forward there we go congratulations next Byrns Darden Elementary School see now
006watch it and next Carmel Elementary School and next Clarksville High School and next CMCSS K-12 Virtual School and Next Cumberland Heights Elementary School and next Kirkwood Elementary School i'm sorry Kenwood Elementary School my apologies Kenwood all right we'll shift around a few letters now Kirkwood Elementary School and next Montgomery Central Elementary School next Montgomery Central Middle School and next New Providence Middle School and next Norman Smith Elementary School next Northeast Middle School next Northwest High School next Richview Middle School next Spanish Immersion Elementary School at Barksdale and the last of our first time winners uh awardees West Creek High School now I'm going to ask all of our schools that renewed to please come forward i'm going to name them all in just a moment but if all of you could come forward it's going
007to be one big group photo and as they're making their way forward I do want to share a little bit about what it's what it means to earn this so each school has criteria that they must meet and then renew every two years that criteria includes providing resources and support to our military connected students uh pointing a point of contact for our military connected families um providing resources on their website and also providing training for all of the employees in that building to ensure that they are providing the best support for our military connected families so there's a lot that goes into that and we very much appreciate the Tennessee Military Interstate Compact for all the work they put into this to support our schools and to to honor us with this great recognition so
008we thank you very much for that now these schools that renewed this means that they have earned it before are Hazelwood Elementary School Kenwood Middle School Kirkwood Middle School Oakland Elementary School Pisgah Elementary School Sango Elementary School West Creek Elementary School West Creek Middle School and Woodlawn Elementary School congratulations to you all we appreciate everyone being here tonight that concludes this evening's point of pride it doesn't there's one more oh please stay okay so along with the school liaison officers from Fort Campbell and Anthony is why this is the largest school district in the state of Tennessee to have accomplished all schools 100% purple star so I have a special presentation from the governor for Anthony for all of his efforts on this and Deb sorry she couldn't be here oh my goodness by Bill
009Lee Governor on behalf of the people of Tennessee to the honorable Anthony Johnson whereas reposing special trust and confidence in your participation patriotism valor and fidelity I do hereby these present constitute and appoint to you colonel aid to camp to rank as such from the date of the commission and to hold such office until conditions prescribed by law signed Governor Bill Lee Colonel Johnson oh welcome and I just want to say I'm a little embarrassed because I don't like the attention the media reporters here can tell you I I run from the camera but all that to say this award really goes to our community thank you all for everything you do for our military connected families it means a lot so thank you all our next item is public comments we have uh seven
010signed up tonight first speaker will be Andra Brown while you're approaching the microphone here at the center um you know you turn the mic on by pressing the right front silver button a timer will display the microphone light will begin to flash when you're in your last minute of allotted time and it will after five minutes will automatically shut off hello I'm a parent of a virtual school student i would like to address the board to um inquire and propose a policy that when there is a activity that is on a state highway that a state troop that the state troopers office is contacted however we've been informed that Clarksville-Montgomery County Sheriff's Office cannot direct traffic nor can Clarksville Police Department direct traffic um as you may know the children are taking TCAP virtual students
011have to go to central services building and it is a hazard to get out of central services office uh parking lot um during the morning hours afternoon hours is not so bad but the morning traffic hours it is because most parents are making a lefthand turn thank you next speaker is Maxwell Bearden did you hear the comments about the mic and stuff yes okay mhm my name is Maxwell Jasper my students if they call me anything call me Teacher Bearden this is my fourth year in public education I specialize in teaching students with moderate to severe disabilities behavioral issues and psychiatric diagnoses school choice is not always a choice for my students my students have complex needs they require specific services implemented with fidelity they require staff that has been trained to meet their needs
012the children specific to me often have specialized teams safety plans and radio codes weeks months even years are dedicated to these students rights the rights they have to be included in their educational environment the rights they have to be differentiated instruction the rights they have to be protected from harm ridicule and discrimination in addition I teach exclusively in Title One schools these schools receive extra funding due to the percentage of families living below the poverty line homeless families unemployed families families struggling with substance use incarceration and mental health problems students who need access to things like clothes closets family engagement opportunities and culturally aware education these services cost money large amounts of it so when I think of the gargantuan figure $146 million proposed to support a voucher plan enough to make any teacher faint
013it feels like a slap to the face enough money to provide the hundreds of thousands of students and staff in pre-existing schools with the support they need to thrive governor Lee has signed his intent to strip this funding using money meant for public schools to fund private educational entities school choice is not a choice for most families it's long since time to end that misconception parents can have preferences but private schools make that final selection and unlike public schools private institutions have no obligation to admit include or accept your child on top of that Lee's vouchers only cover a certain dollar amount an amount which does not cover the tuition of even a single private school's yearly cost in Tennessee a discount for wealthy families that ignores the realities of poverty and discrimination if a
014child is marginalized vouchers disproportionately negatively affect them black brown disabled immigrant English language learners gender diverse or religious minority there is little to no oversight protecting these children nothing to ensure their just treatment if they are even accepted in the first place students deserve pain-free access to a quality and equitable education meaningful inclusion opportunities programs like fuel and free and reduced lunch free dentist and pediatrician visits in the schools access to communication devices physical therapy speech services teachers who look like them schools that proudly represent all students not just a handpicked few I want you to imagine if you will five or 10 years into the passage of this voucher bill our public schools chronically and systemically underfunded scraping by old materials and support staff on poverty wages private schools bolstered by government money and
015filled with well-educated desirable wealthy children who is left in these public schools i'll tell you who my students students like mine are left in these public schools kids with disabilities kids with behavioral issues kids who learn slowly homeless kids abused kids kids hoping to God that their free lunch isn't cut next year because it's the only real meal they get during the week autistic kids and kids in wheelchairs left to sit in front of blank walls because the schools can't afford support staff english language learners denied access to a private education because the school refuses to hire interpreters or certified instructors your plan willfully abandons students that are unwanted by private schools and provides an underserved demographic with an underfunded education and each year dedicated staff quit fleeing to jobs with better pay and benefits
016each year data is collected a little less fidelity falls through a little more lessons become less engaging as public schools hurry to keep up with restriction after restriction a love of learning fades and dies and students fall through these cracks and still that standardized testing year after year scores lower and lower as private schools cherrypick ideal candidates and leave the rest to a broken system and as the scores drop so does the support so does the funding and it starts again a vicious cycle where the only ones winning were the ones born five steps from the finish line thank you thank you next speaker is Nicholas Wojack right thank you good morning chair board members educators families and fellow community members my name is Nicholas though Trump describes me as a leftwing lunatic though I
017don't view myself that way I view myself as a student from Kenwood someone who fits all the criteria for DEI I am here tonight not only to speak about my own experiences but to address broader issues that affect us all the Clarksville Montgomery County School System is at a crossroads and it's time we reimagine education what education and safety truly means for our students because when we talk about education in CMCCS we must ask what kind of future are we preparing students for one that empowers them to navigate the real world or one that reduces them to test scores and outdated outdated curriculum i'm going tell you it's the latter are we equipping them to make informed choices about their bodies and relationships in a state that is pro-life i expect the latter are we
018investing in life skills they'll actually use or merely in rote memorization are we building safe inclusive skills or maintaining systems where too many students feel invisible judged or left behind education is more than academic success take it from me it is about the kind of people we are becoming in schools every student deserves to feel valued for who they are not confirmed to a label of stere label or stereotype yet too often the identities of students like me are reduced to one dimensional definitions we are judged by a single test score a standardized test measure that can't capture the full complexity of our lives our potentials or our words this doesn't just silence us it erases the very essence of our human humanity I ask you today why my words my ability to care and
019my contributions to this community be any less significant because of what others assume about me based on a test score or a label the question isn't just for me it's for all of us if we're serious about equity safety and success then we must recognize that real education goes far beyond EOC's and GPA it requires us to meet students where they are to nurture the growth in every dimension not just what they show on a spreadsheet let's begin with one of the most urgent and overlooked needs in our school our family life curriculum as a gay man as a student who recently was engaged in this curriculum I am appalled i can attest I can attest that it's outdated incomplete and fails to prepare students for the real world challenges they face it focuses narrowly
020on reproduction and puberty while leaving out in-depth explanations of consent healthy relationships boundaries and STI prevention i would like to add that maybe LGBTQ plus topics shouldn't shouldn't be only talked about when discussing HIV as a gay man myself I should not be left behind out of the curriculum if we stay if we say we don't need DEI then why shouldn't why hasn't my presence been spoken about enough because this is true then this is not radical inclusion but explicit explicit exclusion but how can students function in this world if they cannot focus let me tell you an experience that these students are really focusing on this very morning I was drawn to the Nazi symbol etched in the desk behind me why would I feel safe when I knew that my peer is near
021too many students are bullied excluded or discriminated against simply for who they are whether it's because of their race gender identity neurodivergence or background students are being told in subtle and direct ways that they do not belong this cannot continue as a member of what my people call Kenwood I do not see a hood i see a community of lost broken people broken down by this very board because we cannot learn if they do not feel safe and safety is not a privilege it is a right your right as a board is to listen to the people who are most impacted the students themselves we are treated like prisoners in our own abode time and time again students are told to speak up only to be ignored when they do students become nothing more than
022planning sorry student governments become nothing more than planning pep rallies while the real decisions are made without us this has to change give students a real seat at this table we must create student advisory boards that meet regularly with district leaders implement student representation on school committees and ensure surveys actually inform policy something this board fails to lack the challenges facing CMCS cut deep but they are not beyond our reach if we commit to comprehensive sex education prioritize real world skills fix the cracks in our system fostering consistent environments and uplift students voices we can create schools that don't just educate but empower real change takes us all something this board seems to cower behind it takes courage consistency and compassion thank you for your time and your willingness thank you our next speaker is
023Garfield Scott Mr Garfield Scott silver button on the right Hello my name is Garfield Scott i'm a I'm a concerned citizen of district 68 and a past student past parent future grandfather of a CMCSS student a member of the black community trustee for Montgomery County Democratic Party to present the Montgomery County Democratic Party resolution okay I just hand that to you right there i'm going skip that uh we are calling for Aron Maberry to step down from the CMCSS school board to represent my community to point out the conflict of interest in Mr Maberry serving as a state representative while also serving as the school board to highlight the important role of diversity and equity and our public schools to give voice to the immigrant children in our community i am a product of the
024Montgomery County school system I would not be where I am today without the education provided to me in my younger days in the past students of color were not given equal chances to succeed the black community does not want to go back to those days as a parent and a grandparent of black children it is very important to me that the people make decisions about our public schools understand that diversity makes our whole community stronger our black and brown children need to see black and brown teachers in our classroom as role models I loved my teacher McNair McNair all right it is also important that we keep equity in our school so that all students are treated fairly when it comes to discipline access and opportunity Aron Maberry represent a special interest group and partisan
025politics every day in his position as state representative he is actively trying to remove diversity protection from all public schools in Tennessee he claims without evidence that this will improve the situation of students of color Aron Maberry is also in favor of preventing immigrant children from going to public schools in Tennessee though the bill hasn't passed yet Maberry has made it clear he does not support all children having access to a public education he brings his partisan politics opinion into his role as school board member how can we how can this man remain on the school board when he is firmly against keeping our schools keeping our schools a safe and equal place for all of our student how can the how can he stay on the board school board when he is actively trying
026to public use public funds for private schools listen to that private school how can he how can we trust him to make a decision for our magnet students when he does not migrant students when he does not believe in all children who live in the state of Tennessee should be able to school here go to school here it is my opinion that Aron Maberry is not fair not a fair advocate for school childs in Montgomery County and that he should immediately step down from the CMCSS school board my name is Garfield Scott and I have a whole lot of experience in this public school system and I got a beautiful grandson is getting ready to start school he's just turned six and he I love him to death I don't want diversity and equity to
027disappear cause when I first started school when I started school I didn't have a PE uniform because we was poor and my PE teacher beat me every day because he said I was out of a uniform think about that and we won't ever want to return to something like that again he would but it was two of them it was a coach tomb his father and son oh man his son was amazing his father when I got to Burt school over there he beat me just because I didn't have a uniform think about that oh that's horrible Every time I think about that it just bring back awful memories and I don't ever want that for my grandson my kids or his grandkids I want everybody to be safe in our public school whether you
028poor black white upper class pro just be considerate of other people thank you thank you next speaker is Monica Meeks recently I had the privilege of volunteering as a proctor for TCAP at Carmel and I can tell you I am not smarter than a third grader just looking at the test it's a hard test I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the incredible teachers whose unwavering dedication to their students is truly inspiring the experience brought me back a wave of nostalgia as our son once attended Carmel and was the only black child in his class from second to fifth grade it made me reflect how often have any of you been the only person of your race in a room when have you been seen as a representative of an entire race have your
029qualifications been questioned simply because of the color of your skin diversity equity and inclusion isn't about being unqualified it's about breaking down barriers like the absence of nepotism or being born in the wrong zip code it's about creating opportunities where there historically have not been or they have been denied this is for the family pastor who is conveniently not here tonight this part is for you I noticed that you viewed my LinkedIn profile at 4:00 a.m I don't know why you need to know what I do but I know what you're trying to do perhaps your time would be better spent focusing on your family during these formative years unlike you I don't have the privilege of mediocrity I'm a veteran holding multiple certifications and have earned a graduate degree you however went to Bible
030college I am the second black woman you've attempted to silence this month out of over 77,000 citizens in district 68 you believe you are qualified to hold two seats but you are not since you brought up my PTSD I wear as a badge of honor it's a testament of my resilience it's a reminder for those that struggle silently can find encouragement in how I choose to live my life you benefit from the privilege privilege of failing forward did you vote to take over the Shelby County School today why yes you did you do not intimidate me if you choose to swing that's for any of you you better not miss since you appreciate scripture here is one for you many will say to me in that day Lord Lord have I not prophesied in thy
031name and in thy name cast out devils and in thy name have done many wonderful works and then I will profess unto them I have never known you depart from me you workers of iniquity until the innocence of black and brown children is seen with the same clarity as that of white children the problem will persist this is a whip no need to be tonedeaf about what this is and the racist undertone that he felt comfortable posting on his page with it's not okay y'all can pretend that we're too sensitive all you want we know what this means and we want to show the petition we have 420 420 signatures he loves veterans so much that he decided to vote against hemp and y'all know I've been advocating for medical cannabis for veterans for a
032very long time and I'm not woke and I'm not a leftist i'm actually a moderate and that's all I have to say our next speaker is Kevin McPherson right button or silver button to your right that button yeah there we go thank you thank you for uh letting me speak here at this meeting i'm here on behalf of Aron Maberry um I moved here from California about four years ago one of the first people I met was Aron he's very nice to me and I'll tell you I come from a place with charter schools they've had charter schools for 15 20 years now and guess what no teacher ever lost their job in a public school not one matter of fact their job became easier because the the load got taken off of them so
033what what you really need is charter schools go beyond vouchers go into charter schools and magnet schools things like that make uh charter schools help those that are in lower income areas because those are kids that cannot afford to go to private schools you go to if you sit charter schools in those low income areas those students become better I've watched it that's what happened in California so just that fix and as far as this um this politically motivated um push to have to push a Democrat onto this board um by the Democratic party it's politically motivated because they had a resolution for it it is in their in their meeting minutes that they actually got together and decided to attack Aron Maberry they did it Democratic style they they picked the victim found some
034charges leaked it to the media and then sent it into the body that would enforce it that's the way the Democratic Party does it and and when all else fails they bring in a racial component they say "Oh he's he's racist because he's against DEI." I'll tell you um I I guess the Democratic party thinks I fell out of a coconut tree or something like that and I'm incapable of getting a job or anything like that because without them I wouldn't be able to get anything but that's not true i grew up in a time without affirmative action without DEI and I did just fine i was able to get a job have an education make a lot of money buy a few houses i did very well for myself without anybody's help I didn't
035do it because I had help from the Democratic party I did not I did it because I had merit 100% merit was me that's what I did so when you when you talk about that it's all about merit and what else did you guys talk about um as far as mental health goes in schools I dealt a lot with people with mental health issues i was a police officer for a couple decades um I dealt with a lot of people with mental issues and there's a stigmatism for for receiving mental health and some people are more comfortable says here in the Bible belt they're comfortable talking to a pastor than they are to a mental health professional so those things in a school it's not bringing it's not pushing religion on anyone it's providing that
036service for people that are more comfortable speaking to a pastor than to a mental health professional because there's a stigmatism for that and I don't think that I I've known Aron for a while and he before he even stepped in the state house he had these these values that he holds today that he votes for and what he stands up for he had those prior to that well I saw him this morning he had a meeting so he's probably still at the state house well are there's traffic so somebody gonna stop them from badgering with questions or is that allowed because I I I read specifically read that wasn't allowed so you're correct okay please let the speaker speak thank you so as far as him resigning I don't think that's something that should be
037done he can hold two seats it's not against the law for him to hold two seats though i I I think they're they have a resolution where you can't run for two seats at the same time or bill presented in the house that they can't run for two seats at a time but I think and and someday that'll be fair but right for right now it's not against the laws it's not against the rules and he he speaks for every student in Tennessee now he does he wants a better life for them I mean I've I looked at Okay let me tell you I the please please Tennessee is ranked 35th in reading in the United States and 29th in math mathematic skills so I mean I why would you send your kids to school
038in Tennessee it's it's doesn't seem to be that great so if you give other choices people that can do it do private school the voucher will only get to those people that can almost send their kids to private school but you need charter schools and things like that you need a school choice here because public schools sucked when I was a kid and they still suck today so teachers do a good job um we have one more speaker I would please ask the audience to let him or her him speak without interruption Mr Alexander Castagno I cannot say your last name please please say it in a microphone silver button to your right good evening Aron as well i know it's hilarious right my name is Alex Castagno i'm a refugee from the commie city
039of Chicago my wife and three kids moved down here a few years ago to escape their crazy public schools that inserted racism into everything boys playing girls sports and even handing out condoms to you know fourth graders before we left I stood at a schoolboard meeting just like this one to warn them about the dangers of opening up bathrooms to quote unquote all genders they didn't listen and now sexual assaults are on the rise just like I predicted so when we moved here I was determined to protect my kids from being indoctrinated into an ideology that attempts to sexualize children i even planned to run for the school board myself but then I met Aron and I realized he was already doing what everything I would have done only better he's honest transparent faith-driven and
040unlike some people he doesn't just talk about supporting schools he actually shows up to all of them he's visited every school in the district not for photo ops or political points but because he actually cares and wants to be on the ground he's a product of CMCSS and he has three kids in the system so these policies affect his family too now this group Public School Strong pretty Orwellian name if you ask me since I've looked into their positions and nothing they've advocated for would actually strengthen the public schools these Democrats hate the fact that Aron is not only on the school board but was also elected as Clarksville's representative in the state house so we're gathered here today because they filed an ethics complaint a complaint that the Tennessee Ethics Commission dismissed this morning
041and referred to it as a quote colossal waste of time unanimously why because it was this is straight political because they can't win elections let's shift to what this is really about replacing him with someone who would check all the right boxes just not the ones that actually matter now what did Aron do to warrant this baseless complaint they're upset because he wants to dismantle DEI in the school system but what is DEI it's a It's a system that says your race sex or orientation matters more than your merit but let's not kid ourselves this isn't about veterans disabled or religion those are already protected under federal law this is about race it's It's quite ironic that the same people calling Aron racist are fighting to keep a system that ranks people by skin color
042Aron introduced a bill that said hiring should be based on merit imagine that hiring the best teachers for the classroom would you want your surgeon chosen based on equity or skill your airline pilot your presidential nominee sorry dumb question you already did that so why wouldn't you want the best educators and just for the record title six of the Civil Rights Act already bans racial discrimination in public schools so defending DEI means defending something that's illegal and yes it's racist they're also mad that he wants schools to stop enrolling illegal aliens why should legal taxpaying citizen dollars be used to educate people who aren't even supposed to be here that's not comp compassion that's theft and before someone tries to twist my words I'm not saying these kids don't deserve an education they they do
043every child does back in their home country then there's this voucher outrage they say it's undermining public schools when I moved here my kids were zoned for a failing school we were lucky we moved to a better one but their friends were stuck in the same chaos same failure because nothing ever changes why would a school improve if it doesn't have to vouchers give these kids a lifeline and they incentivize schools to improve through competition it's truly incredible that you want kids to be trapped and then claim that it's in their best interest if parents want to use them at religious schools great that's their money they paid those taxes they should decide where it goes and it's not a a violation of the separation of church and state this country was founded on freedom
044of religion not freedom from it that's a lie uhhuh and lastly they're furious about Aron's bill allowing volunteer chaplain in schools unpaid not mandatory just people who want to help in Tennessee nearly one in three kids had a diagnosed mental health condition and most don't get treatment and you want to turn away free help I I get you're allergic to anything that doesn't waste taxpayer money but someone offers to help kids for free and that's a problem is because someone might hear something that's that's true like there are only two sexes or men can't get pregnant so let us ask the obvious question since Aron is doing all this for the kids at the state level which helps out Clarksville why would we want to remove him because he's effective because he represents the values
045his country was founded on they talk a big game about the sanctity of democracy but the second you lose you try to remove the man the people of Clarksville elected yeah I know you got 420 signatures out of what 200,000 that's not democracy democracy is winning elections passing laws representing your community and that's exactly what Aron is doing if I could file an ethics complaint against you for wasting everyone's time on this ridiculous complaint I would but first you'd have to win an election thank you thank you that concludes our public comments um our next item will be approval of consent agenda before we move to that I'm going to ask that one item be removed that's item number five it'll be a separate item proposed consolidated budget for the school system for 25-26 so
046we now take a motion for approval of consent agenda have a motion from Mr Mr Chris and a second from Mr Garland all in favor of consent agenda um please open the vote is everyone happy with with their vote please close the vote it passes 6-0 next item will be 25-26 proposed consolidated budget is there a motion on the floor for that Mr Garland just made the motion is there a second have a second Chris you're right um any discussion before we vote on this there is a statement that some need to read myself included Mr Lanier you want to go first okay my name is Chris Lanier i'm declaring that I have a relative as defined in TCA 49-2-202 whom Clarksville-Montgomery County School System employs I am certifying that the vote that I am
047about to cast is in the best interest of the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System I'm Kent Griffy and I'm declaring that I have a relative as a find in TCA 49-2-202 whom Clarksville-Montgomery County School System employs I am certifying that the vote that I am about to cast is in the best interest of Clarksville-Montgomery County School System I did not hear any discussion so if you please open the vote is everyone satisfied with your vote please close the vote it passes 6-0 next item comments by Fort Campbell school liaison officer and commission members my name is Karen Watkins-Diouf I'm a school liaison officer from Fort Campbell and we would like to thank the Clarksville community and our leaders for your support of our military connected students for helping us to celebrate the month of the military
048child we would also like to invite the Clarksville community to our kids fest that will be on Saturday, April 26th at Fryar Stadium from 10 to 2 thank you CMCEA president a representative good evening since we are in full swing of testing I'd like to remind folks that the result of a single standardized test does not tell the whole story about the efforts and growth of our students educators and schools a student's standardized test score does not reflect the entirety of his journey this school year it cannot reflect the creativity or his ability to work well with others and it doesn't capture his aha his aha moments or his persistence the teacher's evaluation score does not reflect all the moments that go into a teacher's commitment to her job early morning lesson preparation standing in
049line at the copier with lunch in hand one-on-one time with students evenings and weekends spent grading cold dinners followed by 5 hours of sleep and miss time with her own family nor does it show the money an educator spends out of her own pocket to purchase materials for her classroom an evaluation score does not exhibit a teacher's sacrifice and commitment to ensuring students receive a high quality well-rounded education neither a school's assigned letter grade nor a district's designation reflects a partnership between families and teachers nor does it capture the collaboration that occurs across subjects grade levels and support services it does not demonstrate the important roles that education support professionals play or a school's culture it does not reveal students academic growth over the course of the year and it does not reflect the adequacy
050or lack thereof educational funding legislative efforts to update the current standardized testing system have stalled for the year however it is vital that over the coming months we all continue to have conversations with our legislators about the importance of the appropriate role of assessments and the need to protect our freedom to teach it is equally important to remember that students teachers schools and districts are all more than labels generated by standardized tests we are a community of learners led by hardworking highly trained educators the members of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Education Association are proud of the work we do each day to ensure that Clarksville-Montgomery County is a best place in which to work live live teach and learn and also I'd like to just add despite what one speaker just stood up here and said
051we do have a great public school system in Clarksville-Montgomery County with hardworking educators and we know how smart our students actually are we don't need outsiders to come in here and downgrade them in front of us thank you PET representative PET representative Thank you comments for county commissioners no comments comments by board members i'm going to go first and maybe last uh my first comment is the opportunity for the public to address the school board is a wonderful thing the board needs to hear the concerns and the voices of the entire population of this county it also should be a thing that each and everyone respects the person standing up to speak regardless of what they have to say interrupting them and if it been in school you'll be acting as children who've been disciplined
052and it's the first time I think I've ever had public address since I've been chair of this board where the public was not allowing a speaker to speak without being interrupted I'm uh don't know how that would be handled in the future but I hope it's not a situation where I have to clear the room so that the person signed up to speak can speak until their time is over rest of the board comments by board members Mr Garland I'm sorry I think Kacie was first but I've called he was first no you're on okay I would like to thank all of the ones that came out to speak today because truly everything that you say that I take to heart um but you know I am the kind of person that I'm going to
053speak my mind uh some people might not like the fact that I do speak my mind uh but I think at 76 years old I have a right to say what I believe is correct according to uh what we are trying to do I would like to tell the teachers uh that you're doing an excellent job I appreciate all the hard work that you have done down through the years I'm not just talking about today uh yesterday I'm talking about down through the years and I've been here a few years and I would like to talk to the students as well those that are happen to show have shown up tonight and especially the one that spoke I'd like to let you know that we are here for you because that's what the school board
054is supposed to be about education of the children we have some people that think that Clarksville-Montgomery County is just a blip on the map but we are not we are a school district that cares about all 40,000 of our students we have a staff that actually go to work every day with that on their mind regardless of what other parents think about our school system and the statement on DEI diversity equity and inclusion that is very important to me because I wouldn't be where I am today if I wasn't qualified and so you can't say that direct DEI is a black thing that's what Michelle Obama would say it's a it's not a black thing it's a people thing trying to level the battle the the the the fields and as long as we are
055Americans we need to make sure that we follow the Constitution of the United States of America not set rules in our own little bodies and our own little groups to try to bring down those that are trying to do something great for this nation I applaud uh the work that all of you have done uh down through this I mean throughout this year and as well as follow on and as uh the chairman said that we definitely do believe that when a person speak they have a right to speak you know uh there are people that say smart things and there are people that say not so smart things but the bottom line is they still have a right to speak why because this is what America is about and last thing I believe that
056if I was being addressed here tonight I think I would have shown up thank you Ms Bryant a couple things first I want to say that I love that we have a student that came up and spoke so it was very well written and very well articulated um and I wish that we would have more of that and we actually discussed those of you that may have not heard our last board meeting or the one before we discussed actually having students participate in board sessions so the timing of that I feel like is perfect and we're voting on it or we passed it i don't remember it's all one blur it's next month we'll be voting on it um so that is something really exciting to look forward to so you're right there on the
057ball with us um the other thing I want to say is Mr Griffy I agree with you 100% I think that um just giving people the respect when they're up talking whether we agree or disagree I think everybody has an opportunity to address the board if they so please and just be being respectful is part of how we are going to work together and improve what we have going on here so thank you for saying that I agree with that um I have a statement from Aron that I was going to read he sent me and asked me to read it to you guys uh he said "I apologize for not being able to make it tonight this is the last day of session in the 114th General Assembly I look forward to seeing everyone
058in May." I know he was bummed that he couldn't make it again being respectful is goes a long ways thank you comments for board members Ms Berry I was appalled that a citizen in Clarksville-Montgomery County would call our schools a failure as hard as the staff and I and be having taught that is a hard job and he for him to have the audacity I think he should sign up for a day in the classroom don't you he would have a whole different opinion about our schools our teachers do a wonderful job Dr Luna does all she can to make sure that this district is the best in the country and I want to say that if you're not going to say anything good just keep your mouth closed uh we all know that it's
059the constituents the voters that hired each one of us to serve on this board and you are the ones that will fire us did you hear me it's everyone gets one vote so when people don't do what is right for public schools you can fire them well we because I'm I'm in the district too and I have a vote but we don't have to tolerate nastiness we don't have to tolerate disrespect I've been on the other end of the spectrum and I was highly disrespected as a chair of the board however I didn't lose my professional ability because other people were showing what they are made of which is a very low self-esteem and don't think very much of themselves because when you're a professional you're going to always be professional it doesn't matter what's
060happening around you and I'm going to say I can work with anyone but we see what's happening and we must not pretend that it's not wrong because it's wrong when it affects our children it's wrong I'm on this board to make sure that we're doing the best we can for children and I've said it and I'll say it again when I can't do what's best for Clarksville-Montgomery County schools you don't have to fire me I'll quit I will I do this because I'm called to do it and I don't want to spend a lot of time but I do resent anyone that would take a crack at this school district and say that we're not doing our job the senior leadership they're doing their jobs and when you're down in those trenches as school teachers
061it's hard work I guarantee you it's the hardest job on planet Earth and not speaking of special education so I I just think we need to recruit some of these people to spend one day in the classroom if you know them tell them we want you to sign up and just shadow a teacher for one day it would change their whole view of public education we're doing a great job and we're going to continue to be the best with the help of the good Lord amen Mr Nelson so I think one of the worst things we may have done in our country is when we've taken prayer out of school um if you look at the state of our country and and our district and our uh our county now um we need some prayer
062because where are as a people we're just separating and you know no one here wakes up and says I want to do a horrible job today everyone is out there giving their best efforts at all times the teachers and the teachers they lay it out there um some of the children aren't the easiest to deal with but the teachers they show up every day and they put in the work we've got to come together as a as a community as a nation and put the children first um all this rhetoric is unnecessary um we need to focus on children and keep focused on children and the gentleman who made the comment about the charter schools that's okay in a city like Clarksville where everybody has access to it but what about those communities that don't
063have access to charter schools what about those children why don't they what happens to their funding you know we got to look at it in in a broader spectrum we can't just look here in in a microcosm and think that we've got the best answers so um that concludes what I have to say any other comments for board members Ms Berry I just want to say Mr Nelson that God is still in schools because he's in these great people that are called to work with children you don't have to say a prayer out loud many of them pray before school Ii've had times when I prayed during school if kids couldn't get concepts i wouldn't say anything lay my hand on that child prayed God open up the mind I'm just saying he's still in
064us if he's in us he's in the schools and if he's in the schools we have to continue to pray for those that are down in the trenches I pray for you every day I pray for your safety I pray for the children to be able to grasp the concepts that you're teaching and then those of us who are parents and community members it's it's time to pray things are messy but they've been messy before God is our only hope and that's why he called some of us he called all of us and we need to be praying we need to pray and keep on praying and I'm not ashamed to say it comments by excuse me Mr Lanier i just wanted to say that I do appreciate our teachers our parents and everybody that
065helps our students succeed and that's what we're all here for I do reiterate the comments that our chair made about giving everybody their due and let them speak um that's all thank you director of schools report Dr Luna-Vedder good evening board members as has been mentioned this week we are wrapping up statewide testing in the district I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of the students the teachers administrators and the proctors who volunteered in our schools to ensure this week's administration went smoothly it truly was a group effort as the last month of school year is approaching I would encourage you to pause and recognize the accomplishments of all of our students there are so many opportunities over the next month the award ceremonies recognition of valedictorians and Salutatorians grade promotions
066field day activities yearbook signings prom graduation ceremonies all 12 of them and scholarship announcements there are so many good news stories among the amazing students in our district please continue to help us highlight our bright spots and work together in our areas of opportunity Mr Griffy this concludes my report that ends our agenda this meeting is now adjourned