On Friday morning, roughly two dozen parents, alumni and students waved signs outside of Lipscomb Academy in support of principal Jesse Savage, who has come under fire for his handling of students who sought to honor slain right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk.
Two weeks earlier, on Sept. 12, a group of students wore red ties to the Christian private school in tribute to Kirk and were asked to remove them due to dress code violation.
Conservative tabloid The Tennessee Star, based on testimony from scandalized parents, claims principal Jesse Savage "hunted down" the young men and demanded they remove the red ties. Anonymous parents told the Star they called for Lipscomb to fire Savage.
Regarding the description of Savage chasing down students, Lipscomb representatives tell the Scene the school "cannot confirm that this happened. Dr. Savage sent an email to teachers asking them to send any students wearing red ties to see him per dress code policy, but noted they were not in trouble."
An email from Lipscomb obtained by the Scene says students were asked to remove the ties and that, "In retrospect, engaging in a conversation to understand their emotions would have been more beneficial."
Responding to the Scene via email, Lipscomb says the students met with administrators to discuss a way they could honor Kirk while still respecting the dress code. While the students were offered the chance to wear red ties at a future agreed-upon date, they ultimately chose to plan a chapel service instead, according to Lipscomb.
Savage has not been fired, but according to a statement from Lipscomb and emails to parents, he has agreed to move into a new position as director of academics. He's still the head of the upper school until a new hire is made. A spokesperson for Lipscomb tells the Scene Friday that the school had already been discussing moving Savage into the new role well before the red-tie controversy, and that Savage's handling of the dress code violations did not play a role in the decision.
"The role of Director of Academics has been in development for over a year with Dr. Savage having expressed interest," Lipscomb says in a later statement to the Scene. "Given his expertise, he is well-suited for this senior leadership position. His appointment to this new role was announced on Thursday, Sept. 25."
Some parents see the new position as a demotion for Savage and capitulation to a select group of parents.
"My son got a demerit last year for wearing the wrong kind of hoodie, and I didn't throw a tantrum," says Cherry Wood, who was protesting in support of Savage. "I didn't say, 'Your teacher should be fired.' I said, 'You have to follow the rules and do what the school asks.'"
Country musician John Rich has been railing against Lipscomb Academy’s dean of Intercultural Development, according to parents familiar with t…
A Change.org petition set up by parents insists that the "removal appears to be heavily influenced by prominent local figure John Rich, whose undue influence is eroding the fair and transparent decision-making processes at the school."
Country singer Rich, who has children at the school, has previously thrown his weight around in the Lipscomb community over disagreements with the faculty. In December 2019, he canceled a fundraiser over an assignment regarding slavery and white privilege and helped mount pressure on the school to oust then-dean of intercultural development Brittany Paschall. (Paschall did not pass out the assignment that drew ire, but in an email to the school Rich did point to her past writings.)
Wood says the uproar over Savage's handling of the dress code violation harkens back to that prior controversy.
"I feel like we could have made some progress in this, and I wish that the head of school, Brad Schultz and Candice McQueen, would take a stand against this kind of person," says Wood. "I don't know if it's just one in particular, but just that kind of person that feels that they can throw their power and money around and get their way. It just feels like a very wealthy-person tantrum-throwing, if that makes sense."
Charlie Kirk built a strong youth following by selling young white men a flashy, internet-savvy version of Christian nationalism. He ventured onto college campuses to antagonize students into debates about feminism, gender and more. An ally of President Trump, Kirk founded Turning Point USA, an organization that put progressive professors on a watch list that made them targets of harassment. One week after the Covenant School shooting in Nashville, Kirk said it was "worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights."
Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at an event in Utah this month.
The Scene reached out to John Rich to ask if he had put any pressure on the school or spoken to the Star, or whether either of his sons was involved in the attempted Kirk memorial, but has not received a response.
