Now that Metro Nashville Public Schools has dropped its mask mandate, the dust from the whirlwind of angry parents has settled and Tuesday night’s meeting felt more like a school board meeting than an SNL skit. The evening flowed through its typical schedule, starting with awards and recognition, then on to the director’s report, public comments, governance issues and announcements.
Awards and Recognition
There was a plethora of folks to recognize, including MNPS students who won medals for state wrestling as well as students who received the Bell Tower Scholarship (which now provides 50 MNPS students with full rides to Belmont). Additionally, the board recognized Kevin Armstrong, principal of DuPont Hadley Middle School, for his new role as vice president of the National Association of Elementary School Principals. The board also invited the East Nashville Magnet High School boys’ basketball team, who won the Division 2A state championship, and Brandon Miller, an accomplished player from Cane Ridge High School who is off to the University of Alabama after racking up several accolades. Miller received the TSSAA 4A Mr. Basketball title and is the Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year.
Director’s Report
In her report, director of schools Adrienne Battle updated folks on MNPS’ COVID-19 case count — MNPS currently has 41 students and nine staff members who have tested positive. Battle also touched on the district’s advocacy centers, which provide social and emotional learning environments for elementary schoolers, and the district's goals surrounding college and career readiness.
Public Comment
There wasn’t a single parent who addressed masks or expressed desire to remove any books from school libraries in this public comment section. One speaker, Kelly Peterson, called these parents out in her public comment.
“I'm frustrated with apathetic parents who have suddenly taken such a great interest in education,” Peterson said. “Where have they been? Where are they tonight? Seriously, when our schools’ PTO, PTA or any booster club has asked for them to serve, where were they? From where I sit, [it’s] next to impossible to get parents to serve in these vital organizations and give us a voice in our schools. Many of them only seem capable of directing their anger at [the board] over two subjects — masks and books they don’t like.”
The majority of the other public comments centered on support staff pay, an issue MNPS employees often address with the board. Some support staff members were wearing SEIU shirts — the union that represents them. While paraprofessionals and teachers alike addressed the board about pay, many referenced the comments of two students who addressed the board as part of an international baccalaureate community project.
“In MNPS there are far fewer paraprofessionals in schools than needed,” said one student. “This is extremely problematic. We are here tonight to ask the board to fulfill the MNPS mission statement of, and I quote, ‘Delivering a great public education to every student every day.’ The fulfillment of this mission is impossible when every student’s needs have not been fulfilled due to a lack of support staff.”
The student also quoted the district’s standing on equity, noting that “Access to individual need is the crux of what it means for something to be equitable. So it is literally impossible for equitable access and opportunity for all our students to exist when so many of our peers with individual or exceptional needs are left to fend for themselves. What so many of our peers need is a paraprofessional to aid them in their daily school life.”
Many MNPS staff members approached the board to talk about how overstretched and underpaid they are. Some noted they’ve had to take extra jobs while others reminded the district that they could make more money working in restaurants — but they love the kids they work with.
District 35 Metro Councilmember Dave Rosenberg also addressed the board to speak about continuing issues within an MNPS school. He mostly read quotes sent to him by teachers that explained a toxic situation and a seemingly vindictive principal — though he didn’t mention the school by name, these issues reflect reflect previous comments Rosenberg has made about Bellevue Middle School .
Governance
The major matter of the evening was passing MNPS’ aspirational budget for the 2022-2023 school year. The board voted to pass the aspirational budget with little discussion. (There was a budget meeting right before the board meeting.) Passing the aspirational budget doesn’t finalize the budget for the upcoming year — it will go to the mayor, who will then decide how much money the district receives. The district has acknowledged its goal to increase pay for support staff, and a pay study has been commissioned through the mayor’s office, but no one (including the board) has seen that study; therefore no one knows how much more money support staff may or may not get.
The board also passed a policy regarding charter schools. If a charter school unsuccessfully applies to MNPS, it can appeal to the state charter commission. If the state approves that charter, its leaders then have to go back to the board to seek sponsorship. If the board chooses not to sponsor it, the charter would then be sponsored by the state. This new policy makes it so that the board cannot sponsor a state approved charter.
