Watching the Knox County School Board Called Meeting to consider the budget recommendation of Superintendent Dr. James P. McIntyre, Jr. several observations are noted.
1) When Law Director Bud Armstrong pledged that he would be at every school board meeting to keep the board from getting into legal sticky issues like a momentary conversation between the Superintendent and Chair. That pledge is not for every meeting, because tonight’s meeting was an attorney staffer David Buuck.
2) School Boarder Amber Rountree asked the law department for an opinion and it took Buuck two weeks and today finished the opinion, but he has to review the grammar in the opinion before sending it to the board. In my recollection going back as far as Dale Workman, Richard Beeler, Mike Moyers (who I worked with when I served on the school board), John Owings, Bill Lockett and Joe Jarrett never did one of their staff profess that they were unable to deliver an opinion because their work load was so difficult and time consuming.
3) Apparently, School Board Chairman Mike McMillan allows one board member Amber Rountree to use a large chunk of time asking questions and spend time grandstanding. While cutting Tracy Sanger off, Kudos to Sanger for calling McMillan out on his favoritism.
4) Pandering to Gibbs community was on full display. All the Gibbs advocates applauded when Vice Chairman Doug Harris said he supports a Gibbs Middle. However, when he said that he would advocate a tax increase they all sat on their hands.
