With Dr. James P. McIntyre, Jr’s departure we reflect on how did the corrosive political nature set in. In my opinion it was and is the aw shucks cronyism of Mayor TI’m Burchett, let’s come back to that.
First, let us remember that Dr. McIntyre immediately had to deal with a Central High School shooting that left one student dead in the Cafeteria floor. Then he had a Principal and Assistant Principal get shot down by a disgruntled teacher over the decision of a non tenure renewal. Then the night mare of all night mares last December when two school buses collide killing two students and one teaching assistant.
All the while for the last 4.5 years a County Mayor that has continually poisoned the well against him. Burchett spotes of’f with political rhetoric about waste and abuse of money at the schools central office. But not one time does Burchett do his homework detailing a specific line item. All the while Burchett’s own step daughter since July 2014 is enrolled a in private school, not public school.
Burchett prefers Tiny Norman a lifelong government bureaucrat as the third district school board member instead of Doug Harris, a businessman that employees hundreds of people and contributes to the tax base. Norman who authored a letter in June for sentence leniency for Jeff Ownby’s May 2012 arrest and Ownby voted Norman for Commission Chairman more than three months later.
That is the politics that Knox Co has resorted to and kudos to McIntyre for calling it as it is and choosing to leave it for them to screw up.
