I attended the Knox County Commission re-organization and the redistricting committee election of Chair and Vice Chair selection. I knew the Knox County School Board was meeting less than a block away as I watched the election of it’s new Chair and Vice Chair during the Commission meeting. However, as I turned left on Gay Street to head home, I saw the people that were not permitted into the School District Office Building. Of course, I parked, got out, talked to a couple people, took some pictures and left.
television station (I believe Channel 8) interviewing some demonstrators.
across the street from the Andrew Johnson Building and only one story below the room where the board was meeting.
the most interesting sign that I saw
myself with a few demonstrators, one is an ER Nurse.
and then there was internet gold, Facebook and my phone blew up when this was posted of School Board Member McMillan snoozing, meditating, praying, dreaming of cattle ranching (whatever he was doing) BUT, not so quick. Public Forum is 5 minutes, New School Board Vice Chair Evetty Satterfield made a motion to reduce the amount for each public forum speaker to 90 seconds. School Board Member Patti Bounds asked that it be raised eventually to three minutes. Well McMillan withdrew his second and compared public forum to a radio talk show segment of “hit it and quit it”. School Board Member Daniel Watson then seconded the agreed to three minutes for Public Forum, McMillan and School Board Member Jennifer Owen voted NO. So, every public forum speaker had three minutes.
Of course, McMillan tried to tattle on the waiting room, next door, but it was likely that the noise was not from the next door waiting room, but outside on the street. I suspect Owens voted no, because she believed they should be allotted the 5 minutes. So that night, McMillan was the one in every crowd.
Watch McMillan’s two year old temper tantrum, here or below.
screen shot of Board Member McMillan during a six and a half hour meeting
As for this article in the daily paper where the Executive Director of the TN Coalition for Open Government was asked and quoted about violating the open meeting laws. I am told that then Knox County Commission Chair Larsen Jay denied the School Board the use of the Main Assembly Room of the City County Building. He kept the Main Assembly Room for the County Commission’s re-organization and the initial meeting of the Redistricting Committee. Both of those meetings could have easily been as effective in the Small Assembly Room next door. But, Jay’s last act as Chairman of the County Commission was to limit public participation with their government, their school government.
