This is the letter I just sent to the WCS Board: Dear Williamson County Board Members: As you know, we have nearly 1,000 residents of Williamson County that have signed a petition calling for Mr. Gregory’s resignation as Chairman of our school board. This petition was not backed by any political group, special interest group, or School Board member. Due to Mr. Gregory’s insistence that he has the full support of the board, the residents and concerned parents are asking for each of you to communicate to the public whether you support Mr. Gregory as Chairman of the Williamson County School Board today given all that you know. We have stated our concern in the petition with regards to Mr. Gregory’s ties to the ButtleOpener (see petition here at protectwcs.org). However, after learning more about Mr. Gregory through numerous press reports over the last week or so, we as residents can’t understand why the board hasn’t taken steps to remove Mr. Gregory as Chairman and vote for a more qualified candidate. Below are just a few of our concerns: - Mr. Gregory has missed numerous professional development classes over the course of his ten-year tenure with the board, including the years of 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2014 ( m.williamsonherald/mobile/news/article_cd8b0d0e-4826-11e4-a6e2-001a4bcf6878.html ). In his public letter reported by the Brentwood Home Page this week, however, he only addressed the 2014 omission, making it appear as a one-time mistake. But as his overall record shows, this has been his pattern since he originally took office. How can we hold our teachers to a standard we aren’t willing to hold our Chairman to as well? - Mr. Gregory has demonstrated questionable judgment with regard to his personal finances resulting in liens against his home and an ethically questionable loan from a county commissioner ( tennessean/story/news/local/williamson/schools/2014/09/25/embattled-williamson-ed-chair-k-lien-home/16219997/ ). How could it be that you support someone with this background leading our school district with a $300M budget? - Mr. Gregory has not been forthcoming with regard to his ties to businesses that solicit business from boards of education (see LinkedIn profile at https://linkedin/profile/view?id=135465011&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=ZsEV&locale=en_US&srchid=80835281411907801374&srchindex=1&srchtotal=614&trk=vsrp_people_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A80835281411907801374%2CVSRPtargetId%3A135465011%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary ). Was Mr. Gregory a paid consultant for Bus Shield, a company that sells cameras to school buses? Is it coincidental that he was hired as the Sales Territory Manager in September of 2014 for Etrenzik Energy who, according to their website, sell Energy Efficient lighting to K-12 school districts (see etrenzikled/projects/education/ )? - Mr. Gregory has maintained that he has the full support of the board, or, at least, the support of the board “that he needs.” We as Williamson County residents are asking that each of you communicate to the public whether you currently support Mr. Gregory as Chairman of the Williamson County School Board given the concerns we have laid out to you. Therefore, because Mr. Gregory has refused to resign as Chairman on his own volition, we are calling on the board to replace him as Chairman in the best interest of our community and we need to know where you stand on that vote: Original Vote for Gregory As Chair: New Vote for Gregory As Chair: Mezera – Nominated and For Mezera - Galbreath – Abstain Galbreath - Curlee - For Curlee- Hullett – Against Hullett- Anderson – Against Anderson - Wimberly – Against Wimberly- Bartholomew – For Bartholomew - Emerson – For Emerson - Cash – For Cash - Peterson – Against Peterson - Burgos – For Burgos - People make mistakes; that’s what makes us human. But there’s still a chance to correct this mistake and we hope you will do so. I am not out to “get” anyone, I am not affiliated with any political party or other grouping, nor am I under the control or influence of any member of the school board. I am acting on my own as a citizen concerned about the future of this school system. Please understand my intent is to publish your response to the public by Friday at noon. If I do not receive a response from you, I will assume that you maintain your original vote and will report to the public as such. I would hope that the board would follow the leadership of Mr. Mezera and withdraw your support of Mr. Gregory as Chairman and vote for a more qualified candidate. Once this occurs, I believe you can restore the confidence of the public in our school board and begin to move forward with the business of running our school system. Thank you for your consideration and for your service to our community. Regards, Heather Carroll Williamson County Resident and Parent Sign the petition here: protectwcs.org
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 19:37:13 +0000
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