Johnson County Board of Education holds special called meeting concerning pronoun discussion

MOUNTAIN CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Johnson County Board of Education met Monday night with one thing on the agenda: to discuss what exactly happened surrounding a classroom discussion about pronouns.

Earlier this month, parents said the conversation took place between a choir teacher and students at Johnson County Middle School.

The director of schools, Mischelle Simcox, said the new teacher was apologetic for the reaction the conversation received and that the teacher was just sharing facts from a new state law regarding student pronouns.

Many parents showed up to Monday’s special called work session weeks after learning about the conversation. Numerous of them asked for this work session at the last board meeting .

At the beginning of the work session, board member Gary Matheson asked to vote on whether the meeting could be live-streamed. The motion did not pass with enough votes.

Afterwards, the board’s attorney Chris McCarty moderated the meeting and answered the public’s questions.

Some asked if the choir teacher had been punished. Parents also questioned the results of the school board’s investigation into the matter.

McCarty said the investigation has been completed and that no indoctrination of beliefs from the choir teacher has been found.

Board Chairman Russell Robinson said with parental consent administrators interviewed students. The choir teacher was also interviewed.

“It is my understanding that the teacher had not pushed any of her beliefs or her belief system,” Robinson said. “She simply presented the law. And basically, at this point, the teacher is doing exactly what we’re asking the teacher to do, and that is actually to teach chorus.”

McCarty said the teacher cannot be terminated unless means are found for it.

“The law is so new, I don’t believe that there’s enough interpretation to be able to fully disclose what some of the potential disciplinary action would be if we saw a continuation of the law being broken or moving away from what the administration or the school system is asking both the administration and the teacher to do with the law,” Robinson said.

Sarah Johnson, a high school student in choir class, spoke during public comment. She asked what qualifications the choir teacher has to be able to teach that course. Johnson does not like the choir instructor’s style of teaching.

“She doesn’t seem like she knows how to play piano,” Johnson said. “And when she goes over the part, she doesn’t really go over them. She’s expecting us to already know our parts, and it’s all acapella. And you need the piano to harmonize and put all your parts together. And I don’t think we need to do yoga in choir class.”

Johnson also wants the board to enact a policy where cameras are installed in each classroom.

“We’re going to be really seeing truly what happened,” Johnson said. “And it’s not hearsay from a teacher or a kid or an administrator. It’s really, we see what’s happening in real-time.”

Johnson told News Channel 11 that she believes a different choir teacher would be beneficial for that course.

“I think we need someone that’s truly qualified, who cares about the kids and is not pushing their own agenda,” Johnson said. “And we really need someone that’s going to be beneficial for choir.”

Ted Lewis is a grandparent of Johnson County students. He spoke during public comment and believes a higher teacher salary could be a solution to this situation.

“These teachers that are being filled in the positions are not everything that we’d like for them to be,” Lewis said. “So I think an increase in the salaries would bring better quality teachers here, although I think we’ve got some good quality teachers. I’m not saying they aren’t, but I’m just saying their agenda, what they do on their own time, is their own business. But when it comes to the classroom, they need to stick to what they [were] hired for. And I believe if we can get back to that point, I think we’ll see a difference in our young people. And of course, our community will be a whole lot better off.”

Robinson said parents can contact the administration if they still have concerns about this situation.

“I don’t feel at this point that it’s prudent for us to have any more meetings or discussions about this situation,” Robinson said. “I believe that we have proven factually through our own investigation, as well as the legal counsel, that we’re in compliance with the law. The teacher is in compliance with the law and that we’re doing the best that we can to navigate this situation, this fact that this is a new law that’s on the books. And at this point, our focus needs to be educating kids in what’s doing best for kids and also trying to do what’s best for our staff.”

The next regularly scheduled Johnson County School Board meeting takes place on Sept. 12. Before that, new board members will be sworn in on Aug. 30.

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