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Board Meeting,

Thursday, September 18, 2008 

5:00 at SCBOE!  

Be There!

Finally some recognition!

Mrs. Hackett has been named News 2 Educator of the week.  They will be at school September 11, at 10:00 to video.  We are so proud of her.  She deserves it!!!!  

Way to go, Mrs. Hackett!!!!!!!!

Concerned Citizens of Smith County Education

Meeting - Sunday, August 17, 3:00 

at Brush Creek Community Center 

Our group's goals:

We need to turn a new page and begin to move forward with a spirit of caring and responsibility. It is essential that the school board, teachers and community of Smith County work together to work out problems that have been collecting for the past few months. 

 

v    First, we need to get rid of the lawsuits as quickly as possible.  They should not be allowed to take up our time and finances. 

v    We need to wipe out one lawsuit by re-instating Becky Hackett as the principal at New Middleton School with a reprimand in her personnel folder that will remain there for three years.  This should be done as soon as possible, at the latest by January 1, 2009. 

v    Ms Woodard can be reassigned to 4^th grade with the provision that the next open elementary principal position will be available to her.

v    Next, we need to appoint a new negotiating team from the board, or have the board as a whole participate in negotiations with SCEA.  Teachers won’t hold out for the impossible.  Teachers are notorious for being happy with any kind of compromising.  This should take away another lawsuit.

v    Any other lawsuits can be talked through with the people involved with the board.  Hopefully they can be resolved out of court.

v    We need to have a standing policy, as do other counties, that the Director of Schools is evaluated every year by June 1 using the instrument recommended by the School Board Association.  At that point, the community should be given 15 days notice that the contract will be voted on, it will be the first item on the agenda, and then and only then would the Directors contract be extended. (Annually)

v    Teachers and Parents should be encouraged not only to attend board meetings but should have the opportunity to voice their opinions when asked.

v    We should begin to follow all state guidelines concerning board meetings.

v    Children should always be the first priority, not the director, supervisor, principals, or teachers.  The board should always think about and make decisions for what is best for our Children.

v    Teacher morale should be the next priority.  The board needs to make sure the outstanding teachers that are in Smith County want to stay in Smith County instead of pursuing jobs in surrounding counties.

v    The Supervisor of Instruction should consult with teachers and determine a need before spending money to purchase unnecessary programs, since money is so tight and there are so many real needs in our schools system.  

Enough is Enough!

We now know why the Director of Schools refused to publicly discuss the reasons for not renewing Mrs. Hackett’s contract. Clearly he wanted to wait to see what additional minor items could be created to justify his decision. And, he knew that if he explained his reasons in public, Mrs. Hackett could respond. By filing his reasons in Court he knew that Mrs. Hackett would have to wait until the trial to respond. Since she can’t respond, we need to get the truth out.

Where did this negative information come from?

• Why was none of this information in her personal or evaluation files?  WE LOOKED!!!!!  Her files are public records and nothing was in there. 
• Was this information in a hidden file that was kept from the public?
• Will certain individuals be rewarded with new job opportunities due to half truths and untruths?
• We all knew about the signature. Mrs. Gregory’s statement is misleading!  Her signature was copied on the copying machine not forged. And the copying is obvious.   These were all positive evaluations and nothing negative was on there.  Mrs. Hackett didn’t intend or cause any harm to Mrs. Gregory. Mrs. Gregory also stated she had never been reprimanded from Mrs. Hackett.  NOT TRUE!! On numerous occasions Mrs. Hackett had to talk to her about her language.  Mrs. Hackett has witnesses to that! Parents and students are aware of the facts.
• Purchasing gifts and meals for staff, faculty, and volunteers.  Since when is it inappropriate to reward students, teachers, staff, and volunteers for a job well done? Where is the policy on this and are other schools/principals held to the same standards.
• Not cooperating with supervisors?????  All supervisors were greeted with smiles and respect when they walked through our doors at NMS. (As is every person that walks through our doors!)  NMS even sent Mrs. Fox (supervisor) flowers congratulating her for her big “award”. How can this be uncooperative?  Mrs. Fox never even sent a Thank You.
• Flowers- Is it inappropriate to send flowers to funerals or illnesses who are connected to our school? (or congratulating our supervisor of instruction)
• Vending account- It is hard to figure a profit/loss analysis on vending accounts that only made $20-$40 a month! Compare this with the $100 a month payment to the Director (for begin secretary to the board) which appears to violate State law. Have all of the audits of the Central Office been completely clean?
• Why are NMS and 2 other schools the only schools without a bookkeeper? 

Stop by our booth at the Smith County Fair and talk to us.  We need voices!!!!!!!

Board Meeting Tonight!!!!

5:00 at the SCBOE

Show Support!!!!!!!!

Meeting Sunday, July 13

Concerned Citizens of Smith County Education

Meeting Sunday, July 13, 2008 at 3:00

at the Ag Center in Carthage (next to soccer field).  

We will discuss our plans for the fair, any updates on lawsuit(s), and the board meeting Tuesday, July 15 @ 5:00.  Anyone is also welcome to express their concerns or give us any advice.  Please spread the word about our meeting Sunday and the board meeting Tuesday.  Remember this is not over!!!!!

FAIR UPDATE

SMITH COUNTY FAIR UPDATE

We have had a $175 donation for the booth fee!!!

A great BIG Thanks, Kellie

SMITH COUNTY FAIR

SMITH COUNTY FAIR

The cost of a booth at the fair, if we plan on selling T-shirts or anything else, is $175. The cost of a booth without selling anything is $125. I plan on talking with the finance committee to vote on this. I hope to have an update soon. We will need volunteers to work the booth in 2 hour shifts. If several people sign up to work it would be much easier for everyone. We will have to provide our own tent and chairs. These tents will be located in front of the AG Center, just at the entrance to the fair. The space is on a "first come, first serve basis". We will probably have access to electricity. Anyone having a tent or canopy for our use would be greatly appreciated. We also need to publish a new petition for CONCERNED CITIZENS OF SMITH COUNTY EDUCATION. This endeavor has become a county-wide concern and we need to involve all of Smith County.

If you have other suggestions or comments please email

Kellie Payne at houseofpayne@dtccom.net

County Meeting

Concerned Citizens of Smith County Education

Meeting 

Sunday, June 22 

3:00-5:00 

at the Ag Center (next to soccer field)

Voice your concerns!  We need people from all over the county! Tell everyone you know!

*Petitions will be available to sign and t-shirts will be available to purchase.

Similar Issue

Look at this Link. A school in New York is going through the same things we are. It is kind of funny how similar the events in New York are to ours. Read the story and you will see.

BOARD MEETING TONIGHT!!!!!!

Board Meeting tonight at 5:00 at the Smith County Board of Education.Wear your shirts and bring signs! See you there!

MEETINGS!

Please spread the word about the board meeting June 17, 5:00 at the Smith County Board of Education. We have to make everyone see that we are not going to give up! Even though they have placed someone as principal doesn't mean this is over. Show up with signs, shirts and anything else you can think of. Also we are going to move our community meeting from Brush Creek on June 22 to the Ag Center in Carthage (next to soccer field) from 3:00-5:00 hoping people from all over the county will show up. We will put something in the paper, but we are going to call our group Concerned Citizens of Smith County Education. This issue has developed into more than just getting Becky Back (that is phase 1). There will be several phases. Please spread the word about our meetings and be sure to show up June 17 at 5:00 at the Smith County Board of Education. Lets keep fighting for Becky and the future of our children's education!

Speech delivered by Shelia Ferrell to the Smith County School Board on May 20, 2008

Chairman, Mr. Lewis and the members of the Smith County School Board, I would like to thank you for allowing me the opportunity to address the board as a voice for the parents, teachers, community residents and most importantly the students of New Middleton School. I want to make it very clear that we in no way are trying to run the school board. But under the circumstances, we feel as taxpayers, we have a voice and deserve to be heard.

The parents, community, teachers and students have been taken totally by surprise with the recent news of Mr. Lewis’ decision not to contract with Mrs. Becky Hackett as principal of NMS for the 2008 – 2009 school year. We do realize that the director/superintendent of schools in the state of Tennessee, not the board, has the sole responsibility for placing principals.

I am in no way expressing any disrespect toward you Mr. Lewis. In fact, through your leadership as a principal at Forks River and Smith Co. High School for many years, you instilled in your students and your staff the importance of standing for what you believe is right.

As a 23 year veteran of the Smith County school system, Mrs. Becky Hackett has worked so hard to maintain a superior performance record. Mrs. Hackett has shown an outstanding level of character and earned the highest respect of past and current students, parents, teachers and principals across the entire system and residents countywide. For a few moments I want to talk to you about Becky Hackett’s level of character and the caliber of principal she really is. I would even remind you that I have been told by previous board members, other teachers and principals that even Mr. Lewis himself has been know on many occasions over the years to express his appreciation and admiration for Mrs. Hackett’s performance as a principal. I was told just last Thursday by a previous board member that in the four years he served on the board, Mr. Lewis was repeatedly praising Mrs. Hackett’s work and her character in the presence of this board.

As we met on Wednesday of last week with Mr. Lewis in the central office boardroom (or in this very room) there were over 50 concerned parents, teachers and student on hand. We held a public meeting on Sunday at the Brush Creek Community Center with over 125 supporters, which included four county commissioners. The outpour of love and support for Becky Hackett to be contracted for the coming school year as principal for NMS was overwhelming to say the least. And, this afternoon the numbers speak for themselves.

Mrs. Hackett is more than just the backbone of NMS, she is truly the heart of the school. As I reviewed the Tennessee Licensure Standards of an Administrator, I felt confident that Mrs. Becky Hackett meets and in many cases exceeds all six standards developed by the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium. It wasn’t shocking however, that in all six standards, the first six words that began the sentence read “Promote the success of all students”. I believe everyone represented here today will attest to the fact that this is exactly what Becky Hackett is driven by each and every day…

Mrs. Hackett truly promotes the success of all students. She leads by example among her peers, she sets teaching standards at New Middleton which gives every child a fair opportunity to succeed both academically and socially. I am reminded by some of the following examples, just how valuable Mrs. Hackett is to NMS and the Smith County School system as a whole. She is a role model for other principals in the system and teachers throughout the system.

We have numerous people driving past not one but two other schools in our system just to bring their children to NMS.

We have people from out of state (New York) that recently considered various states to relocate before choosing Tennessee and Smith Co as their home. They spent hours reviewing and visiting the elementary schools in our system. They settled on NMS after more than one visit with Mrs. Hackett and the staff at NMS.

Mrs. Hackett and the staff at NMS believe in producing well rounded students. This concept has been embraced by each teacher at NMS and is practiced daily. This is one of the key components to the success of the NMS system and is the most important thing that brings the students to NMS. Our government in all it’s wisdom has determined that test scores are the best measure of a schools success and in 2007 and previous years New Middleton’s test scores have exceeded the State average. From 2003 – 2007 New Middleton Elementary obtained a Good Standing status in the No Child Left Behind program, when other schools within our system have received a Target and Targeted Assistance status during those time periods. I might add that in the Teacher Quality From Report Card 2007, New Middleton Elementary received a 100% Core Courses Taught by Highly Qualified Teachers, when at least three other elementary schools were less than 100%. Of course, we all know that the truth of the matter is that test scores alone don’t confirm that a student makes a solid citizen. But good test scores coupled with the development of core personal qualities such as character, self confidence, compassion, respect and integrity do produce top achievers. We contest that New Middleton School is producing future leaders for this community and many others that will have what so many in today’s world seem to lack, common sense. I am convinced after an 18 year career in the banking industry and hours of volunteer involvement in many civic and charitable organizations, an ounce of common sense is worth more than a pound of book sense.

We are talking about a lady that serves as an outstanding role model for parents and students alike. She leads by example in the school and in the community. Wherever she goes, she sets a superior example as a member of the Smith County School System.

We definitely have something in Becky Hackett worth standing for, when you consider that we have parents driving 800 miles round trip weekly due to the father’s transfer as a pastor just to keep their child and grandchild in New Middleton School.

Another characteristic of Mrs. Hackett is her overwhelming knowledge of each and every student at New Middleton School. Not only can Becky Hackett tell you the name of every student, she knows the name of the parents and/or guardian of the child, she knows what the majority of them drive and what is going on in children’s home life that might affect them in school. She reacts to every abnormal situation to protect the interest of the student.

Mrs. Hackett is so conscious of every student’s normal behavior. A parent shared her experience from this school year of receiving a call from Mrs. Hackett regarding a change in the eating pattern of her first grade student. Upon receiving this information, the parent could pin point the problem as a recent change in the child’s medication. How many other principals and even teachers keep this kind of a mental record of their students, remember that is 250 plus students.

In the last week I and many other parents here have had the great pleasure to attend end of the year programs at New Middleton School. Let me tell you this is another prime example of taking education to the next level and I commend the New Middleton staff and supporting parents who work so well together to make various educational skits happen throughout the school year. What better way to allow children to develop and express their creativity.

Folks, when we as parents put our children in the hands of the staff at New Middleton School (I mean the principal, the teachers, cooks, janitors and other special service providers) we are confident and have a piece of mind that our children are in an environment where they are safe, where they are treated fairly, where each one is respected regardless of their social status or background and where they are being challenged to develop not only academically but socially. Most of all, they are loved by those who spend more quality time with them than even we do.

If you remove Becky Hackett from the equation at New Middleton Elementary, you should be prepared for some failing away in the New Middleton system. Mrs. Hackett is the glue that holds things together. I think any of you that have worked in the business word for any amount of time can attest to the fact that every successful organization is build on a strong leader. Mrs. Hackett can not and has not pleased every parent in her 23 years of service. But, I can tell you that even some of those parents who haven’t always been pleased are here tonight, because she has earned their respect.

I say to you Mr. Lewis and elected members of the Smith County School Board, why would you want to fix something that is not broken? Mr. Lewis our prayer is that you will reconsider your decision and you will do what’s best and what’s right for the students at New Middleton School, by signing another year’s contract with Becky Hackett for the principal position at our school.

NEW LINK--Education Law Opinions Issued by the TN Attorney General

http://tennessee.gov/sbe/ag_educ_ops.htm

Scroll to the middle of the page. The opinions are listed according to dates ranging from 2008-2000. You can click on any link in front of each topic listed. These are just a few of the major topics addressed by the Attorney General. You can actually click on the "online" link in the middle of the page and it will direct you to a huge database listed by years. Each of these years have hundreds of issues and opinions discussed with the Attorney General.

THANK YOU KELLIE FOR SHARING THIS LINK!

We need you at these meetings!!

PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY!

Bring people from all over the county!
Wear your t-shirts and bring your signs!

Tuesday June 3, 6:00 p.m.
Board of Education Budget Meeting, Board of Education Building (front of middle school)

Monday, June 9, 2008, 5:30 p.m.
The Board of Education is currently scheduled to present their budget to the County Commissioners at the Turner Building.

Also, plan to attend the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, 5:00 p.m.

It is so very important that we continue to remind the Board of Education members that we want Mrs. Hackett as principal of NMS. Our group will not “just go away”! Our presence at these meetings will demonstrate our strong (even though silent) commitment to our cause! See you tomorrow night!

How to contact elected officials

GOVERNOR
Phil Bredesen (D)State Capitol,Nashville, TN 37243-0001(615)741-2001 WEBSITE

STATE SENATOR
Mae Beavers (R)War Memorial Bldg., Suite 320Nashville, TN 37243(615)741-2421 WEBSITE

STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Frank Buck (D)Suite 40, Legislative Plaza,Nashville, TN 37243(615)741-3817 WEBSITE

CONGRESSMAN
Bart Gordon (D)2368 Rayburn House Office BuildingWashington, DC 20515(202) 225-4231 WEBSITE

U.S. SENATOR
Bob Corker (R)B-40A Dirksen Senate Office BuildingWashington, DC 20510-4205(202) 224-3344 WEBSITE

U.S. SENATOR
Lamar Alexander (R)Dirksen Senate Office Building B-40, Suite 2Washington, DC 20510(202) 224-4944 WEBSITE

District 40 House of Representatives

http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/House/Map/Jpgs/HD40.jpg

HD40 - (vacant with retirement of Democrat Rep. Frank Buck)
Democrats Jeff Barrett, Gayla Hendrix, Dean Sircy, Cleveland Bain, Carl Jones, George McDonald, Steve Cantell, Sarah Marie Smith

Republicans Nicky Rittenberry and Terri Lynn Weaver

County Commission District & Precinct map

http://www.comptroller.state.tn.us/lg/map/smith/certified.pdf

County Commissioners, Smith County:

County Commissioners, Smith County:

District 1 - Pleasant Shade - Defeated - Difficult
Billy D. Halliburton
Vernon Hesson
Anthony Woodard

District 2 - Dixon Springs - Monoville - Tanglewood - Turkey Creek
Richard Brimm
Phillip Enoch
Darryl York

District 3 - New Middleton - Brush Creek - Hickman
James K. Winfree
Margaret Stevens (resigned)
Daniel D. Cripps

District 4 - Rock City - Rome
Jeffrey A. Winfree
Frank H. Gibbs
Earl H. North

District 5 - Gordonsville - Lancaster - Hickman
Ron Cowan
James M. Gibbs
Billy M. Woodard

District 6 - Carthage
Barbara Hickman
Jerry Futrell
C. D. Poindexter

District 7 - South Carthage
Leslie Proffitt
Joey Nixon
Ronnie Bussell

District 8 - Chestnut Mound - Elmwood
Kenneth Massey
David Gross
Ricky L. Gibbs

More information!

Here is a Request for Records form from the ACLU. You may want to use this to request records from the Board of Education.

http://www.aclu-tn.org/pdfs/state_open_records.pdf


http://www.tsba.net/production/select.asp
This website has policies from a variety of TN schools. The few I have looked at seem to be the same just a different county. Some of the policies I have found interesting:

• Nepotism
• Duties of Board Members
• School Board Meetings
• Notification of Meetings
• Appeals to and Appearances Before the Board
• School Board Records
• Nonrenewal
• Complaints and Grievances
• Evaluation of the Director of Schools
• Director of Schools' Role in Negotiations
• Qualifications and Duties of the Director of Schools
• Director of Schools
• Recruitment and Selection

Susie Woodard

Susie Woodard has been placed as principal. She and her husband(a commissioner) have been at our meetings. I am not sure what is going on and why? We CANNOT stop. I have heard good things about her although she was passed over for the principal position at other schools including the school where she has taught for years. NMS is Becky's school! I will keep you up to date with any new information. Please DO NOT stop fighting for Mrs. Hackett!!!!!!!!!

Elected vs Appointed Superintendent

In my effort to better understand the history of elected vs appointed superintendents in TN, I came across the article in TSBA's BoardTalk, May 2008, pg 2 "Breaking News:
Elected superintendent amendments proposed". (http://www.tsba.net/publications/boardtalk/BoardTalk-0508.pdf). From that article, I began to read other blogs about this issue. The following websites are interesting, especially schoolmatters. While it applies to larger a school system the 4 pages of comments provided an array of opinions/thoughts.
http://schoolmatters.knoxnews.com/forum/topic/show?id=879777%3ATopic%3A21004
http://lastcar.blogspot.com/2008/05/elected-school-superintendent.html

I am sure there are other sites. If you find any, please share. As we go forward, it is important to understand the issues from both sides.

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Continue sending letters to the editor at the Carthage Courier and The Tennessean. We do not want this support to diminish in any way. It is going to take all of us to stay on top of this and continue helping Mrs. Hackett fight. We cannot let our efforts fade away through the summer. We want this to become bigger and bigger each week. Kellie

NMS Principal Job

I thought I would inform everyone that a certified letter was sent to Mr. Lewis this afternoon which included an application and a request for an interview for the principal's job at New Middleton. The person applying is MRS. HACKETT!!!!!!!!!! She consulted with her lawyers today and is feeling much better. She was actually laughing! The next 2 weeks are going to be very interesting. As Mr. Lewis stated in this weeks paper, "The position of principal at New Middleton School will be filled by a qualified and certified individual as soon as possible." I think Mrs. Hackett is the most qualified, don't you?

Make the case for state-wide issue

Please start thinking about how our situation is a state-wide issue. You may want to consider writing a letter to the editor for the Tennessean!


http://tennessean.com/SITES/OPINION/submit-editor.shtml
Letters will be edited. Preference will be given to letters of less than 250 words. To be considered for publication, letters must include the writer's name, street address and daytime telephone number. Only the name, hometown and ZIP code will be published. Letter writers who would like their e-mail addresses published should include that address with the letter.Letters may be submitted via this form. They also may be mailed to Letters to the Editor, The Tennessean, 1100 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203. They may be e-mailed to letters@tennessean.com or faxed to 615-259-8093.

On Line Petition

I created an online petition for NMS parents in hopes of increasing our parent/guardian signatures. The website is http://www.gopetition.com/online/19597.html

Job Posting

The principal's job has been posted.  Becky had a very hard time Friday afternoon.  Seeing it on a piece of paper made it become real again.  Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.  Let's keep fighting!

Meeting Update - May 18, 2008

IMPORTANT DATES



Tuesday, June 3, 2008, 6:00 PM

SC BOE Budget Meeting, Smith County Board of Education Building

This will be a "seen not heard meeting"! Bring signs, wear T-Shirts, etc...

Tuesday, June 17, 2008, 5:00 PM

SC BOE Meeting, Smith County Board of Education Building

Beginning Sundays, June 1, 2008, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Smith County Concerned Citizens of Education

Brush Creek Community Center

Notes: Agenda will be prepared. Please let know any items that need to be added!

WATCH NEWSPAPER ANNOUNCEMENT COLUMN FOR OTHER MEETINGS OF INTEREST!