GOP’s Attack on Democracy

In the House Education Subcommittee, today, a sudden and unexpected amendment was made to the Anti-Teacher Bill, HB130.  The amendment can be viewed below.

The amendment was first seen by Speaker Emeritus Naifeh at 11:45 a.m., less than four hours before the subcommittee convened.  Members of the committee were then instructed, by the GOP, to consider and vote on the amendment TODAY after only having it for such a short period of time.  Mind you, this amendment was eight pages and legislators had not had time to talk with stakeholders of the bill about the amendment (i.e. school directors, principals, teachers, citizens).

Not only was the subcommittee asked to vote on the amendment, but also the bill in its entirety.  Conventionally, when an amendment is presented on such short notice, the bill is rolled for one week so members can examine the amendment and its effects on the legislation, according to Naifeh.

Today, customs were thrown out the window, along with the spirit of democracy.  In the GOP’s continuing efforts to undermine teachers and the voice of the working class, the subcommittee voted (8-5) along party lines on the amendment and to send the bill to full committee (also 8-5).

These particular events, along with Gov. Haslam’s email to teachers today, further illustrate the agenda of radical conservatives who are succeeding in taking away the voice of teachers and the working class.

When hundreds of citizens wanted to address and be addressed by Haslam Tuesday, Haslam denied them a voice.  He refused to take part in two-way dialogue about his legislative agenda.  Today, however, Haslam was more than happy to facilitate one-way dialogue through email between teachers and himself.

Haslam and the GOP are continuing to deny citizens one of the basic rights of our nation… a voice.

No longer is the GOP attacking only teachers, but now it is attacking democracy itself.

The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Debra Maggart, said this bill will remove the politics from schools.  I suppose that by removing the voice of teachers and only allowing for the voice of school boards, it won’t be political because there will only be once voice.  Sounds a little like fascism to me…

HB130 Amendment 1

Haslam’s Email to Teachers

UPDATE: Some teachers are reporting receiving this email on their SCHOOL email accounts…

ORIGINAL POST:

Seems like everyone is joining in on emailing teachers lately, but at least Haslam seems to be doing so legally.  He sent an email to <teacher.lists.k12tn.net> and teachers are reporting getting this email on their personal email accounts.  My first questions is how on earth did Haslam get personal email addresses of teachers?  That seems a little creepy to me.  My beef with this is that he is defending his administration’s tenure “reform,” which really is NOT reform but rather conservative hogwash that will further push Tennessee’s educational standards and abilities further backward.  So here is his email:

One of the areas where all of us want to aspire to be more is education. As we all know, there has been a lot of discussion about education, and particularly the role of teachers, already in this legislative session.

I want to be very clear: my goal is to treat teaching like the important and honorable position that it is. My goal is to make Tennessee a place where great educators want to teach and feel rewarded and appreciated for their efforts.

Because, at the end of the day, there is nothing that makes as much difference to a child’s educational experience as the teacher standing in front of the classroom. It is more important than background, zip code, race, gender or any other determinant. Every discussion we have about education should always begin and end with the thought of what is best for the child in the classroom.

In education, we are blessed with the tools to be game changers for all students.

Better teachers; improved school leadership with great principals; standards of academic excellence; parental involvement and students who are challenged to learn.

That can and will happen in Tennessee.

Our opportunity is to put the muscle behind education reform.

We are cheerleaders for great teachers.

There is one underlying principle – learning begins with great teachers who are encouraged to teach and to spend more time in the classroom instead of filling out reams of paperwork. I am calling on the Commissioner of Education, his staff and the state Board of Education to reduce teacher paperwork – let’s keep our teachers in the classroom with students and stop carving out instruction time with bureaucratic red tape.

Our legislative approach to education is to insure the best teachers are in the classroom. Tenure reform is not a punitive action. It is a recognition and reward of achievement by the best.

Our state led the way in using testing data to assess student learning. But as Bill Sanders, the originator of the value-added assessment system has said – you really do not have the snapshot on changes in student improvement until after three years. Our legislative approach asks for a five-year period before tenure is granted and periodic reviews to retain the best teachers in the classrooms.

In appreciation,
Bill Haslam

Haslam makes a great point, “learning begins with great teachers who are encouraged to teach and to spend more time in the classroom” but I just wish he and his own party would heed his own advice.  The tenure “reform” legislation being pushed by his administration has MANY holes and questions that remain unanswered.  Questions that members of his administration can’t even answer in committee (refer to last week’s house education subcommittee).  This legislation makes NO provisions for teachers who don’t teach subjects/courses that have a standardized test (i.e. French, music, CTE classes) but requires that these particular teachers are graded based on the entire school’s average performance on TVAS.  That is completely unfair and ineffective when it comes to weeding out great teachers who should be awarded tenure.

On the surface, this attempt at reform seems plausible and effective, but the devil is in the details… and the details left out of the bill.

Don’t get me wrong, I am in full support of tenure reform, but only when it is true reform.  The system we currently have has some small kinks, but is actually very effective.  What many don’t understand is that principals are the ones to shift some of the blame to rather than the teacher unions, as it’s the principals responsibility to observe and recommend teachers for tenure or not.

Maggart Breaks The Law AGAIN!

Debra Maggart (R-Henderonsville) sent an email to teachers a few weeks ago explaining her anti-teacher bill that has been facing so much scrutiny.  She defended her email by saying it wasn’t political.  However, she sent an email tonight to Sumner County employees that was ONLY political.  An email encouraging teachers to get out and vote Tuesday for Kerry Roberts, the Republican nominee for the state senate special election.  Notice how she doesn’t call Roberts the “pro-education” candidate…

Below is the e-mail from Maggart:

From: “Rep. Debra Maggart” <debra@debramaggart.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 6, 2011 7:56pm
Subject: Vote Tuesday for Kerry Roberts for State Senate

___________________________________

Vote this Tuesday, March 8, 2011
for
Kerry Roberts
State Senate 18th District
Special Election
Your poll will be open from 7 am to 7 pm this Tuesday

Kerry is a CPA and small business owner.  He is pro-life, pro-Second Amendment and the Republican nominee in Tuesday’s Special election to fill Congressman Diane Black’s State Senate Seat in the Tennessee General Assembly.

Go to http://www.kerryroberts.com ( http://e2ma.net/go/9145155206/3483977/103807428/4361/goto:http://www.kerryroberts.com ) to learn more about Kerry.

If you would like to help get out the vote for this Tuesday’s election, you can join us at the last phone bank tomorrow, Monday, March 7th at the campaign headquarters from 5 pm until 9 pm.  The phone bank will be held at the Nelson Professional Building, 65 East Main Street in Hendersonville.  For more information, call the Tennessee Republican Party at 615-269-4260.

Debra Young Maggart
State Representative
45th District

203 War Memorial Building
Nashville, TN 37243-0145
(615) 741-3893
(615) 253-0350 FAX

Maggart Sent Email to School Employees Behind The Board’s Back

The following email was sent today to all Sumner County Sschool system employees from the Director of Schools, Benny Bills.  He makes it clear that Rep. Maggart did not seek guidance from the school system before so blatantly ignoring the school system’s policy about email.

Today most of you received an e-mail from State Representative Debra Maggart
regarding House Bill 130/Senate Bill 113.

Many teachers and several Board members have asked if this email was sent in
violation of Board policy. This e-mail was sent without our knowledge or
assistance.

If you wish to respond to Representative Maggart¹s e-mail, please do so from
your personal e-mail address.

–
Thanks,
Benny

Debra Maggart broke the law

The following email was sent today from Rep. Debra Maggart (R-Hendersonville) defending her piece of legislation that has been dubbed the “anti-teacher bill” by many, including myself.  She sent this email to all teachers in Sumner County on their SCHOOl email accounts.  Sumner County has a policy that faculty CANNOT send political emails on the school email system (i.e. first.last@sumnerschools.org).  The school board in Sumner County has shown its true colors by giving Maggart the access to send the email to all teachers.  The press and citizens should call on the board, and Maggart, to apologize for this blatant misuse of powers.

In her email, Maggart TRIES to defend her bill, and even further tries to demonize the SCEA (Sumner County arm of TEA), and TEA.  Rep. Maggart should be ashamed.  I know that I, as a resident of Sumner County, am appalled and ashamed of this disregard of Sumner County policy.

The email:

A letter to the Teachers of Sumner County
Dear Educator:

Many of you have contacted my office regarding the filing of HB130/SB113 as well as other bills in the Tennessee General Assembly. I have put together a question and answer piece based on your exact words and my responses to your concerns in an effort to reach out to ALL of our teachersboth the union members and the non-union members to have a discussion about these measures before us. I hope you will take the time to read this. Let me apologize ahead of time for its length. I truly believe that the teachers of our county want what is best for our children. I also know that our educators want respect and recognition for what they do every day. They deserve both.

This bill serves the best interests of teachers, our school systems, but most importantly our students. Let me be clear, this bill is not anti-teacher. It is a pro-education bill that rewards teaching excellence and places student achievement as the top priority.

HB130 does this by removing the negotiating authority of the unions. Tennessee is a right to work state and does not authorize any other public-sector employees to engage in collective bargaining, except the union representing educators. State employees, firefighters, and police are all prohibited from the practice.

An honest examination of the facts proves that collective bargaining between the school systems and unions has created a climate of antagonism between those who should be working together to advance a positive agenda for our children and preparing them for a bright future. The process itself is adversarial and confrontational and does not lend itself to cooperation. Due to the mandatory negotiating privilege given to the unions by our State, a school system will often agree to unreasonable demands in a contract simply to prevent an expensive lawsuit. Ultimately, this impacts the taxpayersthe very people whom the teachers, the school board, and the Legislature work for and from whom they expect positive results in the classroom.

I agree with many of you that the collective bargaining model made sense fifty years ago.  This archaic model no longer works in our increasingly competitive economy and the process handicaps a school systems ability to attract and retain the best and the brightest teachers.

The whole system needs an overhaul. School boards and superintendents must share the blame for maintaining the status quo as well. As a legislator, I have watched from the sidelinesalong with our citizenswhile our local board, our superintendent, and the SCEA have played a game of chess where no winner ever emerges. Personalities and power struggles abound and the Tennessee General Assembly has allowed one organization to have an inordinate amount of power by law.

In the poisonous atmosphere that has been created through statute, do we really have to ask why Tennessee is ranked so low in education results?

Additionally, parents share some responsibility in the current state of affairs. Many have contributed to the problem by not cherishing and caring for their children and, instead, expect public education to play this role.

As I stated at the beginning, an honest accounting of the facts reveals we all have failed in letting our States education system slide to the brink of irrelevancy.

Now is the time to stop the educational hemorrhaging and prevent the loss of qualified teachers, potential leaders, and a future that is growing out of reach for more and more Tennesseans.

It is time for teachers, school boards, parents, and legislators to have an honest discussion about where we are in Tennessee regarding education and where we want to go.  It is time that the needs of our children outweigh the needs of special interests. I believe that is what the teachers of Sumner County want. I know I do and I believe that the public does, as well.

I look forward to your questions and comments after you read the Q & A below.  If you feel comfortable, I would like to hear from you regarding how we can help you do your job, i.e., getting rid of paperwork requirements that take up your planning periods, etc.  I would like to ask you what do you need as a teacher to be better, more creative, create success, and achieve more results with your students?
1. Why do you hate teachers and want us to suffer?

I do not hate teachers. My mother was a first grade teacher and she adored her students, her school, and her principal. Our teachers work hard and deal with children from all walks of life and situations. In todays world, some of these children are prepared for school while most are woefully not.  I do not want teachers to suffer. I want to reward excellent teachers for doing a great job and producing students who are prepared for the challenges of the 21st century. I believe effective teachers are the greatest resource we have in providing a quality education to our students. Good teachers deserve to be rewarded for their excellence. Unfortunately, collective bargaining preserves the status quo and prevents merit pay for highly effective teachers and teacher bonuses and incentives for those who will rescue a failing school.
2. Without my teachers unions ability to collectively bargain, who will be my voice?

Direct Access. As a teacher, you can have direct access to the school board and management. You can do this yourself which is why this legislation empowers teachers like never before.

Forty-six school systems in Tennessee do not collective bargain. These school systems use collaborative bargaining where the teacher association representatives sit down with the school board to negotiate. Teachers in those school systems have the ability to directly negotiate their contracts while continuing their ability to remain in an association and attend board meetings.

It should be pointed out that, on average in these systems, teacher pay is increased more rapidly and students achieve at a higher rate.

This legislation empowers our teachers and allows our State to bring willing partners to the table to advance the interests of our children. Under state law, the non-union teachers in Tennessee are prohibited from taking their concerns directly to the school board. With these current conditions, these non-union teachers must adhere to contract negotiations, whether they like the terms or not. If they want their voice heard, their only option is to pay to go through the union representatives.

3. Why are you doing this to us?  We want to know why you are bringing this legislation forward.

It is time for a new directionI want to promote learning over the politics of teaching while putting students first.
While there certainly is a lot of heated rhetoric out there, the truth is that this legislation is a pro-teacher bill that rewards achievement in the classroom and helps promote the best and the brightest in the educational field. By eliminating the collectivist authority of the unions that are trying to dominate the conversation, this bill serves the best interests of students, teachers, and school systems across our State.
For years in this great nation, unions have stymied education reforms. If you dont believe me, just do the research. I recommend you read Collective Bargaining in Education, a study by the Harvard Education Press. This is an examination of the history of collective bargaining and how unions motivate their members. For decades, the union has promoted the idea that the working conditions of our teachers are the learning conditions of our students while blocking vital reforms and favoring existing arrangements that protect jobs and restrict accountability for student performance and achievement.
The study A Better Bargain: Overhauling Teacher Collective Bargaining for the 21st Century by Frederick M. Hess, American Enterprise Institute, and Martin R. West, the Brookings Institute reveals:
Collective bargaining contracts are especially problematic on three fronts:
They restrict efforts to use compensation as a tool to recruit, reward, and retain the most essential and effective leaders.
They impede attempts to assign or remove teachers on the basis of fit or performance.
They over-regulate school life with work rules that stifle creative problem solving without demonstrably improving teachers ability to serve students.
Union leaders typically greet this diagnosis with a reflexive refrain: What is good for teachers is good for students. While superficially appealing, that sentiment is simply untrue. In fact, the results of the collective bargaining process are too often incompatible with providing a high-quality education for all students.

According to our Comptrollers most recent weighted salary reports, teachers in systems that are not involved in collective bargaining on average make more in salary and benefits than those in systems involved in collective bargaining. Student achievement is higher in non-negotiating systems according to data from Tennessee Department of Education `Report Card.  Statewide average student test scores of non-collective bargaining local school districts top negotiating school districts, according to an analysis done by Lt. Gov. Ron Ramseys office using the data of the Tennessee Department of Education Report Card.   You can read the article that appeared in the Kingsport Times News by going to this link: http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9029998

4.TEA union leaders say that without collective bargaining, we will go back to the good old days, when African-American teachers made less money than their Caucasian peers and men were hired over women.

We have federal and state laws that prohibit discrimination and everyone, including the teachers union, knows this to be true. This is an irresponsible and inflammatory statement made to stir up controversy and fear. It is particularly disturbing that the TEA leadership would deliberately mislead its dues-paying members about something so patently false.

In fact, any rhetorical parallels that are attempting to link this discussion with the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s are both gross hyperbole and demeaning to the courageous men and women who fought so hard for equality in our nation. While I never mind an occasion for serious debate and adult discussions, I would hope all of us can steer clear of irresponsible comments that serve no use to Tennessee.
5. Collective bargaining improves our working conditions, i.e. , we have duty free lunches where we are  not required to eat lunch with our students,   we no longer have to help our students board the school bus and we are not forced to work the gate at the ballgames. Our leaders tell us to say that the working conditions of our teachers are the learning conditions of your children.

This is a line I hear over and over from union officials that appalls me. At first, when I heard it the initial dozen times, it gave me the impression that our teachers are working in a coal mine. Anyone who has been in a school in Sumner County knows this is certainly not the case. Collective bargaining is about what is best for the union and its ability to retain power, not the children. That is the TEAs mission and you can hear it for yourself by going to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyGiuoKr-ew
Collective bargaining prohibits performance pay for teachers. All teachers are treated the samethe excellent ones are paid the same as the poor performers. In a nation where we try to motivate students to achieve more and aspire to be more, what kind of message does this send?

It is fundamentally unfair. Collective bargaining makes it almost impossible to dismiss teachers for poor performance or misconduct, which means less pay and lower benefits for high performing teachers.  We all can cite examples in Sumner County that have made the news. The good teachers in this county know exactly who is getting the job done and who is not, yet the union blocks the solution and ultimately our children suffer. The union is focused solely on protecting its self-interests, not educating students and this one-size fits all approach denigrates teachers and students alike.
6. The union says I must belong so that I have liability insuranceI simply cannot imagine walking into the classroom without it.

Many educators are unaware this same liability policy that the union offers its members may be purchased as a rider to a homeowners, renters, or condominium insurance policy for a fraction of the cost. You can purchase one for $28 per year that gives you one million dollars in coverage. Beyond that, the Board of Education carries a liability policy on every employee in the system.
7. You are stabbing us in the backwe cooperated with you last year in order to get the Race to the Top funding!

The sweeping reforms contained in Race to the Top (RTTT) would have never passed if they would have had to occur on the local level through negotiations. Ask yourself, Why did we have to get the union to sign off on RTTT? Why were they blocking the reforms in the first place? More alarmingly (and perhaps unsurprisingly) reports are already coming in from school systems that the local unions are throwing up roadblocks to these reforms the State agreed to in order to participate in RTTT.
8. I am a Republican and a member of the SCEA, the TEA and the NEA and I am unhappy that the Republicans have brought these reforms forward.
This is a statement that is the most incredulous. While we have the first amendment right of assembly, I hope that all conservative teachers do their research to fully understand what the NEA is all about and that by being a part of that organization and investing your hard earned money, you are promoting their mission. This is a mission that I know the people of Sumner County do not agree with at all.

Here is the NEAs 2010 legislative program (which is in direct opposition to what conservatives and Republicans believe).

2010 NEA Annual Convention
These major objectives in the NEAs Legislative Program were adopted:
Mandatory full-day kindergarten attendance for all children, with federal money if the state can’t afford it
Repeal of the right-to-work provision of federal labor law
A tax-supported, single-payer health care plan for all residents of the U.S., its territories, and Puerto Rico
Federal funding for illegal aliens in public education & student aid for illegals in colleges
Federal programs to teach schoolchildren about different sexual orientations
Legislation to prohibit religious organizations that accept federal funding from basing hiring decisions on religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or HIV/AIDS status
Legislation to study possible reparations to African Americans to address residual effects of slavery
Statehood for the District of Columbia
Opposition to tuition tax credits, vouchers, and parental option or “choice” in education programs
Opposition to using draft registration as an eligibility criterion for financial aid
Opposition to the testing of teachers as a criterion for job retention, promotion, tenure, or salary increases
Opposition to designating English as the official language of the United States
Opposition to the use of voter ID cards for voting in local, state, and national elections
Opposition to privatization of Social Security
Opposition to any constitutional amendment limiting taxes or the federal budget
9. You are my Representative and you are not representing me.

Not only do I represent the 2,000+ educators in this county, I also represent the 27,000+ students and their parents, as well as the taxpayers who fund public education with their hard earned money
10.  I am afraid of the pro-union teachers at my schoolthey badger me about joining the union and my principal has asked them to stop.

How sad that we have teachers who deeply desire to be treated as professionals and are role models for our children who treat their colleagues this way. It is unfortunate and I know firsthand about union intimidation tactics. I have received comments from teachers who have told me how they will work tirelessly to defeat me in the next election, that a meeting was held last night to plan how to destroy your political career and you have sealed your fate regarding your political career.

This is going to be a difficult issue to tackle. If I were concerned with self-preservation, I would not have accepted this challenge. I decided to carry this legislation because it is what is right for the children, educators, and families in Sumner County.
I hope that you will carefully consider the points above and keep an open mind as the debate over this issue moves forward.

I am working closely with my colleagues here at the Legislature, and with members of the education community. I am taking all comments that I have received into consideration and hope that you will continue sharing your concerns with me.

Thank you for your consideration and your time.
Sincerely,

Debra

Debra Young Maggart
State Representative
45th District

203 War Memorial Building
Nashville, TN 37243-0145
(615) 741-3893
(615) 253-0350 FAX

My plea to the TNDP Executive Committee

This week has proved to be a rather eventful one for concerned Democrats and members of the Executive Committee.  E-mails are being spread around and analyses of these e-mails are spread even faster.  Some have made fools of themselves in these messages while some have proven their worth.  I write this as my last effort to sway members of the Executive Committee, and other Democrats across Tennessee.

I am no one influential, and no one of any particular importance to the state party, or to state politics.  What I am, though, is a Democrat.  And as a Democrat, I am asking for us to band together and unite behind our next leader, who I sincerely hope is Wade Munday.

I have never had the opportunity to meet Wade, and have no personal connection to him.  I support Wade because I know that he has demonstrated to Democrats that he is the most deserving and the best experienced candidate for the position of Chair for the TNDP’s current shape.  I am not writing this to criticize Chip Forrester, or blame him for the historic failures of the state party in the last election cylcle.  What happened cannot be pinned on Chip, it was a result of a number of things.

What we need right now is a fresh start in Tennessee for Democrats.  We need someone who has experience in fund raising, like Wade.  We need someone who has experience in communication and message building, like Wade.  We need someone with deep Tennessee roots, like Wade.

What we also need is unity, and I know Wade can bring that.  We need a new direction for the TNDP, Wade can bring that.  We need someone who can inspire young voters and volunteers, and coincidentally, Wade has been endorsed by the Tennessee Federation of College Democrats and the Tennessee Young Democrats.

I doubt my ability to sway someone’s vote by just this plea, but I do hope by reading this some will read the transcripts of the debate the other night.  I hope some will watch the video of the debate and see how comfortable Wade was as a leader.  I hope that somehow, someway I have done something to make Wade Munday the next chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party.

Letter to my Executive Committee Member

Hi,

My name is Zach Young and I live here in Sumner County and am extremely active in our county party.  I was an active volunteer for Dr. Charles Ihrig’s campaign to unseat Debra Maggart.

I am writing to you this evening because like many Democrats across Tennessee, I have been paying much attention to the election of the next Chair of the state party.  As my executive committee member, I am asking you to join me in supporting Wade Munday.

After watching/listening to the entire debate last night, I was pleased at Wade’s competence and his passion for our state party.  Wade demonstrated a knowledge of communication and organization and he also has a strong background in fund raising.  Wade has past experience at the TNDP as well as at a research hospital in fund raising.  Wade is a fresh face that our party needs and is also someone that hails from our own Sumner County.

Also, I think it’s highly important to note that Wade Munday has garnered the endorsements of the Tennessee Young Democrats and the Tennessee College Democrats.  These two groups are the future of our party and will be the face of our party.  Their endorsement of Wade is another sign that he is the man we need for this post in Tennessee.

As you travel to Nashville this weekend to vote, I strongly encourage you to cast your vote for the future of our party, by casting your vote for Wade Munday.

May the God of your choice bless you,

Zach Young

TNDP Chair Debate

So I literally just finished watching/listening to the TNDP Chair debate tonight and have some mixed thoughts.

Firstly, I wasn’t completely blown away by any of the three candidates present (Forrester, Kuhn, and Munday).  However, I was most impressed by Wade Munday.  He seemed to have the connections and experience to be a productive fund raiser as well as communicator and face for the party.  Munday also quoted Harry Truman, which made me like him more! ha!  Also, if it makes any difference Munday is from Sumner County, like me.

Chip.. Chip.. Chip… I don’t want to say anything negative about Forrester, because he is a friendly guy.  BUT, I really really really don’t think he is what’s best for the TNDP.  He talked A LOT about “messaging” during the debate, but, if messaging was so important why didn’t he focus on it the last two years?  As a whole, the TNDP failed us with the lack of cohesive and effective messaging.  So it’s REALLY difficult for me to believe Forrester say he wants to improve messaging, seeing as how he hasn’t already.

Kuhn seemed to have a great plan for organization of the TNDP, and I really liked some of his ideas.  The chair of a party is the face of a party, and I’m not sure he is the most effective person for that role.  While I don’t think Kuhn is best suited to be chair of the party, I would love for him to become the next Executive Director.  Jennifer Wallace has been good but I really feel like Kuhn would be a great personality and mind to have in that position.  He seemed as if he would be great at carrying out operations during election season, and he has experience doing just that as the chair of the Shelby County party.  I was very disappointed in Kuhn when he was asked the question about how should the state party help the special election in Senate district 18 right now.  His answer was to help the special election in House 98 that belonged to Rep. U. Jones… I’m pretty sure 98 is safe.. but 18 has the potential to be won since it’s a special election.  Too bad Kuhn didn’t see the potential…

Thank you Megan Barry

More and more community members are coming out in opposition and dismay to the recent happenings at Belmont.

There was Mike Curb, and now there is At-Large Metro councilwoman Megan Barry.  Barry, who actually lives about two blocks away from Belmont, is continuing to make progressive strides for the Nashville community by releasing a statement that expresses strong disapproval for Belmont’s actions.

More and more community leaders need to speak up.  We need more leaders like Barry who know that discrimination, no matter what form it’s in, is wrong.  I only wish I could have heard about Barry’s statement yesterday evening before attending a Tennessee Young Democrats Christmas party at her home.  If you read this Councilwoman Barry, THANK YOU!  The students, alumni and other community members thank you and admire your strong position on the issue.

What is U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper’s thoughts?  What about Mayor Dean?  Does Gov. Bredesen have thoughts on this?  These are all progressive leaders we need to be pushing to come out and express their disappointment with Belmont’s decision.

Belmont is sending a message to the world that is not going to draw people to this city, but turn them away.  Just like the “English only” proposition would have secluded Nashville from future growth, this issue is going to prevent Nashville and Belmont from participating in conferences, events and other economic benefits.  Not a chance the school will ever get a presidential debate again, unless this terrible mess is fixed.

Belmont can once again prove itself as a progressive, Christian and student-centered university if it will update its discrimination policy to include sexual orientation and gender identity.  Until that happens, Belmont will continue to drag Nashville, and possibly Tennessee’s, reputations farther away from center.

“Test all things and hold fast to that which is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21

The Belmont brouhaha continues

Over 100 students, alumni and community members gathered today to send a message to the administration and board of trustees of Belmont.  The message was clear, end discrimination at Belmont and show love.

The demonstration proved highly successful as several cars that passed honked and waved to show support.  There was a feeling of solidarity in the group, and I felt we were there carrying out God’s work.  At that moment, I realized that God truly had called me to be there in support of my brothers and sisters in Christ.

The large group of us there weren’t the typical gang you see on the streets protesting for LGBT issues.  This was a group of gay moms, children of gay parents, Christians, church pastors, veterans, straight people, Democrats, Republicans.  This was a group that reflected not just Belmont, and not even just Nashville, but our nation.  The discussion that is beginning here needs to be carried on across the nation and on the national level.

Now would be the perfect time to insert an inspiring development in the story, but unfortunately what I have to report is a little less than encouraging.

So this evening when Belmont announced a press conference would be held with president Bob Fisher in the Beaman student center, I figured there was a development.  Well I figured wrong, and so did the majority of the Nashville media who was present, along wih some national press like the AP.

“We’ve done a poor job of communication,” said Fisher.  No kidding.  Communication has been a little less than lacking in the past days, seeing as how Coach Howe was said to have resigned though no she and the university came to a “mutual agreement.”  I wonder what they will call it next week.

Fisher went on to say a whole lot of nothing.  In his ten years at Belmont, Fisher has never known sexual orientation to be a consideration for hiring he said.  Well I think we all know that Belmont doesn’t consider it while they hire, they just use it as a reason to fire.

He also addressed the fact that there is large number of Belmont students and teachers that are members of the homosexual community.

“Every student here is respected and loved,” said Fisher, but what about faculty?  The media wasn’t there to know about the students.  The media, and myself, were there to know what steps were being taken to prevent more discrimination of faculty based on sexuality.  We were left without an answer.

Fisher didn’t discuss the obvious, the firing of Lisa Howe.  It was a personnel issue and it wouldn’t be discussed, he said.

So to wrap it up, Fisher’s press conference served as nothing other than to try to boost the struggling reputation of the once progressive, student-centered university.  No references were made to Mike Curb’s recent statements or even Marty Dicken’s.

Fisher immediately left after concluding his statements, no questions were taken.

So, what now?

 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16