BD Newsletter

Fifth in a series….

By Brad Durham

Education means a lot of things to people in McMinnville. People are questioning and debating what is transpiring in our schools on local, state and national levels. The responses of the twelve interviewees are more varied on this topic than any other topic they were asked.

McMinnville’s schools are actually funded by the county, state and federal governments. The City of McMinnville had agreed to fund the schools with part of their local sales tax revenue when the County took over the schools in the late 1960s, but several years ago the City sued the County government to abrogate that agreement. Collectively, the lawsuit cost the City and County approximately $800,000 to $1,000,000 in legal fees. 

The City and County settled the lawsuit, and the City is in the process of recovering all of the local sales tax that was going to the County. According to McMinnville City Mayor Ryle Chastain, “The amount increases yearly and will peak at around 2M per year, and will continue to be paid to the City indefinitely.”

You can see the County’s school budget by clicking here. The school system receives approximately another $11.5 million in federal funds that you can view here: federal budget. After funding for school meals is factored in, the total Warren County School Budget is approximately $75 million.

Education is a hot topic on several levels; therefore, I asked Dr. Grant Swallows, the Director of Schools, for a response to the interviews. Swallows’ response is at the end of the interviews. One part of his response mentions that $5,000,000 has been added to Warren County’s school budget by the school board to increase teacher and employee compensation. Another part of his response clarifies how bathrooms are designated for students.

The response of the twelve interviewees to this question:

Do you agree with the direction and quality of education the Warren County public school system offers for our children? Why or why not?

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I do. We are always trying to build better programs and recruiting good teachers, and having the buy-in of the community is essential — they have to see results. For a long time, it was like they really didn’t want to invest in children. But, to me, you invest in children or you invest in jails. 

Jimmy Haley

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Letting gender identification in to our area — where at the middle school a middle school child that says he identifies with a female can enter the female elementary bathroom with girls. I didn’t know that was happening till last week. I was told by a county commissioner that it is happening. The words were, not that it was quoted to me, but quoted to me by a county commissioner that it was told to him by the director of schools that when the county gives him $11 million a year in funding, he’ll listen to the county. That he’s going to listen to the federal mandates, and that’s what the feds told him to do. 

That’s terrible. That’s absolutely terrible. It has no place in our area. So post-COVID, I think the school board sucks. I think that the policies of the school board suck. I think the tone and the tenor that the Warren County schools are going in sucks. I think that we need an elected school superintendent, not an appointed school superintendent. I think every school board meeting should be open and completely transparent. They should be able to take addresses by the general populace in a timely and regimented manner. It is my understanding, I’ve not attended one, but I understand that during COVID they would not let people attend, even wearing a mask or not, but they televise the meetings. So, I believe that we have a huge problem in our school system.

Stacey Harvey

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I don’t have any children, but from my experience when I was in the school system, I think we have a very good public school system.

Judith Gomez

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I think there is room for improvement, a lot of improvement. 

Well, this is personal experience, I have sent three kids to school here. Two of them went to private school because they needed a smaller classroom. 

I don’t think there is much care focused on helping kids with disabilities. The average smart child can get through school. The average smart child gets the awards for most improved. What about the child with a disability who learns to read but was never supposed to? Attention is not on those children. I think those children are left behind. If I was in charge, I would be putting a lot of emphasis on that. They really need to look at that child’s particular disability and help that child grow and expand just like any other child.

With my kids, it took the extra effort that I put into it. I know that a lot of parents don’t have the ability to do that, but I was fortunate. 

My child was not supposed to read or learn the alphabet, and he’s in college. 

Lisa Zavogiannis

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I’m biased because I am heavily involved in one aspect of that. The growth of the CTE program at the high school is phenomenal, particularly if you go back 20 years. It used to be a shop program, and it is totally different from that today. We have $5-$8 million in equipment in the CTE wing. We have a huge megatronics program there, and a huge robotics program there. We have one million dollars’ worth of equipment — all new in the machine shop technology program. 

Todd Herzog

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I agree with the direction and the quality. My wife works in the school system. There are a lot of challenges that people who don’t work in the school system have no clue about. It is really easy to say that teacher didn’t do this or that when they have 15 other challenges going on that day that no one has any clue about. 

We have great teachers, and I think they do the best they can. I think the administration from Bobby Cox to the present administration — they have done great things.

Justin Tanner

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I guess my answer to that is that I would like to see it improve. I would like to see the powers-to-be, whoever that is, try to improve the quality…whether that is paying teachers more or bringing in better teachers…I would like to see it improve.

I don’t know if it is true or not, but I am told that we are not paying teachers very well. 

Dr. Bryan Chastain

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I know a lot of folks do homeschooling. That is their prerogative. But as far as me being old school, knowing what it is like going to school…meeting people, having friends, being in the band, being at the point where I can interact with people. Growing up like that I almost feel like that gives you more freedom.

Wayne Wolford

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I do, and I feel for the school system and the teachers especially. I was glad to hear that Hillsdale lost its contract and that it was not coming in because that was going to be a very threatening prospect for public education. I think the teachers are doing everything they can, and the school system is doing everything they can. I’ve been very happy with my sons’ (who are in the school system) experience. I think it’s great.

Mandy Eller

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The high school is, in size alone, very difficult to manage. I have heard many say that it was better when we had two high schools. That may be a moot point, however, because a second high school would cost well over $150 million, perhaps more. Adding to this, do our teachers have time to mentor with all the other burdens we now place upon them. I think teachers are doing all they can under the circumstances. The teachers I have met I are dedicated and committed to providing good instruction, but I don’t know if they have time to do that. Teaching is more challenging now than ever with all the hats teachers must wear, in addition to the worries of security.

Mac McWhirter

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Sort of hard for me to answer that now. My kids have been out of school for a long time. My youngest has been out of school for 22 years. Both of my sons have been out and working for years.

We have a lot of public school teachers in our congregation. All the ones I know are very good folks, dedicated. And we have administrators here. I know their character. I think they are good folks. Our kids have gone off from here and done well.

Tony Lawrence

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I do to the extent that they are having to follow what comes out of the federal (government) and actually the state has put in this third-grade deal…and that bothers me. But that’s not something I can blame our local school system with because they receive money from them, and that’s the mandates that they are forced to have. I think that’s an unfair thing. If a kid has a problem testing or if they just have a bad day, they are going to be held back. It is going to be a burden on our public school system to try to take them to the summer and get them passed on to the next grade. That’s the main problem I’ve got with the school system right now.

Terry Bell

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Dr. GRANT SWALLOWS, Direct of Warren County Schools, response:

Thanks for the opportunity to add my thoughts. They are as follows:

First, I want to thank these individuals for adding their open and honest feedback about our schools in Warren County. We appreciate any support that our community can give our very hard-working employees and most of all our students. I agree with many of the people that said our school system faces lots of challenges in meeting the needs of every one of our 6,250 students. Any organization that size would have difficulties but that doesn’t discount the very dedicated individuals that come to work every day and take care of kids. We provide a positive atmosphere, opportunities for learning, extra-curricular activities, food, and oftentimes clothing when needed. We cannot do that alone. It takes the full community. If we don’t have its support then we cannot accomplish the task. It is an investment in Warren County’s future because we are currently educating the next generation of people that will be interviewed for stories such as this one. We simply cannot afford to fail.

As to some of the specific concerns, we are constantly seeking ways to improve. Some alluded to improving the quality of our education and that has long been the goal. One person mentioned the success of our CTE program that has been recognized statewide as a leader in offering students access and skills training for their life after high school. Also, it was mentioned that Warren County is behind in what we pay our teachers and that’s true. We are fortunate this year to receive additional state allocations that will help us combat that problem. The schoolboard just approved a proposed budget that has more than five million dollars appropriated to improve employee salaries. We believe this decision shows an appreciation to our employees as well as the fact that it puts us in a place to recruit and retain employees in the future.

Our work with students with disabilities was mentioned and that is always a challenge. However, I would counter that just this week we received documentation from the Tennessee Department of Education that says our Special Education Department is rated at the top of their scale in terms of meeting expectations. Regardless, meeting every student’s needs is the most important thing we can do. Those challenges vary and are often not something that can be done by the school alone. It takes a partnership between the school and the family and that is something we work really hard to try and accomplish. As far as the comment about students entering into bathroom facilities with students from another gender, that is against state law and is against policy in Warren County Schools. Federal law requires that schools make accommodations in a situation such as was mentioned to provide an alternate restroom that would have individual access such as in a nurse’s office or faculty restroom.

In terms of our school board, I very much appreciate the dedicated individuals that serve on our school board. I see every day their commitment to the students and employees of Warren County Schools. They are a fine group of public servants and are charting a course for continued success in our school system. School board meetings returned to open meetings after the COVID restrictions ended and have been open to the public for the last 2 years. Regular meetings take place on the fourth Monday of every month at 5 pm. The agendas are advertised on our website and the public is welcome, as well as encouraged, to attend. Finally, our school system does have a burden of complying with several federal and statewide mandates as it pertains to education. Many times laws are made that have good intentions. While I will always agree with raising expectations, sometimes those laws are not what’s best for kids. At the end of the day, our job is to provide a first-class experience for students where they feel loved and appreciated while we do the important work of teaching them skills necessary for them to lead a productive and fulfilling life. The mandates of the law often get in the way of that goal but that will not stop us from trying to fulfill that mission. I am thankful to live and work in a community that values education and wants to see our students succeed!

Grant Swallows

Director of Schools

Warren County

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Next week’s article will be posted on May 16, and the topic is “What Unites Us in McMinnville.”

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