The Knox County School Board was presented the 16 page Charter School contract and is expected to approve it on Thursday.

When Board Members Jennifer Owen, Dr. John Butler, Katherine Bike and Daniel Watson asked questions. The central office staff person and Knox County Law Director Attorney Gary Dupler said they explained to the Charter School executives, the board might question this being on the agenda quickly.

Then School Board Vice Chair Steve Triplett dismissed the task that with all the paper they get, surely they can get through 16 pages before Thursday. Now, remember this is the same guy that about 4-5 months ago tried to abolish the work session because it and the voting meeting were too redundant.

Then enter lame duck School Boarder Susan Horn (lame duck means she is not running for re-election. She won’t be around on September 1, 2024) who asked the staff doesn’t this contract simply mirror the Emerald Charter contract. The answer well yes it is and the other state required parts of the a charter school contract.

So, Triplett and Horn wanna rush to approval on Thursday. Let’s take an August 2022 trip down McFee Road in Southwest Knox County when a lame duck (see definition above) County Commission and School Board approved a sales contract for some property that included construction of a Town of Farragut Boulevard and naming rights to the future school to be built there. The seller backed out in January 2023 after it became “political” (his words) after apparently the school district had dragged its feet and the contract had to be amended.

Watch the October 26, Town of Farragut Board of Mayor and Alderman meeting here where the seller gives his side of the story.

If you question my version of what i watched and/or my interpretation of tonight’s Knox County School Board Meeting, watch it yourself here, fast forward about six minutes in, there is some dead air there.