In a Monday October 16 Knox County Commission work session, Knox County Schools Director of Operations spoke about the land acquisition in the Town of Farragut. You can watch the less than nine minute discussion here. I screen recorded this from the 4 and a half hour meeting from the Knoxville Community Media live stream.

The number of properties they looked at has changed from 21 to ”roughly 24”.. Again it is stated, they do not know the type of school to be built, the size of the school. It is just that they need land.

Commissioner John Schoonmaker said that School Board Member Susan Horn worked “behind the scenes”, ”securing a discount” on the property.

As a former Knox County School Board Member myself, twenty years ago. When Schoonmaker said that it seemed odd. I recalled that the School Board as a Member of the Tennessee School Boards Association, which I served as a Board of Director for the East Region for a couple years has a Code of Conduct.

With Schoonmaker’s statement which ot seems he presented as fact would bring into question Article IV Section 1, 4 and 5.

ARTICLE IV. My Relations with other Board Members

Section 1. I will understand that the Board makes decisions as a team and that individual board members may not commit the Board to any action.

Section 4. I will refuse to make promises as to how I will vote on a matter that will come before the Board.

Section 5. I will make decisions only after a complete discussion of items at a board meeting.

Is what Commissioner Schoonmaker said or What School Board Member Horn do or didn’t do right or wrong? I don’t know, I wasn’t in the room when it happened. I simply call the balls and strikes based on the conversation as the meeting happened. It’s all outside my pay grade.

The entire code is posted below.