CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Community members continued to voice frustrations toward the Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board on Tuesday, as the board voted to approve the new decorum changes that will limit people to holding signs from their seat.
This comes after several tense meetings where audience members have walked around the room carrying signs and loudly objecting to board statements. At the June 16 board meeting, tensions boiled over as the public was removed following repeated disruptions from some audience members, according to previous reports. Later in that meeting, the board approved changes to public comment, reducing speaking time from five minutes to three and eliminating the option for one speaker to give their time to another.
This new set of decorum changes on Tuesday follows another contentious board meeting on July 21, when one person was removed for repeated disruptions and others walked around holding signs.
Some of the public outrage has centered on the arrest of former teacher Matthew Vedder on charges of showing obscene material to a minor. Vedder is married to Director of Schools Dr. Jean Luna-Vedder.
| MORE: Student files lawsuit against CMCSS, teacher who showed her nude selfies
Some families – like the Lugos – have also spoken out about the impact of the Kenwood Middle School bus crash, pushing for answers and calling out the district about growing unpaid medical bills.
Friend of bus crash victims calls for action
At Tuesday’s board meeting, Ashanti Gray, who recently completed her time at Kenwood Middle School, told the board she was “more aware of the reality” in schools than the board members.
“No, I was not physically on the bus the day of the crash,” Gray said. “But what happens to one of us, affects all of us. … For months I’ve watched my peers carry physical injuries, immense stress and hundreds of thousands of dollars of medical debt while this board hides behind legal excuses,” she said.
She held up an obituary for Arianna Pearson and a pen for Zoe Davis, the two eighth grade students who passed in the Kenwood Middle School bus crash. “The lack of safety doesn’t stop at transportation,” she said. “We are forced to sit in schools when we feel unprotected. When a teacher at Montgomery Central is arrested for displaying obscene material to a minor and that teacher happens to be the husband of the superintendent, it leaves the entire student body skeptical.”
She called for the School Board to “stop fighting these families in court” and immediately pay all the medical bills associated with the bus crash. The Davis and Pearson families have filed lawsuits against CMCSS and the bus driver from the crash, according to previous reports.
“Due to pending litigation and active state and federal investigations, the district cannot comment on the accident, resolve insurance claims, or provide generalized guidance through the media,” CMCSS spokesperson Anthony Johnson previously told Clarksville Now.
Board approves changes to decorum rules
Board members Jimmie Garland and Aron Maberry received special recognition for their time served on the board. This was their last meeting, along with board member Teresa Crosslin, before the new board members begin their terms.
| MORE: Election results: Oliver wins sheriff, Golden re-elected, 3 commissioners unseated
Later in the meeting, the board approved the changes to public decorum rules. Board member Carol Berry voted no, Kent Griffy abstained, and all other board members voted in favor.
At the Aug. 4 study session, board member and state Rep. Maberry proposed the changes to public participation to be voted on at the next formal session. The changes say no one may “disrupt, interrupt, distract from, or interfere with a recognized speaker’s presentation” at any point during the meeting. The new language clarifies that audience members engaging in loud verbal comments or noises, standing behind or near a speaker while holding a sign, or obstructing someone’s view of the meeting could be subject to removal.
The change further says if someone wishes to hold a sign, “he or she must remain at his or her seat while doing so.” Maberry said the changes are meant to preserve order while still protecting public participation.
Maberry pointed to the recent disruptions, saying behavior like that would not be permitted at the City Council or County Commission meetings.
County commissioners respond to decorum changes
County Commissioner David Shelton criticized the board’s decision, saying it reflects a theme that they are “far more concerned with how parents express their concern rather than addressing the concerns that the parents are upset about.”
| NEWS ALERTS: To get free breaking news alerts on your phone, text the word NEWS to 43414.
Shelton said the proposed changes did not have a public first reading the way they do at the County Commission. “As I sit here, listening and watching this, it is an embarrassment for this county,” he said, adding they need to “start addressing the problem.”
County Commissioner Jeremiah Walker pointed to the Pledge of Allegiance recited at the start of all board meetings, quoting “liberty and justice for all.” Walker told the board to “stop talking down and belittling people” and to “get to the root cause of this problem.”
Board members respond to criticism
“What we simply want is decorum in this room like you have in your room,” Maberry said to Shelton. “So to speak to this body and say that we can’t have what you have is completely unreasonable.”
Vice Chair Kacie Bryant said she would not address matters currently in litigation. Bryant also talked about the complexities of the job, saying there are circumstances they cannot always discuss publicly. She said she believed in public participation, as well as order and productive conversation.
“I’ve also learned how quickly a complicated situation can be reduced to a headline, a social media post or a few seconds of video,” Bryant said. “I’ve watched assumptions become accusations before anyone ever picked up the phone and asked a question.”
Berry, the only board member to vote no to the proposed changes, said, “I just think that the people are expressing themselves, and that’s a good thing. And we should not be afraid of them because they’re just like us. They have minds, they have hearts and they care.”
| DON’T MISS A LOCAL STORY: Sign up for the free daily Clarksville Now email newsletter