CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – About 40 parents of students attending Clarksville-Montgomery County schools staged a protest at the School Board meeting Tuesday evening, demanding transparency from the board on COVID-19 policies.
The parents, who did not wish to be identified as “anti-mask” but rather as standing for mask and vaccine choice, wanted the right to be able to address the board about the COVID-19 plans for the coming 2021-22 school year.
Director’s report
The meeting proceeded as usual through the director’s report segment. Interim Director of Schools Angela Huff reported that 47.4% of CMCSS staff is fully vaccinated through the district’s onsite clinic. This doesn’t include those who went to independent pharmacies to get their vaccine.
The director’s report has included an update on COVID-19 pandemic totals, including case numbers within the school district and the community as well as vaccination rates, since the beginning of the pandemic.
Huff then went on to discuss the current mask policy, which is optional for all as of June 1.
“Our communicable disease team will continue to review the guidance in coordination with the Montgomery County Health Department,” Huff said. “There will also be some communication that will come out this week to our families giving an update as it relates to any restrictions or relieving any restrictions.”
She then displayed a graph showing community rates since the beginning of the 2020-21 school year on Sept. 3, 2020.
“We’re looking really good in our community as it relates to COVID,” Huff continued, and there were no questions about it from board members.
Parents disrupt meeting
After the report, the session opened for board member comments.
School Board member Kent Griffy asked about the dates of the board retreat, the dates of which were announced publicly at the board meeting on June 7 when questions about the public addressing the board were first brought up. Then-Director of Schools Millard House suggested the board view their public address policy at the board retreat, the dates of which are also listed on the CMCSS district calendar scheduled for Oct. 25 and 26.
Huff said she would send the dates to Griffy.
Then a parent shouted, “Is that not public knowledge?”
“This is a public meeting, and the fact that the School Board is not asking the questions the parents obviously want asked is ridiculous,” the parent, Becky Zientek, continued.
“Ma’am, you’re out of order,” board member and Chairperson Carol Berry said.
“I know I’m out of order, but no one’s going to let me …” Zientek continued.
“If you will not discontinue, we will have to ask our SRO to do what he needs to do,” Berry said, interupting her.
Several then began demanding an answer as to why parents aren’t allowed to ask questions at board meetings.
“Have you looked at board policy? Please follow them,” Berry said.
“I don’t care about board policy, these are our kids and we pay taxes,” Zientek said to the board. “Your job is to ask the questions for the parents; you represent the parents and the kids.”
“No disrespect to our parents, we have to follow board policy,” Berry said, speaking over many of the shouts.
Berry announced that the next formal board meeting would be Aug. 10, and adjourned the meeting. Then chaos erupted.
Parent concerns
Several parents stated loudly that they knew the policy was only three years old, and that it was something instituted by House.
“When we did this in Texas, we made their life hell. We got Facebook groups, we got Facebook events, we made it on blast. We told them because they are going to … They think we work for them,” Zientek said.
She went on to describe how the parents group in Texas forced a school to close because there were not enough children to fill it.
“I just found out about this today, and I’m pissed because my kids have been home for a year and a half. This kid wrote the saddest letter today about how he wants to be back in school, and he’s not going back if he wears a mask. And his rights are being violated,” Zientek continued, gesturing to her son standing nearby.
Masks have been optional for CMCSS since June 1.
Demand for public address
Lorri Adair, another parent, held up a sign constructed of several emails to former Director House as well as demands for an open public forum.
“We’re here because the board is lacking some serious transparency, and there’s also no chain of accountability,” Adair said. “A lot of the women that you see here, and men, have been calling on the School Board with different issues and different concerns for the last 18 months, and every single time it’s been a different story, and there’s no accountability.”
She noted the difficulty of applying to speak to the board on agenda items, and that it has to be pre-approved.
“Only two people decide on the agenda items; it’s the interim director of schools right now and the board chair, that’s it,” she told Clarksville Now, adding that there was no public participation at the study sessions.
While several of the signs were related to the mask issue, the real issue seemed to be the board’s process of allowing the public to address them.
“COVID-19 hasn’t been on the agenda this whole time, and throughout the pandemic, so nobody can even address it, but then tonight it’s put on a presentation and not even put on the agenda. Was it for a reason?” Adair asked.
Demanding answers
Huff was then surrounded by parents demanding answers about the coming school year and the anticipated COVID-19 policies.
She reiterated what was said during her report.
“We don’t have a mask mandate, and what I also stated was later on this week, there’s going to be some communication coming to the families,” Huff said.
At this point, the SRO asked everyone to move outside so they could lock up the building.
When asked about the conversation that was opened after the meeting, board member Jimmie Garland told Clarksville Now the board is following its policies on public comment.
“We’re following policy and they’re expressing opinions and that’s their right,” board member Margaret Pace added. “We also have to follow guidelines, the CDC guidelines.”
The conversation then moved outside, where parents discussed the COVID-19 vaccine and the FDA’s emergency authorization of it. There were also calls for parents to attend a meeting in Nashville on July 21 about the Tennessee Department of Health.