CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Tensions boiled over at the Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board Tuesday night, with repeated disruptions forcing law enforcement to remove the public from the room, as families continued criticizing the board following the Matthew Vedder incident and the Kenwood Middle School bus crash.

The board has faced mounting criticism in recent months. At the March 24 formal meeting, the father of the student shown nude photos told the board his trust in the district was shattered. At the May 19 formal meeting, parents of crash survivors addressed the board and called for accountability.

Mother of bus crash victim calls out ‘lack of accountability’

Jessica Davis—mother of Zoe who died in the bus crash—addressed the board. “We have an epidemic in this city,” she said. “Not a physical disease, but rather a lack of accountability, particularly in regard to those in positions of authority.”

Davis said the finals months of the school year showed “immense failings in this body’s ability to adequately handle any type of disaster at any level, let alone multiple.”

She urged the board to take a proactive approach. “It is not just the families of the bus that have been affected—it is everyone they have made connections with in this entire community,” she said.

Davis said the board’s lack of outreach “reeks of apathy,” adding that she and the mother of Arianna Pearson were removed from all school information platforms without being notified.

“While there was apparently some on site counseling offered to students at Kenwood Middle, this was nothing done for anyone from other schools who might have known them,” she said. “This seems to be an egregious oversight on behalf of the entire CMCSS board.”

She said the ongoing services CMCSS is providing are hardly sufficient, calling it a shame. Audience members then began chanting “shame” while holding up signs.

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Davis said students will be expected to return to normal in the coming school year, but that “there is no return to normalcy.”

Parents in Vedder case renew calls for leadership change

Ashley Ellithorpe then addressed the board during public comment. “I stand here as a mother,” she said. “My daughter Makenzie was sexually exploited by the superintendent’s husband, Matthew Gay Vedder, right inside one of your schools.”

Ellithorpe called for Director of Schools Dr. Jean Luna-Vedder’s resignation. When her five minutes expired and the microphone shut off automatically, audience members began chanting “let her talk.”

When the board denied the request, people shouted, “There’s no state law that says five minutes.” School Board Attorney Mark Nolan turned pointed to a state law allowing the board to set public comment rules and said the board would follow its policy.

Chair Chris Lanier warned that further disruptions would result in removal.

Adam Ellithorpe, Makenzie’s father, also spoke. “Since March, many parents, taxpayers and community members have watched this move from one agency to another with little public clarity about where the case stands.

“Parents need to know that allegations involving students are treated with urgency and seriousness,” he said, adding that “transparency builds trust.”

Makenzie: ‘Silence protects predators’

Makenzie began her public comments just as a man in the audience continued disrupting the meeting. When he refused to leave, the board recessed. After several minutes, he was escorted out.

Makenzie’s family stood behind her as she addressed the board. “You have failed us,” she said. “You have failed at keeping students safe. You have failed at protecting students from predators. You have failed the Kenwood students who are desperately in need of support.”

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Makenzie said her life changed on March 9 when Vedder showed her the photos. “In that moment I was terrified, I was confused and I was shocked,” she said.

She said she hid in the bathroom to call her mom. “I was scared, I was shaking and I felt completely alone,” she said. “No student should ever have to hide in the bathroom to call their parent because they feel unsafe at school.”

Makenzie said students have told her in recent months that they felt unheard when reporting concerns. “Every student deserves to know when they report something wrong, they will be protected instead of overlooked,” she said. “Silence protects problems. Silence protects predators. And silence never protects children.”

Board approves new limits on public comment

Later in the meeting, the board approved changes to their public participation rules, including limiting each speaker’s time to three minutes and banning any speaker from allocating their time to another.

School board member and state Rep. Aron Maberry proposed the changes at the June 2 study session.

During Tuesday’s discussion, an audience member shouted that limiting public comment should result in a town hall. Two additional disruptions followed, prompting another recess and the removal of three more people. Continued disruptions led law enforcement to clear the building.

Audience members waited outside while only members of the media, and the school liaisons were allowed back in for the remainder of the meeting.

Maberry said the change would align the board with other local, and state governing bodies and school board member Jimmie Garland supported the change.

Board member Kent Griffy opposed it. “I don’t believe it’s right to shorten the times,” he said. “And I don’t want to be a board that changes the time limits because we’re not liking the message we’re hearing. It’s our job to listen to the message.”

The changes passed with all members voting in favor except for Griffy.

County Commissioners respond after vote

At the end of the meeting, County Commissioner David Shelton said the board’s decision to “limit public speaking” in the face of criticism offended him. “We are all elected to serve the people, not the system,” he said.

School board member Kacie Bryant said she viewed the change differently. “I think that we’re actually giving more people the opportunity to speak,” she said.

County Commissioner Joshua Beal asked if the meeting is still considered public if the public is removed from the room. Nolan said it was, citing state law allowing removal of disruptive attendees.

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