Last night, the Sumner County School Board ignored the plea of over a thousand citizens who spoke out against the Stage 1 rezoning proposal. With a unanimous vote to pass, one hundred and eighty-seven students will now be subjected to transitional rezoning.
While this decision is disappointing, it was also expected. Throughout the past four months, parents of Sumner County have been told by Board members to “suck it up”, and even that the Board should not be challenged. We have asked repeatedly for empirical data, only to be told that it existed only in the Director of Schools' head.
Each time a member of Stop Stage 1 stepped up to the podium, we were met with dismissiveness and indifference. When a Board Member did speak out, others murmured to one another as if they themselves were misbehaving children on a schoolyard playground.
The School Board has broken several of it's own policies, including policy ADA regarding Attendance Zone Changes. Meanwhile, the school transportation issue seems to worsen everyday; leaving children standing in the cold. New homes and apartments continue to be approved without regard to our current infrastructure, only adding to the overcrowding issues. And, our elected officials still refuse to investigate and prosecute their own who have clearly broken the law.
While our efforts to stop Stage 1 were not successful, this is not the end of our fight. This is the start of something new. Please join us in the Carellton clubhouse this Sunday, February 17th at 12:30 as we prepare to close the Stop Stage 1 chapter, and set out to form a sustainable presence to strengthen our community.