State Senator Stanley Resigns

According to an update on the online version of The Tennessean, State Senator Paul Stanley (R - Germantown) resigned this afternoon in the wake of a scandal involving a former intern, the intern's boyfriend, and an apparent relationship between the intern and the Senator.

The intern, McKensie Morrison, is a 22-year-old student at Austin Peay State University. Morrison graduated from a Florida high school, and the Orlando Sentinel has an in-depth story on her previous encounters with law enforcement in the Sunshine State. According to the story, Morrison has drug-related arrests (crack cocaine) and a HUSBAND currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for beating a 75-year-old with a hammer and fracturing his skull. Morrison and the incarcerated husband filed for divorce one month ago.

While Senator Jack Johnson (R-Brentwood) has not issued a statement on Stanley's resignation, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey issued the following brief statement:

Senator Paul Stanley has resigned from the Senate effective August 10th. I have received his letter of resignation and forwarded it to Secretary of State Hargett and Governor Bredesen.

Director Interviews Scheduled -- TAKE ACTION!!

The five semi-finalists vying for the position of Director of Williamson County Schools are scheduled for public interviews next week in the Carolyn Campbell Room at the WCS Central Office located at 1320 West Main in Franklin.

Local residents are invited and strongly encouraged to attend these interviews and hear directly from the individuals seeking to lead Williamson County Schools as they are interviewed. The schedule is as follows:

• Monday, August 3, 6pm - Dr. David Heath (Interim Superintendent WCS)
• Monday, August 3, 8pm - Dennis Dearden (Senior VP, Partnership for Excellence, AZ)
• Tuesday, August 4, 6pm - Dr. Barry Carroll (Supt. Limestone County Schools, AL)
• Tuesday, August 4, 8pm - Michael Looney (Supt. Butler County School District, AL)
• Wednesday, August 5, 6pm - James Wilson (Former Supt. Fulton County Schools, GA)

At a special called meeting at 6pm on Thursday, August 6, the School Board will choose which of the candidates to bring in for a second interview. Time is short to let your school board reps know how you feel about the candidates.

One of these men will very likely be named to lead Williamson County Schools before the end of August. The position affects not only students and parents in the county, but ALL residents of Williamson County. Corporations have found Williamson County a desirable location in part because of the quality school system. The attractive schools help sustain property values here AND keep the residential tax burden relatively low because of those business and sales taxes. If our schools begin to suffer as a result of poor leadership that lacks vision such a decline will ultimately affect your property value -- whether you have children in the public schools or not.

So, email the Board members and let them know your personal thoughts on this important decision. Let them all know you are interested and engaged in how this situation is resolved. It's too important NOT to get involved.

Heath One of Five Set for Director Interviews

Dr. David Heath, the interim director of Williamson County Schools, is one of five candidates the Williamson County School Board intends to interview August 3-5 in the ongoing search for a replacement director following the Board's decision to remove Dr. Rebecca Sharber late last year.

Search firm Ray & Associates presented the five candidates to the Board Monday night during a special meeting. This comes after Ray & Associates embarked on a nationwide search for candidates that culminated with three individuals being interviewed for the position and subsequently rejected by the Board on the grounds of lack of experience and/or vision.

Along with Heath, the other five candidates -- who all happen to be male -- are: Barry Carroll of Athens, Alabama; Dennis Dearden of Oro Valley, Arizona; Mike Looney of Greenville, Alabama; and James Wilson of Atlanta. Wilson actually oversaw the construction of Centennial High School in the late 1990s while working for Williamson County Schools.

Anything other than the hiring of Dr. Heath will be an absolutely stunning move given how this process has unfolded. Perhaps the Board will surprise everyone by choosing someone other than Heath (Wilson, perhaps?) but there is simply nothing to suggest that this is headed any other direction.

Is it truly possible that there are no qualified females for this job? Doesn't that seem odd? Is it truly possible that only a handful of people are interested in leading the public schools in one of the wealthiest counties in the United States? Doesn't that seem strange? Is it truly possible that Dr. Heath is going to be handed this job when all is said and done? Maybe we'll all know by the middle of August. Is it truly possible that those who voted for this move will be re-elected come election time? Wait and see.

Brentwood to Vote on "Guns in Parks" Issue Monday Night

The Brentwood City Commission's meeting agenda for Monday, July 13, at 7pm includes a vote on a resolution that if passed by simple majority (4 of 7) would prohibit handgun carry permit holders from bringing weapons into the city's parks. In addition, Resolution 2009-56 would prohibit handguns on "bicycle pedestrian trails and greenways that are part of the City's park system" according to a note included with the agenda posted recently on Brentwood's website.

Brentwood City Attorney Roger Horner authored a four-page Legal Services Memorandum (viewable in the attachments) on July 1, 2009, that was sent to Mayor Betsy Crossley and the other City Commissioners regarding the "Prohibition of Handguns in City Parks". In the document, Horner notes that such a prohibition would apply to the entire park as municipalities cannot allow guns in certain areas while prohibiting them elsewhere in the same park. Municipalities are free, however, to prohibit guns in some parks while permitting them in other parks under state law. Horner's recommendation to Brentwood officials is against such "piecemeal prohibition" and instead would affect the following parks and locations in their entirety:

• Crockett Park, Granny White Park, Tower Park, River Park, Deerwood Arboretum and Nature Center, Owl Creek Park, Primm Park, Concord Park, Maryland Way Park, Pleasant Hill parkland (not yet developed), more than 14 miles of bicycle/pedestrian trails, and more than 75 acres of greenways. The prohibition would also extend to parks and recreational facilities owned by the City of Brentwood in the future.

After citing numerous reasons to "opt-out" of the law signed by Governor Bredesen in June, including that ". . . the potential for violence would increase in proportion to the number of guns that are carried into the parks", Horner recommends passage of Resolution 2009-56 with the following statement:

The City Manager, Chief of Police and Parks and Recreation Director strongly support this proposal to 'opt out'.

If passed, signs at least 6 inches high and 14 inches wide explaining the maximum penalty of 11 months and 29 days in jail and a fine not to exceed $2,500 for the misdemeanor must be installed by September 1 in prominent locations on affected properties. Approximately 25 signs at a cost of $75 to $100 each are estimated to be needed in Brentwood bringing the General Fund cost to $2,500.

Other gun-related new business on Brentwood's July 13 agenda includes a vote on Resolution 2009-57, a resolution that would prohibit possession of weapons at "meetings conducted by the City of Brentwood or within any building owned, operated or managed, or under the control of the City of Brentwood." City staff recommends passage of this resolution as well, citing reasons offered by Horner in the memorandum regarding guns in parks.

If history is any indication, a recommendation by city staff in Brentwood usually leads to adoption or passage of the issue at hand by the elected officials. Let Mayor Crossley and Commissioners Dunn, Little, Reagan, Smithson, Sweeney, and Webb know where you stand on this issue before next Monday night.

Heath One Step Closer to Removing "Interim" from His Title

Reporter Maria Giordano gets credit for her update in today's Tennessean regarding Interim Director of Williamson County Schools David Heath officially applying for the post formerly occupied by Dr. Rebecca Sharber prior to her ouster in January at the hand of the School Board. If you missed our post from late May regarding the issue, you can still find it here.

Consulting firm Ray & Associates will present their chosen semi-finalists from among this second round of applicants during a July 20th meeting. You know, JULY, when if parents and students are thinking about anything, they're thinking about school. Right? Could it be coincidental that Heath's application becomes official at the start of a LONG holiday weekend? Is it coincidental that the school board could make their decision while many families are away on vacation? Is it coincidental that Heath himself just promoted an "assistant principal" at Brentwood Middle School to replace the previous principal he reassigned earlier this year? You know, making it clear that promoting from within is the logical solution to the current situation.

We've said it before and we'll say it again, if the School Board wanted to replace Sharber with Heath there were more cost effective ways to create a smooth transition that would NOT have cost taxpayer dollars. IF Heath gets the job this summer remember to compare the names of who votes in his favor with the list of those who voted to fire Sharber. Here's that list again, just to jog your memory:

THOSE IN FAVOR OF FIRING SHARBER:

Pat Anderson (8th District)

Susan Graham (7th District)

Mark Gregory (11th District)

Terry Leve (6th District)

Tim McLaughlin (4th District)

Janice Mills (2nd District)

Barry Watkins (9th District)

THOSE OPPOSED TO FIRING SHARBER:

Gary Anderson (5th District)

James Bond (12th District)

D'Wayne Greer (1st District)

Janine Moore (3rd District)

Bill Peach (10th District)