School Board District 4 candidate Ashley Sartelle hasn’t done her homework.
In a Facebook video, Ms. Sartelle asserts that Knox County Schools is wasting money by paying for a lobbyist in Nashville. Apparently, she believes that Knox County students don’t need an advocate in Nashville.
Nashville is responsible for many of the obstacles our local schools face.
- $3.8 million of the $7.8 million removed from the KCS budget was removed in Nashville.
- The law that removed "Roots" from KCS shelves was passed in Nashville.
- Everything our kids learn, including phonics, is approved in Nashville.
- TCAP/TN Ready is written by companies chosen in Nashville.
- Starting this school year, Nashville is mandating that third graders join the older kids in taking their TCAPs online.
- Nashville passed the Third Grade Reading Retention law that has caused so much anxiety for Knox County third graders.
What Ms. Sartelle doesn’t know is that the $35,000 for a lobbyist, which she describes as not “demonstrat[ing] a clear benefit to students,” was crucial in creating an alternate path for third graders to gain the skills they need. KCS serves 58,000 students. Spending less than a penny per child to reduce the number of terrified third graders sobbing in school parking lots isn’t wasteful. That’s
a bargain.
At every board meeting I have attended, Katherine Bike has been prepared with questions on how KCS implements state laws and resolutions for how those laws can be made better. Her recent resolution on school technology would have created a KCS committee that included parents and would have addressed the contradictions between state law and testing policy.
As a former classroom teacher, my decision is easy: Katherine Bike has done her homework, and she has my vote.
Leslie Gordon, Knoxville, 37919
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: School board candidate needs to do homework | Letter
