Signal Mountain Mayor Chris Howley called out the Hamilton County Department of Education and Superintendent Bryan Johnson at Monday night's Signal Mountain Town Council meeting, alleging broken promises.
In a prepared statement read at the end of the council's agenda meeting, Howley outlined details from meetings with Johnson and other school system officials over the course of several months to discuss Signal Mountain's ongoing exploration of breaking away from Hamilton County Schools to form an independent municipal school district.
According to Howley, the issues that he, Johnson and the other officials discussed and "thought we had agreed upon" included disbanding the School System Viability Committee that the Signal Mountain Town Council created earlier this year to explore the feasibility of a breakaway, to make a resolution to cease the venture and not vote on a referendum in 2018, to include Signal Mountain Middle High School in a pilot program for later start times, to provide 2 art teachers and 1 STEM teacher for Nolan and Thrasher elementary schools and to create an advisory board, among other items.
This statement comes after last week's meeting in which Hamilton County Schools officials led by Johnson presented a united front against a Signal split.
"The reason to share these events is to illustrate the petty politics, lack of leadership, and lack of focus on kids [that], seems to me, remains the same at [the school system]," Howley said.
Johnson, reached for comment, said resolutions and promises had not been made in department of education meetings with Howley and Signal Mountain officials. According to Johnson, the issues discussed in those meetings were issues that he felt the department would need to bring to the community to receive feedback on.
"All these things are issues we are interested in pursuing, but you have to engage the community," Johnson said. "All these things aren't solved overnight These are issues and challenges that we have to engage the community of Signal Mountain on."
"The last thing that needs to happen is that Mayor Howley and Signal Mountain officials and HCDE officials get behind closed doors and do unto the community," he added.
Howley did note in his statement that education department officials had told him and other Signal officials last Wednesday that "everything we had worked toward was not going to happen they did not feel it was right because they had not "engaged" the Community [sic]."
The council also voted to direct the school system viability committee not to meet this Thursday as was originally planned. Councilmember Dan Landrum expressed concern that unincorporated Hamilton County and Walden were not represented on the committee, and therefore the committee was not properly seated.
Landrum also questioned whether or not someone on the council had directed the committee to meet, without a formal vote or agreement from the entire council. Landrum cited a text message he had become privy to from one viability committee member that was mistakenly sent to someone on the council.
Howley denied having seen or received that text message, despite Landrum's accusations.
Contact Meghan Mangrum at mmangrum@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.