Hamilton County Schools Interim Superintendent Kirk Kelly told the school board Thursday night the Discovery Channel wants to feature the school district in a documentary.
Kelly said he talked to representatives from the Discovery Channel about the opportunity Wednesday. He said the channel wants to highlight all the positive and innovative things taking place in the county’s schools. But there was one catch, he said: it costs $19,900 to pay the production crew.
“We are going to put it out there and see if there is any interest from anybody in the community and if they want to support that, in terms of Hamilton County being featured on national television,” Kelly said Thursday.
School board Chairman Steve Highlander voiced excitement about the opportunity and suggested the business community might be interested in footing the bill. School district staff members also nodded in approval of the opportunity.
But a quick Google search on Friday raised some red flags.
The documentary the district was asked to participate in is called “Profiles Series” and is not listed as airing on the Discovery Channel, according to its website. An internet search also brought up numerous warnings from various groups and individuals claiming the Profiles Series is not what it is billed to be.
The complaints surrounding the Profiles Series say people from the series contacted them and offered to put the person or organization on national TV for thousands of dollars, but the shows never aired. The series does post some videos to YouTube, they said.
Profiles Series executive director Walter Waiters, of Boca Raton, Fla., said later Friday night that he could not provide proof until next week of his claim that his series aired on the Discovery Channel, but insisted it did. He said it was not easily found because it “aired with special producers.”
Once he finishes producing a show, Waiters said he will buy air time from the Discovery Channel.
Kelly told the Times Free Press on Friday he and his staff had not looked into the legitimacy of the documentary series. He said he plans to do so before formally presenting the opportunity to the school board next week.
“All TV is into revenue-making, and this is a real easy way,” Kelly said. “It could be an infomercial.”
Contact staff writer Kendi A. Rainwater at krainwater@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @kendi_and.