'Vengeance is mine,' swears battle-ready Bradley County school board member

CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- A Bradley County school board member, parents and teachers declared war against the majority of the seven-member board of education after they voted 4-3 to oust Superintendent Johnny McDaniel on Tuesday.

The board's vote to buy out the contract 16 months early will cost taxpayers about $200,000 to continue paying his salary, auto allowance, retirement contributions and health benefits through June 30, 2016.

Board member Christy Critchfield hugs Superintendent Johnny McDaniel as she heads out the door upon announcing that she is resigning the school board after board members approved the buyout package for Superintendent Johnny McDaniel during a Bradley County school board meeting.

The decision was months in the making, as new board members have been butting heads with McDaniel for months. But up to the last minute he received strong support from teachers and community members. At Tuesday's specially called meeting, students and parents openly wept at the vote, while others jeered and heckled some board members.

The board's most senior member, Christy Critchfield, even resigned and walked out in protest.

"I am disgusted and ashamed to be a part of this board," she said.

She promised to still weigh influence over the board from the outside, and she threatened to do everything in her power to replace every "unethical" board member. After the meeting, she assured supporters she had a strong successor in mind. The Bradley County Commission will appoint someone to fill her vacant seat representing District 6.

"I have a plan," she said. "I don't do anything without a plan."

"Vengeance is mine," she said, citing the Bible's book of Romans.

Angie Rhodes, a mother of a Bradley County High School student, said she has supported McDaniel for years and witnessed firsthand the improvements he made to the district.

"They have truly bullied this man out of a job," she said. "I would take the buyout, too, to stop with this crap."

But the board members who showed him the door say they have a strong case for seeking new leadership. For months they have hammered McDaniel on spending, leadership and hiring decisions.

Board member Chris Turner said McDaniel has refused to communicate with the board. McDaniel wouldn't share student performance data and was not tight enough with taxpayer dollars. Turner mentioned the ongoing controversy known as "Travelgate," in which school system Energy Manager Johnny Mull took in more than $33,000 in fuel reimbursement over three years -- all of which McDaniel approved.

Meanwhile, Turner said, "our kids go without textbooks and are pressured to sell cookie dough and trinkets."

And board member Dianna Calfee said the superintendent wasted hundreds of thousands on employment lawsuits and insurance settlements. In one case, a Hamilton County judge ordered that elementary school teacher Susan Elliott be reinstated because her firing was unlawful.

Her remark on the subject drew jeering from the crowd, who instantly noted that Elliott is Calfee's niece.

"Your niece!"

"Come on!"

"Personal vendetta."

Calfee said she didn't come on the board with an agenda of ousting the superintendent, but found him impossible to work with in recent months.

At several points in the meeting, board Chairman Nicholas Lillios threatened to make McDaniel's supporters leave because of their rowdy interjections.

Many in the crowd confronted the four board members who voted in favor of the buyout after the meeting. Sheriff deputies guarded the dais.

"I'm ashamed," one lady said.

"Don't get comfortable in your [expletive] seats," another echoed.

Nicholas Lillios, Rodney Dillard, and Christy Chritchfield, from left, cast their votes to keep Superintendent Johnny McDaniel, right, during a Bradley County school board meeting to vote on the buyout package for Superintendent Johnny McDaniel.

McDaniel was greeted with a standing ovation at the beginning of the meeting. He said little before the vote. When board members criticized him, he stared toward the back of the room. After the board voted, he read a brief statement that mirrored one he released publicly last week. As soon as the meeting adjourned, he quickly headed for the side door, where his wife and car were waiting for him.

One man in the crowd took the microphone after the meeting was adjourned. As a taxpayer, he said, he was embarrassed by the situation, which he likened to a circus.

"Barnum and Bailey ought to conduct this."

Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfrepress.com or 423-757-6592. Contact staff writer Kevin Hardy at khardy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.