Is it Factual News or Biased Propaganda?

A News Story or Propaganda

Recently an article was published in a regional media site titled "Fayette Co. Schools seeks end to desegregation case; Black constituents say they're being ignored." The article walks through a number of issues, and as the article progressed, it became obvious that it was written in a manner that methodically and deliberately leads to a conclusion that the new school board and administration is not acting in the best interest of Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS).

An infamous propagandist once said, "That propaganda is good which leads to success, and that is bad which fails to achieve the desired result. It is not propaganda’s task to be intelligent, its task is to lead to success." There is truth in that quote, which applies to the article. But, to simplify the understanding of the quote, one needs to understand the difference between journalism and propaganda. Let me quote a Bible verse to set up the explanation: "Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes...Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness (Isaiah 5:18,20)". With that, here is a simple delineation between journalism and propaganda: "Journalism is presenting truthful facts from a position of neutrality. Propaganda is presenting distorted facts through the lens of an agenda."

As I read the article, I found there was missing information, inappropriate context, inaccurate representation of facts, and insinuations that led to an incorrect perception of the new school board and administration. The article also inferred that FCPS is only for minority students, which is not the case. While there is a majority of minority students, that doesn't mean that only minority students should be considered in FCPS educational and policy decisions. To be clear, educational systems must be about quality education, not social justice.

It is difficult to accurately present the summation of 60 years at FCPS under the consent order; however, writing an article with limited historical knowledge, having received input from only a few heavily biased individuals, or by viewing only one or two board meetings is, at best, imprudent. Therefore, it is appropriate to provide some additional context, proper factual references, and supplemental information to provide a correct perspective of the new school board and administration.

Budget Responsibility

State law places responsibility for the budget on the "Director of Schools" which, in FCPS's case, is the superintendent. This is definitively stated in T.C.A. 49-2-301 - Director of Schools. Therefore, the argument in the article regarding a "budget director" is inaccurate according to state law. The superintendent is responsible for preparing a budget, and the board approves or disapproves of budget items, including positions and salaries. Nowhere in Tennessee Code Annotated is the public included in the process of budgeting. The budget is public record, but the development of the budget is the sole responsibility of the superintendent, and the approval of the budget is the responsibility of both the School Board (local board) and the County Commission (local legislative body). In short, the board has one employee, the superintendent, and the superintendent is responsible for the budget.

Funding, Federal vs. State vs. Local

Funding, along with loss of control, has been the crux of recent conflict in the FCPS community. Many from the previous board and administration expected the county to fill the funding gap for state and federal (ESSER) funding that was reduced or eliminated. This wasn't possible, as it would have required as much as a 50% increase in Fayette County property taxes. To clarify funding, one needs to understand who is responsible for funding and how funding works. The Tennessee State Constitution has placed free public education under the purview of the General Assembly. Article XI,  Section 12 states, "The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance, support, and eligibility standards of a system of free public schools." The state uses the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) funding model to determine funding for FCPS, and that funding is generally based on the number of K-12 students in the school system. The state also dictates how much the county must contribute to FCPS as part of that funding model. FCPS has lost 600+ students in the last few years because of the declining quality of education, which equates to a loss of at least $4,238,400 in TISA funding. In 2015, there were about 3,600 students in FCPS. In the ten years following 2015, FCPS maintained administration as though the number of students had not changed. This, coupled with the loss of state and federal funding, has forced the new administration to streamline administrative functions and optimize classroom sizes to better utilize teaching resources.

Consent Order Budget Impact

Because of lower state funding, the money required to satisfy all the reporting for the consent order must be taken from educational funding. Further, things like closing schools with only 152 students is off the table, even though there is a new school with capacity for more than 300 students in the vicinity. Because of the order, the older school cannot be closed without judicial consent. These demands cost FCPS millions of dollars, resulting in a 2025-2026 budget shortfall. That forces FCPS to draw from fund balance, thus depleting reserve funds and putting the school system on a trajectory that could result in bankruptcy.

Financial Management

School finances and financial management have been a serious concern with FCPS for many years. Spending on administrative salaries under the previous administration was not in line with the rest  of the state. FCPS spent a higher percentage of the budget on administration and a lower percentage of the budget on instruction than any school system in Tennessee. Further, the previous school administration had no qualms about violating state law for their own convenience. In the 2023-2024 school year, the county commission rejected a "clean-up" budget amendment presented by the FCPS Finance Director. In that amendment, more than $800,000 was spent from the fund balance without prior authorization from the School Board and the County Commission. Changes to the budget must be approved by both the board and the commission prior to making the change. This was a clear violation of state law in both T.C.A. 49-2-301 - Director of Schools and T.C.A. 5-9-407 - Budget amendments. This misdeed resulted in serious audit items lodged by the State Comptroller's Office, and ultimately, the Finance Director's contract was not renewed.

Capital Projects vs Teachers

As previously mentioned, the primary function of an educational system is education. In 2022-2023, the previous board allocated $1.8 million from fund balance to renovate the football facilities. At the time, there were 17+ classrooms in FCPS without teachers. During that meeting, a board member, now chairman of the board, voted against the motion and made a motion to use $1 million from the fund balance to give teachers a raise. The motion did not receive a second, so there was no vote, even though the board knew there would be more than $1 million in unbudgeted sales tax to replenish the fund balance. All the while, students in classrooms had to endure "virtual learning" because neither the administration nor the board prioritized putting teachers in the classrooms over football facilities.

School Board

The people of Fayette County elected the school board to change the trajectory of education and rein in spending at FCPS. FCPS is ranked at or near the bottom educationally in Tennessee, which affects property values and businesses considering relocation to the county. This board answers to all taxpayers of Fayette County, not only to minority interests in the school system. Taxpayers, all of them, are stakeholders, and the board, while it must follow appropriate laws and regulations, answers to the taxpayers. School boards authority is granted under T.C.A. 49-2-203 - Duties and powers.

Due to death or illness, two seats from District 2 were vacated and subsequently filled, through appointment, by the county commission. In the 2024 election, District 2 voters, by a wide margin, chose two Republican candidates to serve on the board. Of the voters who selected Republican or Democrat ballots in that election, 72.4% were Republican and 27.6% Democrat (information from Voter Commission November 2024 election data). That election was a clear mandate by the voters of District 2. The Democrat nominee for both of the vacated seats received the least number of votes among all the District 2 candidates in the 2024 election. This was a clear indication that the voters of District 2 rejected that particular candidate.

Meeting Protocol

School board meetings are lawful Tennessee meetings for elected officials. While there is a brief time at the beginning of the meeting when public comments are welcome, it is only a time provided for comments. It is not an interactive feedback session. Board meetings are not the proper place to rudely and abusively insist upon inserting input, vehemently demanding budget-related information or concession, or to vent frustration over loss of control. It is a meeting where the duly elected board and administration conduct business for the school system. Disrupting meetings by yelling at board members regarding how they handle issues is not just impolite and ultimately unfruitful; it's illegal. Please review Robert's Rules of Order, which is how lawful meetings of elected boards are conducted in Tennessee. Also, reference T.C.A. 39-17-306 - Disrupting meeting or procession—regarding those who disrupt a lawful meeting. 

Diversity, Equity, and Control

The previous board and administration were laser-focused on diversity, equity, and, above all, absolute central control. Employment practices were strictly aligned with diversity and equity hiring practices, and under that administration, FCPS fell to the bottom of statewide educational rankings. In 2023, FCPS was ranked number 95 of 95 counties. In 2024, FCPS was number 94 of 95 counties. This year, the 2025 ranking of FCPS is number 93 of 95 counties.

The new administration's focus, under the direction of the new board's policy, has shifted to quality education and safety for all students, teachers, and administrators. New administration's hiring practices are performance-based, and they have moved away from central control to site-based management. This empowers principals and teachers, who are much closer to the students at each school, to educate more effectively as opposed to the one-size-fits-all approach of central control.

Community Involvement

The article also implies that the newly elected board isn't listening to the community, but that is simply not the case. The previous board and administration deliberately excluded concerns from the majority of the county with extreme prejudice and palpable contempt. The new board and administration is listening and responding to the concerns of all of Fayette County communities rather than only the minority communities. As a matter of fact, the new board has a committee whose function is to develop more ways to involve the community. The new board and administration is very willing to talk to anyone who has ideas. However, they are not open to continuing down a path that has resulted in decades of failure. This is, by the way, what they were elected to do!

Commission Districts

In 2021, there was significant push-back from commissioners, with 8 commissioners voting against the redistricting plan. Further, a number of the commissioners who voted for the plan are no longer on the commission. Having said that, the new redistricting plan was approved unanimously, and that new district plan will be in place for the next election in 2026.

Conclusion

Mismanagement of the educational system by the previous board and administration may still have continuing fallout. FCPS will lose as many as 400 students to better-performing school districts in the 2025-2026 school year. This is an understandable parental reaction when less than 2 in 10 3rd-8th graders can read at grade level, and less than 1.5 in 10 3rd-8th graders can perform math at grade level. That's particularly alarming because research shows two-thirds of students who cannot read proficiently by the 4th grade will end up on welfare or in jail (BegintoRead).

There is a famous quote: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." It would be "insanity" for the new board and administration to continue with the same philosophy, policies, and practices that have led FCPS to the bottom of educational rankings in Tennessee (TCCY). 

So, the question is this: "Do we, as a county, want the FCPS board and administrators to lead the county's school system to success, or do we want them to follow the path that has resulted in abject failure for decades?"

You decide!

Excerpts from Tennessee Code Annotated

T.C.A. 49-2-301 - Director of Schools
(a)(1)(U) Prepare, annually, a budget for the schools in the director's school system, submit the budget to the board for its approval and present it to the county or other appropriate local legislative body for adoption as provided for by charter or private legislative act; provided, that:
        (i) The budget shall set forth in itemized form the amount necessary to operate the schools for the scholastic year beginning on July 1, following, or on such date as provided for by charter or private legislative act; and
        (ii) Any change in the expenditure of money as provided for by the budget shall first be ratified by the local board and the appropriate local legislative body;
        
T.C.A. 39-17-306 - Disrupting meeting or procession
(a) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to prevent or disrupt a lawful meeting, procession, or gathering, the person substantially obstructs or interferes with the meeting, procession, or gathering by physical action or verbal utterance.

T.C.A. 5-9-407 - Budget amendments
(c) After the adoption of a budget for the department of education, any proposed amendments to the budget submitted by the local board of education shall be approved or rejected by the county legislative body within forty (40) days of the receipt of the proposed amendments.