- Board member: Resolution ‘sends the wrong message’
- Tidwell contends DEI has ‘agenda tentacles’
- Darby wants merit-based pay for teachers
- Rosales recalls being ‘the only Hispanic in the entire classroom’
- Public school today offers ‘a beautiful rainbow,’ Rosales says
Divided Rutherford County school officials rejected, upon second vote, an attempt Thursday to oppose Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies.
In an unusual occurrence, the school board first approved a resolution to reject DEI hiring practices in the district based on diversity such as race, gender or ethnicity, for example, before later rescinding the resolution less than a half hour later.
“Diversity is a good thing,” Rutherford County Schools Board of Education vice chairwoman Frances Rosales said after reversing her initial position to oppose DEI.
Fellow school board member Caleb Tidwell called for the 4-3 vote to oppose DEI before four of the seven all-Republican school board members rejected his motion in the second roll call.
DEI policies also have faced fierce opposition from Republican President Donald Trump, many other GOP officials and some corporate headquarters in Tennessee.
School board members debated DEI issues during the same meeting they rescinded a previous controversial issue that called for the federal government to secure national borders.
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Board votes to eliminate DEI upon first vote
Tidwell said his DEI motion opposes a policy to “consider race in the hiring process.”
“I don’t think that should be a factor,” said Tidwell, adding that there’s established law that says considering race in the hiring process “is discriminatory.”
“I think we should focus on merit,” Tidwell said.
Tidwell also said he expects that the Tennessee General Assembly will pass a law that takes the same stance in opposing DEI.
“I think this is a great resolution,” Tidwell said.
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Official in audience upset by first DEI vote: ‘Shame on you!’
The board initially approved Tidwell’s resolution in a 4-3 vote, which upset audience members, including Hope Oliver, an elected Rutherford County Commission member representing a La Vergne district.
“Shame on you!” Oliver shouted from the back row of the packed audience seats.
When Oliver heard Tidwell mention hiring practices should focus on merit, she uttered “merit means white.”
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Board member: Resolution ‘sends the wrong message’
Tidwell had initial support from Rosales and fellow board members Tammy Sharp and Katie Darby.
Rosales then called for a new vote to join in opposition to the resolution with Stan Vaught, Butch Vaughn and chairwoman Claire Maxwell.
Vaught questioned if the resolution was a way for Tidwell to “run for state representative.”
“I’m all for you buddy, but passing this tonight sends the wrong message,” Vaught said.
“I don’t think you’re hearing yourself right now. The message you’re conveying is that if you’re not a middle-class white guy, don’t apply. And I don’t think that’s the message that you’re trying to say, but that’s how it’s coming out right now.”
Vaught noted how there’s a lot of diversity in this community, including at Smyrna High that serves students from families speaking 52 languages.
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Tidwell contends DEI has ‘agenda tentacles’
Maxwell also questioned Tidwell’s resolution.
“We are not burdened by DEI in Rutherford County,” Maxwell said. “This resolution is a needless distraction for political purposes.”
Maxwell also said “nervous parents” of special education students have been calling and emailing her about their concerns with the DEI resolution.
“This just sends a bad message to inclusion,” said Maxwell, who served as an educational assistant for special education students at Riverdale High School prior to winning her board seat in 2020.
Tidwell contends that DEI policies have “agenda tentacles.”
“There’s a political aspect to it,” Tidwell said. “Pointing out the politics exist is not bringing politics into education.”
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Darby wants merit-based pay for teachers
Darby said it was not fair for her fellow school officials to make accusations against Tidwell.
“I am a huge fan of merit-based decisions and trying to get our teachers on merit-based pay,” Darby said.
“What’s best for our students is to have the best educator in the classroom regardless of the color of their skin, their religion, their sexual orientation, it doesn’t matter. We want the best teacher in the classroom teaching our students.”
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Rosales recalls being ‘the only Hispanic in the entire classroom’
Ultimately after a board recess, Rosales changed her vote, which resulted in a 3-4 vote to reject the resolution to end DEI.
Prior to the vote change by Rosales to oppose the DEI opposition resolution, she apologized to schools Director James “Jimmy” Sullivan by saying she agreed with him that partisan “politics would interfere with what’s important for the education of children.”
Rosales also recalled the challenges she faced as a public-school student.
“I was the only Hispanic in the entire classroom, the entire high school, for many grades,” Rosales said.
The public school experience was “very traumatizing” for Rosales to be in a school where she said no one spoke Spanish or understood her culture.
“I didn’t have a teacher that looked like me, that sounded like me,” Rosales said. “I was pretty much in a little island. And as a child growing up, it was really, really hard for me to feel how I identified.”
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Rosales: Public school today offers ‘a beautiful rainbow’
Rosales also remembered her early childhood years when race was not an issue in Puerto Rico.
“The skin color didn’t matter,” Rosales said. “I come here, and it was difficult. I had to pick between different camps. Am I with the whites or am I with the Blacks.”
Rosales said she sees diversity in the schools in a different way as an adult volunteer and substitute teacher.
“Now when you come to school, it’s a beautiful rainbow,” Rosales said. “You’ve got kids that are from Iran. You’ve got kids that are from South America. You have kids that are white. You have kids that are Black.”
Rosales said she encourages the children during Black History Month to learn from the civil rights advocacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and his bravery for the barriers he faced.
“And I’m telling you, and I’m able to tell them that the American dream that a lot of people come to is attainable for everybody,” Rosales said.
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Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottBroden. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.
