Knoxville School Board President Marty Duffy called a special 6 a.m. work session Thursday morning to discuss with administrators the current climate and culture of Knoxville schools heading into 2020. The meeting began with President Duffy declaring a moratorium on all meetings. Duffy told administrators that he would like them to, in addition to their daily duties, ask five questions to all of their staff members. The questions included on a scale from one to five, do you feel safe, do you feel respected, do you feel joy, do your views get consideration, and do you fear for your job? Along with the questions Duffy spoke on a variety of topics he would like administrators to focus on. Following Duffy’s speech Board Member Cheri Gerdes gave her thoughts on the meeting as well as actions of Duffy. Gerdes wanted to clarify with Duffy if the board had talked about any of the topics or if it was just Duffy’s opinion, to which Duffy replied it was just his opinion. Gerdes stated to the administrators that Duffy was not speaking on behalf of the board because no discussions have been held regarding the matters. Following the thoughts shared by Gerdes, Duffy told the administrators he had not spoken to the rest of the board about his moratorium on all meetings or additional tasks asked of the administrators. Duffy repeatedly said he was being punitive, and would not ask the board for action regarding the matter until the February school board meeting.

Audio Story:

To hear the complete 45 minute work session click here: