NOTE: this article has been redacted due to legal complaints.  Enjoy the brevity.

Clarification: The intention of this article was to point out that the director and school board have shown a callous disregard for the lives and well being of the system's staff by considering not requiring basic safety protocols, like masks in the classroom, and requiring teachers to meet with each other in large groups before the start of the year.

It was not the intention of this author or of this article to disparage REDACTED in any way. 

In fact, should you read it includes "I'm sure she's highly qualified and deserving of the new job." This is the exact opposite of disparaging and was written in good faith. 

According to her attorney, "REDACTED has a bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and is highly qualified in Mathematics. She took and passed four Praxis exams and is qualified to teach any subject grades 4-8. She has a master's degree in Administration and Supervision, for which she passed as additional Praxis exam. Futhermore, she was recently accepted to the doctoral program at MTSU for Assessment, Learning & School Improvement. REDACTED has also worked in the school system for five years. As you can see, her credentials and effectiveness as an educator cannot be questioned."

As for who promoted her, I'm aware that the principal makes the recommendations for promotions. I'm of the opinion that the "buck" so to speak stops at the top and the director is responsible for the actions within the system. I apologize if that was unclear.  

Also the headline was poorly worded and has been corrected.

Thank you for your time and understanding.

EARLIER

Rutherford County Schools is getting ready for schools to start in August, despite a surge in COVID-19 cases across the state.

To recap what's been going down at the school board, earlier this month the powers that be held a board meeting where they laid out the reasoning for opening before voting on the matter. It was almost as if the result was predetermined.

They decided to open Aug. 10 with a distance-learning option for families.

As for Murfreesboro City Schools, its board voted at a single meeting to start a week late with options for in-person or distance learning with masks required for the classrooms.

Then they held a second meeting to decide if staff and students would be required to wear masks. That meeting came after County Mayor Bill Ketron issued a mask mandate for the entire county and MTSU announced masks would be required during the fall semester. Again, it seems suspicious. Almost like Ketron gave the board a scapegoat for their more conservative supporters.

At the same meeting, RCS Director Bill Spurlock said he was open to starting the school year with distance learning. However, RCS only has 27,000 to 28,000 computers students available for check out for distance learning for its 49,000-ish students.

The system is also setting up web pages to help keep parents informed.

One page has videos about distance-learning curriculum for distance learning as well as updates on the reopening efforts. Another has a distance-learning FAQ.

The "Rutherford County Schools COVID-19 Building Closure Metric" page is updated daily and tracks the spread of COVID-19 through the community. As of July 21, Rutherford County is currently classified as MODERATE SPREAD rate with 2,546 active cases of COVID-19, which is .7663 based percent per 100,000, according to the page.

"I'm more concerned about the virus coming into the building. We are taking this serious, and we will continue to work on the plan," Spurlock said.

REDACTED. Up until last week she was a math teacher at Oakland Middle. As of July 16, she was promoted off the front lines to "instructional coach," a support role for staff.
According to the Rutherford County Schools website, instructional coaches "provide instructional and coaching support to teachers and staff; serve as the bridge between the school system, LEAs, and parents; distribute information related to curriculum, policies, and instructional strategies; and attend school PLCs and data team meetings to provide support in data driven decisions."

REDACTED.

I'm sure she's highly qualified and deserving of the new job. REDACTED.

Regardless, it's a bad look.

It looks like Spurlock is OK with sending your child into the classroom but not his own.

As a leader, he shouldn't REDACTED and then ask all the other teachers and parents to put their lives at risk by being wishy-washy on masks and other mitigation efforts.