[{"_1":2,"_98":-5,"_99":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_25":26},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_27":28,"_29":30},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[31,75,86],{"_32":33,"_34":35,"_36":37,"_38":39,"_40":41,"_42":43,"_44":45,"_46":47,"_48":49,"_50":51,"_52":53,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6258841,"mediaKeyId","3145359-22c5220cd22238f50f5b803f88923c70","parentId",3145359,"title","Public commenters clash over vouchers, DEI and an ethics complaint involving board member Aaron Mayberry","audioSeconds",1779,"startMs",1376000,"endMs",3155000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3145359-22c5220cd22238f50f5b803f88923c70&start=1376&end=3155","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3145359-22c5220cd22238f50f5b803f88923c70/thumbnail_1376000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6258841/Tennessee/Public-commenters-clash-over-vouchers-DEI-and-an-ethics-complaint-involving-board-member-Aaron-Mayberry","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6258841-376d50ff30940030950e549cb4f331c7/orig.mp4?Expires=1770041517&Signature=di2fV75VWMyN-nf4g8sHhr-IxvavanrJB~yYurnMbhPVLZS95y4ziwTuTv3-hisNXAE8P6FjPLuWgUXUkE3NKcu~nVDRDFtOJS4UDGK2UlZ50YUnW4R8mPdJ9qF2EWvvm8mC70u~O7dTitVVIE4oC~xKQvtPq4vzT6vM2rZAnaVnjXkA8-4PQZwrHzGHHOYemBBvqsfXIoMRVDDvCf8F6exO-BOEE-IxgKMBjBgZQr1cZy8jQaAtstL1N36zyklHJBE5hloL7E0judUqMySjc6aq0aGeQcU0WpOGtELUuA6mBd0jgBOV6DRaMKnd-087qeMKqzWPxWdUxF8TJP66cw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Montgomery County Schools","date","2025-04-29T13:18:54.683Z","article","Public comment at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Board of Education meeting centered on competing views about proposed education funding changes, diversity-equity-inclusion policies and an ethics complaint involving board member and state representative Aaron Mayberry.

Teacher Maxwell Jasper Bearden, who said he teaches students with moderate to severe disabilities, urged the board to oppose broad voucher-style funding shifts and described potential harms to students with high needs. “When I think of the gargantuan figure, $146,000,000 proposed to support a voucher plan… it feels like a slap to the face,” Bearden said, arguing that vouchers would divert resources from Title I schools and students who rely on school-provided services.

Nicholas Wojciech, who identified himself as a Kenwood student, urged the board to broaden the district’s family-life curriculum and increase student representation in decision-making. “Every student deserves to feel valued for who they are, not reduced to a label or stereotype,” he said, calling for curriculum that includes consent, healthy relationships and fuller coverage of LGBTQ topics.

Other speakers pressed different concerns. Garfield Scott, identifying himself as a community member and a Montgomery County Democratic Party trustee, called for Aaron Mayberry to step down from the school board and argued Mayberry’s state-level positions on diversity and on restricting immigrant students’ school access made him an unsuitable representative for all students.

By contrast, several speakers defended Mayberry and the policy goals he supports. Kevin McPherson described positive experiences that led him to back charter schools and school-choice options; he said he does not believe Mayberry should resign and noted it is not illegal to hold multiple offices. Alex Castano (also recorded in the transcript as Alexander Koster/Alex Castano) said he and other supporters see Mayberry as “honest, transparent, faith-driven” and said the complaint against Mayberry was politically motivated. A speaker who identified himself as Alex Castano said the Tennessee Ethics Commission had dismissed the complaint and called it “a colossal waste of time,” attributing that characterization to the commission; that statement was reported by a public commenter and is presented here as that individual’s claim.

Monica Meeks, who said she volunteered as a TCAP proctor and identified as a veteran, urged attention to the lived experiences of students and said diversity, equity and inclusion efforts address structural barriers that affect opportunity.

The public-comment period also included an earlier safety concern from Andrea Brown, a parent of a virtual-school student who asked the district to coordinate with law enforcement when activities occur on state highways; she said Central Services’ parking-lot exit is hazardous during morning traffic.

Board members did not take formal action on the policy questions raised during public comment. Several board members later urged civility and respect during public remarks and said they value hearing a range of voices. The meeting’s public-comment segment concluded before the board moved to consent items and the budget vote.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","CMCSS School Board Meeting 04-22-2025","oneSentenceSummary","Public comment at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Board of Education meeting centered on competing views about proposed voucher funding, diversity-equity-inclusion policies and an ethics complaint involving board member Aaron Mayberry.","taxTitle","Montgomery County, School Districts, Tennessee","taxId",12944,"location","Tennessee","headline","","shortSummary",{"_32":76,"_34":35,"_36":37,"_38":77,"_40":78,"_42":79,"_44":79,"_46":80,"_48":81,"_50":82,"_52":83,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":84,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":85,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6258846,"Clarksville-Montgomery County honors valedictorians, salutatorians and achieves 100% Purple Star school designation",0,3285000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3145359-22c5220cd22238f50f5b803f88923c70&start=3285&end=3285","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3145359-22c5220cd22238f50f5b803f88923c70/thumbnail_3285000.jpg","/articles/6258846/Tennessee/Clarksville-Montgomery-County-honors-valedictorians-salutatorians-and-achieves-100-Purple-Star-school-designation","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6258846-a8ce602069ac3eb7b579001fcaa0dc06/orig.mp4?Expires=1770041517&Signature=bEpesxUt6mBLw7QncvaUwql3SBCSSK1Cfet9TgjpwOAoS-PpamLtp9Qr6-qzS8M3gpOLdmXXuIAdgcuf1x0QdsT9SpM2fRdh0L9bHtrmoLXC3Veccx3gGkAYw1N8ftZ4ILZwHz9Nk5nFEsAfMT-adu1g-a9FkvnE27fXnbpsiBM9ouVK4p1Zc2dSmMNQGRmqEaU1v8EBBhQ9qdpv3~JI45cSt5IR00MQIUEyc-KrWR8BvctMzwHuXZpp9GWEEyj3YR3vPxfjUUzDxXLS~edsUp-R3AG~hUU7aK3wiS8V0V7blKNg~GNxBb9JpYc8xiQpwNiQrHChgNzcCPk11Z5e4A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Clarksville-Montgomery County Board of Education recognized the district’s high school valedictorians and salutatorians and celebrated a milestone Tuesday: every school in the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System has earned the Purple Star designation for supporting military-connected students.

The board and district staff honored valedictorians and salutatorians from multiple high schools, including Clarksville High, Kenwood High, Kirkwood High, Montgomery Central, Northeast, Northwest, Rossview and West Creek, and invited school representatives forward to be photographed. The recognition preceded a larger announcement that the district had reached 100% Purple Star status, district staff said.

The Purple Star program, administered through the Tennessee Military Interstate Children’s Compact and local partners, recognizes schools that maintain a designated point of contact for military families, post resources on their websites, provide training for employees and otherwise demonstrate sustained support for military-connected students. The district said it has more than 12,000 military-connected students and that 26 schools were being honored in the most recent round of awards; some of those were first-time awardees and others were renewals.

District communications chief Anthony Johnson introduced the Points of Pride segment and asked school representatives to join students for photos. He also announced that Northwest High School cadet Teyonjah Hines won the national JROTC essay contest for the Seventh Brigade and will join the JROTC academic team in Washington, D.C., this summer.

Johnson received a special presentation tied to Gov. Bill Lee; after the presentation he said he felt “a little embarrassed” by the attention and added the award “really goes to our community.”

Dr. Shanda Dowdy, chief academic officer, and members of the Tennessee Military Interstate Compact and Fort Campbell school liaison officers joined district leaders and school staff for the recognition photos.

The district said the Purple Star criteria are reviewed and renewed every two years. Officials listed examples of first-time award recipients and renewals during the ceremony and thanked the Tennessee Military Interstate Compact for its work with schools.

The celebration came amid reminders that graduation season is approaching: district staff noted multiple upcoming graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2025 and other end-of-year recognition events.

School leaders asked the public to join upcoming community events that support military families and to watch for ceremony and scholarship announcements in the coming weeks.","The Clarksville-Montgomery County Board of Education recognized high school valedictorians and salutatorians and announced that the district’s schools have all earned the Purple Star designation for support of military-connected students; officials cited more than 12,000 military-connected students and 26 awarded schools.",{"_32":87,"_34":35,"_36":37,"_38":88,"_40":89,"_42":90,"_44":91,"_46":92,"_48":93,"_50":94,"_52":95,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":96,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":97,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6258836,"Board approves consent agenda and passes proposed 2025–26 consolidated budget 6-0; two members declared family ties to district employees",269,3211000,3480000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3145359-22c5220cd22238f50f5b803f88923c70&start=3211&end=3480","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3145359-22c5220cd22238f50f5b803f88923c70/thumbnail_3211000.jpg","/articles/6258836/Tennessee/Board-approves-consent-agenda-and-passes-proposed-202526-consolidated-budget-6-0-two-members-declared-family-ties-to-district-employees","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6258836-4893e2342941d5f6c6a24c6d5e43a719/orig.mp4?Expires=1770041517&Signature=QyRqs1hArrJ6vrroSXkNp~wna9TEC74AswI~wWTSxqBlidfDhzB5SDGErcl22~ZPF9hV29ze3BkYjc7elEsZhKLamVKWdCrjQXqhRUmnx-1RJbbz6Edb0U6R5kqccZSsXuqQe2F~t1iZ5mF325U2JuzcFZM4JLv9rvIU0NpfJOceFkkO1IcC4EgzQOeSVaECHsOS6y-if20ieAg-xzfc7fGHiMIcrx6sT8eTXZd5FfrvLQZwtkxegvMqJGXEQybfBcEAbcZanPAOJ0-07IX2mleVmrQdBDXYizxhrmqspbz5IYMma8CCDZX-pOoifMD14H-V53yKLYP~Bbt7Uek6KA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Clarksville-Montgomery County Board of Education approved its consent agenda and then voted to advance the proposed consolidated budget for the 2025–26 school year, recording unanimous 6-0 tallies on both items.

At the opening of the vote on the proposed 2025–26 consolidated budget, two board members made statutory disclosures. Chris Lanier said he has a relative employed by the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System and read a certification that the vote he was about to cast was “in the best interest of the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System.” Kent Gritti made a substantially similar declaration, citing T.C.A. 49-2-202 and certifying his upcoming vote would be in the district’s best interest.

Board minutes show the consent agenda passed 6-0 after a motion attributed in the meeting to Mr. Chris (recorded as Chris Lanier) with a second from Mr. Garland. The proposed consolidated budget was then moved by Mr. Garland and seconded by Mr. Chris (Chris Lanier) and passed 6-0.

Board chair and members did not record any recusals; both Lanier and Gritti completed the statutory certification language required by the state statute cited in the meeting. No amendments to the budget motion were recorded in the meeting minutes or the transcript excerpt.

Following the votes, the board proceeded to the remainder of the agenda, including liaison remarks from Fort Campbell and the director of schools’ report on end-of-year testing and upcoming events.

The meeting record provided no additional budget detail in the public portion of the transcript excerpt beyond the vote; the board did not read a line-by-line budget in the excerpt. The full proposed budget documents and any supporting analysis were not part of the transcript and were not specified in the remarks during the vote on the record.","The Clarksville-Montgomery County Board of Education approved the consent agenda and voted 6-0 to approve the proposed consolidated budget for 2025–26. Board members Chris Lanier and Kent Gritti declared relatives employed by the district under T.C.A. 49-2-202 and certified they would vote in the district’s best interest.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Public commenters clash over vouchers, DEI and an ethics complaint involving board member Aaron Mayberry

Clarksville-Montgomery County honors valedictorians, salutatorians and achieves 100% Purple Star school designation

Board approves consent agenda and passes proposed 2025–26 consolidated budget 6-0; two members declared family ties to district employees