Franklin residents press council after midyear reassignment of high school principal; council seeks joint meeting with school board

Dozens of Franklin residents urged the Franklin City Council on Feb. 10 to intervene after the city’s high school principal was reassigned midyear, saying the change has harmed students and staff and was poorly communicated.

Public commenters said the principal’s reassignment — described repeatedly during citizen comment as a move to a newly created administrative position while an interim or replacement would lead the school — has raised concerns about stability, morale and community ties to the school.

Residents framed the issue as both a personnel and governance problem. Several called for an elected school board so citizens would have more input over such decisions; others asked the council to press the appointed school board and superintendent for answers.

“We could do as it was done a few years ago, and we could, relinquish the board, the school board, and start all over again until we can get the people that we need to get our schools in order,” Audrey Lee told council during public comment, adding, “why has that principal been removed from his position and given a created position, which will cause us as citizens and taxpayers to have to pay more money.”

Speakers identified the departing principal as a long‑standing presence at the high school and said students and families will be harmed by what they described as abrupt, midyear leadership changes. “He is a staple to that school, to this community,” Jennifer Krauss said of the principal; Dustin Sykes added, “That man cares about them kids.”

Others linked the personnel move to broader concerns about the school system’s governance. Clyde Bailey, a longtime Franklin resident, urged more direct action: “If you don’t get rid of this superintendent, Doctor Carter, y’all gonna have some problems,” he said, calling for greater accountability from the school board and superintendent.

Several longtime educators and volunteers also spoke. “Mr. Felts is not replaceable,” Pam Lees said, calling the principal “the heart of Franklin” and saying poor communication about the reassignment had damaged morale among staff and families.

In council comments later in the meeting, multiple council members acknowledged the turnout and the speakers’ concerns and asked staff to pursue a joint meeting. Vice Mayor Mr. Kitchen said, “The citizens have spoken. I too have a relationship with the person that y’all were talking about. He is a well rounded individual.” Councilman Macklemore said he would seek a follow‑up meeting that also includes the school board chairman, the superintendent and council members.

Mayor Paul Kaplan asked for a council consensus to request a joint meeting with the full school board and the superintendent; council members agreed to seek such a meeting to discuss the reassignment and the communication around it. The council did not take a formal vote to overturn the school board’s personnel decision during the Feb. 10 meeting.

The public record at the meeting included repeated calls for either greater transparency from the appointed school board or for an elected school board so citizens could select school leadership directly. Council members cautioned that changing to an elected school board would be a separate process with legal and procedural implications and that council’s ability to act is limited by state law governing school‑board removal and personnel matters.

Councilmembers said they would pursue the requested joint meeting and report back to the public; no formal directive or personnel action affecting the school board or superintendent was recorded in the Feb. 10 minutes.

The council moved on to other agenda items after confirming consensus to request a joint meeting with the school board and superintendent.