Substitute teacher says district barred him without explanation; asks board to investigate

Christopher Alonso, a substitute teacher who said he has worked in Franklin County schools for three years, told the Franklin County School Board on May 20 that he received an email on April 16 notifying him he was no longer allowed to substitute and that district officials would not tell him why.

"I received an email on the April 16. It said due immediately that I was not to be able to substitute anymore," Alonso told the board. He said he asked district staff what he had done but was not told, and that a district official hung up on him.

Alonso said he retained the email chain and that he has asked multiple people, including board members and district administrators, for an explanation. "If I had any questions, contact doctor Aesop. I think that's how I pronounce his name. I'm not sure. I contacted and he told me that something I had done, something inappropriate. I asked what it was, would not tell me," Alonso said.

Alonso told the board he also spoke with Doctor Hallman, who he said told him the board had no authority to reverse the district's personnel decision. Alonso said he also contacted state Sen. Bowman and the district's attorneys in Nashville.

"I wanna know what I've been accused of," Alonso said. "At this point, I believe what has happened is slander." He asked the board to help resolve the matter or at least to explain the allegations against him.

Alonso described himself throughout his remarks as a long-time community member and minister who has worked as a substitute "from preschool all the way through high school." He said some teachers and students miss his presence in classrooms and that he wants the matter cleared up so his name is not left under suspicion.

The board did not take action during Alonso's public comment, and no district staff responded to the questions Alonso raised on the record at that time. Alonso said he had spoken with district legal counsel in Nashville and retained copies of his email correspondence.

Because Alonso's remarks were part of the board's public comment period, they were recorded but did not produce a formal vote or directive in the minutes excerpt provided.

Notes: Alonso gave the date of the email as April 16 and named Doctor Hallman and "Doctor Aesop" (later referenced elsewhere in the meeting as Doctor Alsop) as district contacts. He said he had contacted Sen. Bowman and district attorneys; those contacts were mentioned by Alonso but did not speak during his public comment.