Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Hiring topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Former Cannon County principal alleges discrimination, questions hiring process
Summary
Karen King, a longtime Cannon County teacher and principal, told the Board of Education she believes the superintendent selection process last Monday ignored her experience and made inappropriate references to her family and health. The board did not respond during public comment, according to the transcript.
Karen King, a longtime Cannon County teacher and principal, told the Cannon County Board of Education on March 13 that the district’s recent superintendent selection process was inconsistent and unfair and that board members described her job performance as “subpar” without evidence.
King addressed the board during the public comment period, saying her application and record were not reviewed on their merits. “Mine was the only application where experience and achievements were not discussed, only opinions,” she said.
The comment matters because the board is selecting finalists to interview for the superintendent post and King said the process excluded discussion of her documented experience. She said she has “0 write ups for subpar performance in 32 years in this county” and invited the board to “pull my file and check.”
King said the board criticized her handwritten application while overlooking typed documents she submitted, including a resume, an introductory letter, a record that she was principal of Cannon County North (transcript spelling variants) with noted gains in achievement and growth, and a recommendation from Martha Moore at the Tennessee Department of Education. “Only my application was handwritten in my best teacher handwriting in blue ink,” she said.
King also said the board discussed her family’s illness during deliberations and called that a possible HIPAA violation. “You discussed my sick and dying family, a HIPAA violation at best,” she said. She described a multigenerational family history of service in the district going back to 1938 and emphasized she would not back down from defending teachers and students.
The transcript records no public response from the board during that comment period; the meeting proceeded to ceremonial recognitions and business items.
What King asked for or what, if any, follow-up the board intends was not stated in the transcript. The transcript shows the board moved on to other agenda items shortly after her remarks.
