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Public commenters demand apology for a 50-year case, allege teacher shaming, criticize personnel decisions and urge AI safeguards
Summary
Four public speakers at the April 9 meeting urged the board to issue a formal apology in a decades‑old disappearance, described alleged teacher-led student shaming, criticized personnel promotions and called for an AI policy requiring parental notice and human oversight.
Four members of the public used the board’s three‑minute public forum to press the board on separate concerns: a decades‑old disappearance, alleged teacher misconduct, personnel accountability and artificial intelligence in classrooms.
Gavin Gamboza (Knox County) asked the board to place a formal resolution and a public apology to the Gibson family on the next agenda for a girl who disappeared on a school‑sanctioned trip 50 years ago. "I want a full public and unvarnished apology to the Gibson family," Gamboza said, criticizing what he called fifty years of board silence and reliance on legal caution.
Buck Fleming described incidents at West Valley Middle School that he said involved public humiliation by math teachers — students chanting "shame, shame, shame" and a so‑called "wheel of shame." Fleming said he reported the conduct in writing to school leaders and central office but that other parents were not notified of the investigation.
Candace Bannister criticized a recent personnel promotion and said she had raised concerns with central office in 2024 that, she alleged, were not heard before the promotion. Bannister said she has continued to press the district and that the superintendent’s repeated statement that he was "unaware" had been a point of frustration.
Sherry Garrett, chapter chair of Moms for Liberty in Knox County, urged the board to adopt a model AI policy that would require parental notification and consent, protect student data, and ensure humans retain judgment over teaching. "No algorithm should replace a teacher's judgment," Garrett said, urging guardrails before AI is widely embedded in classrooms.
The chair thanked each speaker for bringing concerns to the board; no formal board actions were taken during public forum.
