Yesterday cmpaign volunteers were told at Karns Middle School that they could not be on campus between 2:15 and 3:45 p.m. The school district said they were told to back up. I had four witnesses that said what they were told by a school employee and a Knox County Election Official. The PR Spokesperson went to twitter and said it didn’t happen. At 3:45 p.m. the Principal came out and apologized for the misinformation. So, again I was accurate in reporting the incident. Still no apology from schools for tweeting that it didn’t happen. Central office tried to cover it up by saying the volunteers were asked to back up a bit for an orderly dismissal. Yeah they were told to back up OFF CAMPUS. Here’s an idea, use one of your ridiculous staff development days for election days and don’t plan testing on the same day. The first Tuesday every May every four years is a county primary been that way for over 3 decades, when you work on school calendars anticipate it and don’t have school and especially don’t have high stakes gambling I mean testing going on.
The incident makes me wonder how far away Knox Schools is from having an incident like this one (reported on The Blaze) in New Hampshire where a father was arrested for violating the school boards two minute speaking rule. Here is a follow up report with some additional information.
If Knox County Schools can not acknowledge that they were wrong or explain that there was unclear directions given to the campaign volunteers and explain the misunderstanding instead they just say it didn’t happen and they sit in their air conditioned brick tower on gay street eating bon bons.
Brian, the reports you got were correct. My husband phoned me at another polling location to tell me that he was among those campaign volunteers working at Karns Middle when EVERYBODY was made to leave between 2:15 and 3:45 pm–and EVERYBODY did leave.
It was a Karns Middle secretary who came outside, with the polling location’s chief Election Officer, to tell everybody to vacate.
Later in the day, after everybody returned, the Karns Middle principal did come outside to apologize for the misinformation, but it was really too little, too late.
Thanks, Tamara!
SOP