Anyone who wants to read my speech at the MES Town Hall Meeting can read it in its entirety by downloading it at:
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www.maynardville.net]
The town hall meeting was a huge success. One photo my wife took shows 202 people in the bleachers without counting those lined against the walls. I got to meet several of the posters from the website.
I would like to thank everyone who came out. Most every County Court member was there. The panel consisted of myself, Wayne Goforth, Gary England, Larry Lay, and Don Morgan representing the school board. Brian Oaks was there too and got cornered in interviews with WATE.
I started the meeting with my speech and then handed it off to Wayne Goforth. Mr. Wayne explained the plan for MES and every detail he had laid out for County Court. He provided handouts for the crowd. Unfortunately the crowd was about five times what we expected so everyone didn’t get one. Anyone wanting a copy can visit the Central Office. I may even try to post it online.
The crowd was overwhelmingly pro-MES but there were a few that leaned toward the other side.
After Mr. Goforth gave his presentation I opened the floor for questions. There were some good questions regarding the fate of the school. Mr Goforth assured everyone that MES would be resolved and he would continue to work towards it. Most of the questions revolved around why County Court had reversed its decision from a year ago and why MES got nothing.
Chairman of County Court Gary England took the floor next and told the people that he was committed to replacing MES and would continue towards that goal. He answered several questions about funding and what budgets could be cut.
Next came Don Morgan speaking for the School Board and his position as First District School Board Member. He first outlined what the board as a whole wanted. He then amplified what he wanted. He wants the school replaced. I’ll have to say that Mr. Morgan didn’t pull any punches and stood up strongly for his district. He pretty much laid it on the line regarding district politics on the County Court.
We took several more questions and later I offered Greg Davis a chance to speak and address the crowd. Greg told us about his first decision as a County Court member and how he had made an uninformed decision. He had voted to evict some people and later went to see them and realized he had made a mistake and reversed his decision. He spoke at length about one thing and another and was finally interrupted by a shout from the crowd of, “tell us why you voted no to us and yes for your district.”
I’ll have to say the meeting sort of went downhill from there. Greg continued to talk and more shouts came. I called the crowd down a time or two until my friend Kim (VICE PRESIDENT OF THE PTO) yelled at me. I told the crowd that while Greg and I differed 100% on this issue we had worked together in the past and would again in the future.
At one point Greg did make a comment regarding the Fire Marshal closing down the school. He said that the Fire Marshal can not do that. I pointed out to him that indeed it could be done and the Fire Marshal could in fact have us out of the building within an hour. He relented that this was true.
Next he told the crowd that he had found an extra $600,000 in the wheel tax. Mayor Lay raised his hand and informed Greg that the wheel tax hasn’t collected $600,000 yet. I think Greg was speaking about future money possibly. The wheel tax is taking in more than it needs right now. Greg then said that he thought he was told that there was a way to build MES and possibly both schools for free.
But the crowd kept on Greg to explain why he voted no. Some very unflattering remarks were made from the crowd. I found this unfortunate and tried to calm the three or four most vocal. I then turned to Greg and asked him if he could explain with one sentence his no vote. He told me it wasn’t that simple. I explained to the crowd that it was a complex issue.
I’m going to say on here for the record I thank Greg Davis for coming to the meeting and at least trying to explain his no vote. I’m not sure it worked for him and frankly I’m still not 100% on why he did vote no. But he did man up and face the people and trust me they weren’t very receptive of a “no”.
What this leaves us with are two factions. Those wanting to address Maynardville Elementary and the other side who feel if we get some kids out of MES into Paulette, MES will somehow fix itself.
People I urge you to get out and vote in every district. Whether you are for MES or against MES find a candidate that reflects your opinion and VOTE!
Anyone else that came feel free to write your memories of the meeting.
Chip Brown
Owner Maynardville.Com
