Franklin Special picks new board chairman as parents react to controversial Facebook post
Kerri Bartlett
The Franklin Special School District Board of Education voted on Monday to elect longtime board member Robert Blair as its new board chairman.
Former board chairman Tim Stillings, who served in that position for six years, removed his name from consideration for another term after a controversial Facebook post drew criticism from the community and board.
Ahead of the unanimous vote for Blair to lead the board, several FSSD parents expressed their disdain of Stillings' Facebook post during public comments.
Mom Betsy Vernon called for more accountability for board members and more district action to address any racist incidents in the district, while pastor Walter Simmons, who has children who once attended FSSD schools, asked for Stillings to "respectfully resign" from the board.
Simmons said he represented the African American religious community, the Franklin Justice and Equity Coalition and African American teachers in FSSD.
"We can't have pacification discipline. We must stand up and do the right thing," he said.
Grandparent of FSSD students Brant Bousquet suggested term limits for board members, some of whom have been serving for over 20 years. Stillings has served on the board for 23 years, while Blair has served since 2003.
Bousquet said "no one is a perfect person" but told Stillings his words matter.
"You don't really understand what your words do," he said.
Following Stillings' controversial post over a week ago, the six-member board denounced Stillings' action in a joint statement but later accepted his apology during a special-called meeting on the matter last Thursday. During that meeting, Stillings removed his name from consideration as board chair, apologized and asked those offended by his actions to reach out to him for a deeper discussion.
More:Franklin Special responds to chairman's controversial Facebook post
"I was very embarrassed I insulted (members of the community and school district) and reached out to religious and civic leaders of the African American community," Stillings said.
Stillings said some have reached out to him about whether he has unconscious bias.
"That is the challenge I am trying to uncover," he said.
Stillings emphasized that it takes "all of us" to "work together in harmony."
Board elects officers
Board member Alicia Barker was elected as vice chairman, while Allena Bell was elected as treasurer and Kevin Townsel was elected as secretary. Those board members were also sworn in to serve another four-year term after being reelected in August.
In 2020, Blair was inducted into the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) Scholars Circle and was named to the TSBA All-Tennessee School Board, an honor granted to only five School Board members across the state.
In 2011, Blair achieved status as a Master School Board Member from the TSBA, the highest designation a School Board member can earn.
Kerri Bartlett covers issues affecting children, families, education and government in Williamson County. She can be contacted at kbartlett@gannett.com, 615-308-8324 or @keb1414 on Twitter.