Former Grundy County (Tenn.) High School head football coach Casey Tate was denied tenure at Thursday night's school board meeting.
Tate was removed from his coaching position after five football players - a freshman, three juniors and a senior - were accused of attempting to rape a 14-year-old freshman teammate with the metal handle of a dust mop in the school's football field house on Oct. 11.
Investigators found information showing that Tate had facilitated the students' access to the field house where the attack occurred. The field house was supposed to have been locked at the time.
Board members voted 5-2 to deny him tenure, with the two "yes" votes coming from Chairwoman Phyllis Lusk and Vice Chairman Paul Gallagher. Board members Kasey Anderson and Gary Melton were absent.
School board attorney Chuck Cagle said the recommendation for tenure is separate from Tate's coaching career.
"Mr. Tate has met the tenure eligibility requirements set forth in school board policy 5.117," Director of Schools Jessie Kinsey wrote in a letter to board members.
Eligibility requirements include having taught for a probationary period of five years and received evaluations demonstrating a performance level of "above average expectations" or "significantly above expectations."
Tate has been teaching as an "apprentice teacher" from 2011 to 2016, when he became a "professional."
The school board policy states that once a teacher is eligible for tenure, he or she is to be recommended by the director of schools for tenure, but the decision to grant tenure is solely up to the board. And if an eligible teacher is denied, he or she cannot be rehired beyond the contract year. That means Tate will no longer be an employed teacher by Grundy County Schools after June 30, as stated in his employment contract.
Also discussed at Thursday's meeting was a controversy over valedictorians. The board voted to allow all students with a 4.0 grade point average to be named co-valedictorians. This means Grundy County High School's 2018 graduating class will have 11 co-valedictorians.
The controversy caught the community's attention on Facebook after a high school senior was arrested and sent to jail last week after he allegedly harassed another student after she was awarded valedictorian status despite graduating a year early.
Trevor Sanders, 18, was charged with harassment (non-verbal threats) and spent the night in the Grundy County Jail on April 4, a move he said was a violation of his First Amendment rights.
Grundy County Circuit Court Clerk Crystal Stiefel issued the warrant after the alleged victim's family requested it. She did not say if any additional evidence was provided to her before issuing the warrant.
School board attorney Chuck Cagle addressed the board, saying that it is not permissible to change policies mid-stream. But because the current valedictorian's parents sent a letter asking the board to consider naming co-valedictorians, Cagle said it would be fine to make that policy change.
What remains unclear, however, is when, how or why the policy was reversed after a December board meeting at which board members voted to amend the student handbook regarding qualifications for academic achievement rankings. The amendment made it a requirement for students to attend the school for six semesters before their senior year.
Kinsey did not respond to a request for clarification, and Cagle said he was not aware of the December decision.
Another issue discussed Thursday was the confusion surrounding bonus pay for bus drivers. Last year, the board approved a bonus of $100 for every year of service. But bus drivers received only $50, Linda Broom told the board. "A miscalculation," was the only explanation offered by Lusk.
The board approved the remainder of the bonus money to be paid, something that may have been prompted by a lawsuit filed on Jan. 31 by former school bus driver Terri Tate.
Court documents show the lawsuit makes the same claim as Broom, demanding the payment of $2,000 for Tate's 20 years of service.
Contact staff writer Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327 with tips or story ideas. Follow her on Twitter @Hughes Rosana.