blevins1491

Yes, they have "a little more paperwork to do." And they don't even have to get it right! (well, if they're a football superstar, that is)

Only 30? But the need is so great. Hopefully this will open the door for many, many more troubled Hamilton County students who can benefit from the Signal Mountain touch. And it's good to know that you don't have to be a superstar athlete to get a hardship transfer to Signal Mountain. (Although apparently, trying out 5 high schools and having a well-traveled, connected coach for your best buddy doesn't hurt)

The Signal Mountain public relations committee is hard at it today, disguised as a news article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/oct/14/mcclendons-journey-signal-mountain-mountain-high-s/ Here's a comment from the paper's website: Nice piece of fluff and fiction. The writer obviously has an agenda: helping his Signal Mtn coaching buddies keep their jobs. How about a reality check: what a sweet coincidence that the well-traveled Shane Roberson magically ends up at Signal for Tim McClendon's senior year. Roberson's recent journey takes him from Orchard Knob, to Sequatchie County, to LFO in Catoosa County, and now to Signal: and somehow a superstar player or two follows him everywhere he goes. So Roberson just goes to central office, and asks for a hardship transfer for McClendon. Hardship requests are routinely turned down every day. But this one is quickly granted. That's all there is to it? Board member Chip Baker had nothing to do with it? So ANY kid who's been in a fight, or doesn't want to be with "the wrong crowd" at an inner-city school, can get a free ride to the self-proclaimed best school in the county? Really? That's great. Why hasn't Hamilton County publicized this fact? Wouldn't this solve Chattanooga's gang problem? And as for McClendon's long list of high schools, a dubious achievement for anyone who's lived at the same address for four years, that is very telling. A lot of great kids graduate each year from Hixson, Brainerd, Howard and LFO (where he actually came and went twice). This fabricated public-relations piece is an insult to all of those schools. Finally was McClendon "recruited" at Signal Mountain? Did he, as this story says, just learn that his coaching pal Shane magically got hired at the best school in the county, and then texted him, asking for help "for academic reasons?" (implying that LFO, an award-winning school has poor academics?...the same LFO that was 0-10 in football last year?) Is this the first time special arrangements have been made for an athlete who lives far from Signal to play, or of course "further his academics" at Signal? The TSSAA knows the answer to that one. Signal Mountain administrators say "everyone else is doing it too." Maybe so. Just not as blatantly and sloppy as Signal does. It's great that McClendon is getting individual care and tutoring at Signal. He certainly can benefit from it. But until Signal publicly and openly invites and accepts all troubled inner city students, not just great athletes who can help them run up the score, their smug claims of innocence are laughable.

Final score: the Signal Mountain Class Acts 76, CCS 35. Gotta love that Bill Price. Maybe he thinks total points will still get the Illeagles in the playoffs.

Now that's funny. So Ooltewah and Signal Mtn schools are about the same drive from the kid's alleged home? With creative directions like that, you should be a NY cabbie.

Seems reasonable enough. Mom: "My son lives a mile away from Brainerd. But it would be a real hardship for him to attend school there. Got anywhere else?" School Board: "Well, we have Ooltewah, a few miles away." Mom: "That would be a hardship too." School Board: "How about Howard, that's downtown." Mom: "Hardship." School Board: "Well, all we have left is Signal Mountain. But to get there, he's gotta go downtown, cross the Tennessee River, climb that mountain, and drive deep into the woods. It's a good 40 minutes from your house, if there's no traffic." Mom: "Now that's NOT a hardship!"

So how come the McClendon kid couldn't?

Now we know why the kid who lives down the road from Brainerd, had a "hardship" that required him to be transported past several local high schools, to attend Signal Mountain. Turns out he has a fear of the valley. I guess its a medical condition. When he reached the school atop the hill, the coach was pleasantly surprised. "You mean he can play football? What a lucky break for us!"

Can't wait until the TSSAA begins its inquiry on the Signal Mtn baseball team. Now THAT is going to be fun.

My son lives in Nashville, but he doesn't like country music. Can I apply for a hardship for him to go to Signal Mtn? It would be so much more....convenient.

OK, no answer on the hardship scam. I'm just glad the cheating player, family & coach got caught. Hope y'all enjoy the playoffs, from afar.

Still waiting for an answer to the basic question: what was this player's hardship? I've known people with genuine hardships. Mom works a mile away from from a school, has no child care or family, wants to enroll 1st grade daughter at that school for obvious reasons: DENIED! What was this kid's sob story? "I live across the street from Brainerd High, but going there would be a hardship. It's a 10-minute drive down the road to Ooltewah. That is a real hardship. So let me go through downtown, across the river, up the mountain and through the woods. That's not a hardship. Give me a break. The person who should be in trouble is whoever gave this scam the green light.

smeagle is good at calling names, but still hasn't answered the question: "What's the hardship?"

Sad as it is for the player and his teammates, I have to admit, some of this stuff is downright laughable. The player lives in the Brainerd zone, a mile or two away from that school. He (or his family) doesn't want him to attend Brainerd. Fair enough, that happens a lot. So thanks to NCLB and Hamilton Co. Schools, he can go to Ooltewah, a fine school with a terrific football program, about 8-10 minutes away. Pretty much a straight shot down Brainerd Road/Lee Highway. But no. Instead, "someone" tells Signal/TSSAA that he lives in the Howard zone. Any idiot who looks at the player's home address (Sylvan Drive) on a map knows better than that. And the family (?) requests a hardship transfer to Signal Mtn. Let's review. There's some sort of "hardship" involved here. It must be awfully difficult to get to Brainerd, just down the street, or even Ooltewah, a little farther down the street. But it's no hardship to go downtown to Howard, catch a bus, cross the river, climb a mountain, and maneuver down the side roads of Signal to get to this secluded high school. Come clean, folks: what's the "hardship" here? And if you Sig Mtn folks are so concerned about inner city youths getting a better education, open the doors to all of them. After all, it doesn't matter if they're not 6-3, 240, double-duty football players, right? It's all about the children, and their education. And if anyone thinks this is Signal's only violation, or the last shoe to drop, buckle up. It's not over.

Just read the story in the TFP. The allegation is truly shocking. I mean, who would have thought Signal has only one ineligible player?