Dear Editor,
If you have read anything I’ve written regarding the current Greene County Board of Education (BOE) election, you know that in every case, I do everything possible to research the topic and provide a relevant and fact-based opinion.
Recently, I have had several community members involved with or employed by the Greene County School System (GCSS) reach out with stories, allegations, and commentary related to poor leadership, questionable behavior, and unethical decisions by the current administration. I thought little of these stories initially, as political races can have the ability to exaggerate claims of injustice. Still, as the phone calls became more frequent and stories more aligned, I started to wonder if all the smoke led to fire.
The fire started to burn after a phone call from an employee of one of the GCSS partner organizations alleging grade manipulation in Greene County schools.
The employee not only provided names but specific periods of time when this might have occurred. Serious as these allegations might be, this is not the first time the topic has come up on social media platforms, candidate forums, and other conversations regarding the GCSS BOE.
To fully understand the scope of what might have occurred and determine if the claims against the Greene BOE are legitimate, I filed an open records request with Superintendent Houston on 4/23/24. True to form, the superintendent’s office took the full 72 hours allotted to respond to me and did so by responding they were: “researching to determine the records responsive to your request.”
As of the time of this letter, I have not received an update on when the records will be provided.
I cannot declare that the GC BOE has intentionally doctored grades or manipulated numbers or scores to affect their state standing. Still, I can say that I have been told by several folks who do not know one another well that this practice is common in the GCSS.
I have requested records to determine for myself, but in the meantime, I pose this question … is this the type of leadership we deserve in Greene County?
Whether it is the lawsuit with LOA, GCSS middle and high school having a bottom 25% standing in the state, strict enforcement of a needlessly restrictive public comment policy, a superintendent with open complaints and alleged lawsuits from former staff, LOA merger analysis, five-year plans stating an objective of one common high school, $40M on a new elementary school, restriction on school choice through administrative caps, a well-timed complaint against a political adversary, or the possibility that grade manipulation has occurred to mask the current GCSS failings … isn’t enough, enough? Even if but one of these was the only issue, wouldn’t it be cause for concern and a reason to give someone else a chance?
It’s time for real leadership. I hope you vote for change. I hope Perry Lee, Maggie Kjer, Joe Bashore, and the entire Greene County Board of Education can expedite the delivery records pursuant to my request to prove this practice is not alive and well.
Matt Waterfield, Greene County