Knox County Leader Who Spoke Out Against Public Charter Schools Appointed to Review Them

Rev. Sam Brown (Photo by Brown)

Knoxville NAACP President Rev. Sam Brown made his opposition to public charter schools clear in a March 2023 letter asking PREP Public Schools to withdraw its application to open Knox Prep.

Charter schools are free public schools operated under a “charter” with a school district or the state, and Brown wrote at the time that he believed the all-boys school would only pull resources away from nearby traditional public schools.

“We understand that you seek to do good,” wrote Rev. Brown. “Any good your charter school would do will come at the expense of serious harm to the children in the donor public schools and to the communities around those schools.”

 Members of the Knox County Schools Board of Education voted 5-4 to approve Knox Prep the following month, but Brown’s comments at the time could provide concern for any future charter applicants, now that he’s serving on the district board that reviews applications.

Opposition to Past Comments

Betsy Henderson (Photo by Knox County Schools)

Thursday night, school board members voted 6-3 to appoint Brown and 11 others to the district’s Charter Review Committee. District 6 Board Member Betsy Henderson joined District 7 Board Member Steve Triplett and District 8 Board Member Travis Wright in voting against the appointment.

“I will be voting no on this just because there (are) some individuals on here who have come to this body to speak adamantly against charter schools so that is why I will be voting no on this list,” said Henderson.

The review committee analyzes every public charter school application and provides a recommendation to the board for approval or denial. The committee could be called upon to review one charter application next year if leaders from Wilberforce Academy of Knoxville follow up on their recent letter of intent to apply.

Board Opposes Barriers for Undocumented Students

Board members also voted 6-3 in support of a legislative priority to oppose legislation state lawmakers considered earlier this year that would allow school districts the option of refusing to enroll undocumented children or charging them tuition. The bill passed the State Senate but stalled in the House and could return when lawmakers reconvene in January.

District 2 Board Member Anne Templeton co-wrote the priority and said she received more than 100 emails and heard from dozens of speakers at multiple board meetings in support of taking the action.

“We may not have the final say if this bill becomes law,” said Templeton. “But our constituents are watching how we lead and how we treat the children in our county. They’re speaking loudly, as you can see, in support of their neighbors.”

Henderson and Trippleton joined District 5 Board Member Lauren Morgan in opposing the legislative priority.

All three voiced support for providing an education for undocumented students, but opposed the need for a legislative priority opposing the legislation.

“This bill in Nashville would not require Knox County Schools to do anything. It’s not a mandate and it does not impact our current operations or our students,” said Henderson. “There’s been a coordinated campaign from the left to make this an issue locally when it is not.”