October 17, 2024 Work Session
The board met for their October Work Session last night. Three board members were absent: Josh Brown, Jay Galbreath, and Eric Welch.
- Agenda
- Live Stream - 1:56:12
Vouchers
This agenda item was prompted by Dennis Driggers. He wants to rescind the board's March 2024 resolution that denounced vouchers. His argument is two-fold. First, the board should be neutral on the issue, especially since the TN law failed. If there's another law being presented, they can provide feedback on it. Second (as I mentioned in my October 2024 Work Session Preview), the make-up of the board has changed. Only two of the "yes" votes for the previous resolution remain on the board: Eric Welch and Drason Beasley.
During the discussion, Claire Reeves, Tonja Hibma, and Dan Cash seemed to express support for Dr. Driggers's proposal. Melissa Wyatt and Drason Beasley pushed back at the idea.
If you'd like to see the discussion click here. It's about 20 minutes.
For a good framing of vouchers from a Williamson County perspective, listen to Nancy Garrett and Jennifer Aprea discuss it on their podcast. You can also hear them discuss this work session meeting on this episode.
They will be voting on Monday to rescind the resolution that denounced vouchers. They will need 7 votes to rescind it.
Equal Opportunity Employment
Dana Ausbrooks added to a footnote on the policy, a reference to Bostock v. Clayton County, a 2020 case that established employment protection against discrimination because of sexuality or gender identity. Adding this footnote merely highlights the case law that drives the wording of this policy.
This was initially a First and Final, but Donna Clements asked for it to go through the usual First Reading process. During the discussion (at 1:18:32), Ms. Clements cited some lawyers that she consulted. She maintains that we don't need to spell out each protected class, saying that Rutherford County's policies don't enumerate them. Claire Reeves asked council if the term "sex" covers "gender identity" and "sexual orientation." Ms. Ausbrooks replied that yes, it does. However, the policy lists them out because those protected classes used to not be covered. Spelling it out helps to ensure compliance.
Budget
There was a good discussion about the budget (at 40:10). The 24-25 budget was approved by the County Commission. The board is now starting the process for the 25-26 budget.
Call to Action
If you care how your representative votes, email them. If you're able, sign up to speak on Monday. Come say hi. I'll be there.
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