Smithville Elementary School physical education instructor Brad Hendrix, who was given a one-day suspension without pay for "neglect of duty" and "insub-ordination," appealed the decision Friday at a special hearing before the school board and was awarded an additional two-day suspension under the same terms.
The board not only voted 5-0 to let the previous the one-day suspension stand, they then made the decision to suspend Hendrix for two more days without pay, with one member saying, “He needs something else to get his attention.”
The board voted 4-1 to approve the two-day suspension, with Doug Stephens casting the only dissenting vote.
Members Kenny Rhody and Billy Miller were absent.
The initial suspension was imposed by Director of Schools Mark Willoughby and was upheld on a later appeal.
Hendrix may appeal the board's decision to the Chancery Court within 20 days.
Hendrix was originally suspended in December after he left a field trip to Chuck E. Cheese in Murfreesboro early without getting the permission of SES Principal Dr. Bill Tanner.
Hendrix appealed Willoughby's decision and Hearing Officer Robert G. Wheeler, Jr. heard the case on Feb. 27.
Wheeler later released a report on his "Finding of Facts and Conclusions of Law" upholding Director Willoughby's suspension.
Hendrix then exercised his right to an appeal with the Board of Education
Hendrix has admitted that he left the location of the field trip, held on Dec. 9 of last year, to attend a his daughter's middle school basketball game.
Wheeler opined in his report  that Hendrix “did not specifically ask permission of the assistant principal nor Principal Dr. Tanner to go to Mur-freesboro by himself or to leave early."
He also mentioned in the report that Tanner “testified that on several previous occasions, Hendrix would come to him and ask for permission to leave early for various reasons, some of which pertained to his ailing father, and some of which were due to Hendrix building or re-modeling a house.
“It came to the point that Dr. Tanner instructed Hendrix to come and ask him directly if he needed to leave, that he was not simply to leave word with a secretary or a bookkeeper when he was going to leave during the workday. Dr. Tanner further explained that there had been a problem with people complaining about Hendrix being seen about town during the workday when Tanner did not know Hendrix was away from school.”
Wheeler also took exception in his findings to Hendrix’s verbal request to take part of  a sick day to make up for the time he missed attending the ball game, saying that “Hendrix was not sick that day. Thus, the evidence of cutting corners with rules and mandates is emphasized."
Knoxville attorney Chris McCarty, who represented Willoughby and the school board at Friday night's hearing, advised the board to sustain the suspension of Hendrix.
“Two years before this happened Mr. Tanner went over with Mr. Hendrix orally about leaving the campus (telling him) a teacher will not leave the campus unless it is with the principal's direct permission,” McCarty said.
“This is not one incident,” McCarty continued. “This is the straw that broke the camel's back. For that reason we are asking that the board sustain the decision of Mr. Willoughby.”
Before voting, 7th District member Johnny Lattimore said he felt the one-day suspension was not enough.
"It’s my opinion that Mr. Hendrix still doesn't believe that what he did was a severe offense,” Lattimore told the board. “The suspension was, in my opinion, to get his attention that you don't need to do things like this anymore. It wasn't about the money. It was to get his attention that this can't go on.
“It's time to take an about face, turn around, and start following the rules. I don't think a one-day suspension is sufficient in my opinion. I think he needs something else to get his attention that you will follow the rules. My opinion is that I would recommend a greater suspension than one day,” Lattimore concluded.
John David Foutch, the board's 1st District repesentative, agreed that the suspension was not enough
“I don't think the suspension is stiff enough. You have been cautioned time and again and you've ignored those cautions,” he said to Hendrix.
“This is a straw that broke the camel's back. You don't stand any more leniency than our students do in our school system. Whenever they misbehave a three-day suspension is what they get a lot of the time. I would recommend that you get that three-day suspension because I don't believe that you stand above our students.
“I believe you should be setting an example for those students. Sir, if you can't do that, then you don't need to be part of this school system. I think you need to take this as a very serious warning and a serious matter. You have a great responsibility upon you where our children are concerned. They are the most precious that we have and you need to take that seriously. Your leaving the school system and leaving those children there is not a very good thing at all and I think it’s something that really has to be looked at very closely. I hope this never has to come up before this board again,” Foutch concluded.
Responding to Foutch's comments, Hendrix insisted that he does take his teaching job seriously.
“I take teaching very seriously,” Hendrix said. “I take taking care of the kids very seriously. There's not one write-up that I signed about me leaving school. He (Tanner) talked to me one time about leaving school. I made a mistake by not telling my principal that I was leaving to go see my daughter play basketball. The other times that I left school was for a family crisis. All I ever wanted to get from this school system is the same chances that the other teachers around me are getting. You can ask any parent. If their child does not feel safe in my gym or in my presence, I'll quit today. But I guarantee you that you can ask any parent that I've had. I've had Mr. (Dub) Evins' kids.”
He then asked 5th District board member W.J. (Dub) Evins, “Have you ever felt that they were not safe in my presence?"
Evins replied, “My daughter was intimidated by you if you want to know the answer to that.”
Hendrix: "I didn't ask about intim-idation, I said safe."
Evins: "She considers that safe."
Hendrix: "I asked you did she feel safe?"
Evins: "What kind of safe? She felt intimidated to be in your gym."
Hendrix: "Some kids do."
Evins: "She was scared of you. She was afraid of you."
Hendrix: "A lot of kids are afraid."
Evins: "If she's afraid of you then she didn't feel safe."
Hendrix: "I was afraid of a lot of teachers when I was growing up."
Hendrix suggested that he has received different treatment than other teachers  since he was elected to the county commission.
“I've been teaching here for 12 years. I got my first write up when I became a county commissioner five days later," Hendrix said.
Board Chairman Charles Robinson interjected: "We're not going to go that way with that rebuttal."
Hendrix was one of the county commissioners who voted against a proposed school budget last year as well as a proposed purchase of land for a new high school.
According to Wheeler's report, Willoughby denied that these matters had any bearing on his suspension of Hendrix.
The decision on when the suspension should become effective was left to Willoughby at the Friday night hearing, who said Hendrix’s suspension will take place April 16-17.