Mullins addresses county officials about daughter not allowed to play basketball

Posted

At the Jan. 23 meeting of White County Board of Commissioners, a concerned resident asked for time to speak on the behalf of her daughter. Kim Mullins said her concerns were about White County Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger as well as the school board as a whole.

Commissioner Derrick Hutchings informed Mullins the County Commission does not oversee the School Board and cannot make decisions on their behalf. While Mullins said she understood, she also stated she just felt her daughter’s story needed to be heard, and Hutchings granted her the time the board would give any resident to speak.

Mullins expressed that her daughter had come to White County Schools, specifically White County High School, this school year as the family felt she needed a fresh start after having a difficult time at Livingston Academy where she had previously attended school. Mullins’ daughter is a basketball player and participated in tryouts for the Warriorettes, subsequently earning a spot on the girls’ basketball team.

According to Mullins, on Aug. 24, Dronebarger dismissed her daughter from school stating that Bryan Haley had conducted a residency check and the school district had reason to believe the Mullins family did not reside at the White County address they had listed. Mullins said that, at the time, they were not staying in their apartment due to renovations and fumigating being completed and that they were able to provide written proof from their landlord verifying this claim. Mullins further claimed that since the work was completed, they have been living at the White County address and have home surveillance cameras that prove the family’s coming and going and being at the address overnight.

Mullins said due to the board of education saying her daughter does not meet residency requirements, she has not been allowed to play basketball this season. She went on to say the school district did rescind their decision that she could not attend White County High School and allowed her to return to class but have stood firm in their decision she is ineligible by TSSAA guidelines to play on a varsity sports team for the district.

Mullins said the family has attempted to appeal the decision, even attending a school board meeting, in September. However, when they arrived at the meeting, she said she was informed by the Chairman of the Board, Bob Young, the board would not hear any discussion about eligibility and would only be voting on Mullins’ residency. She also said the family hired an attorney who attended the meeting as well, but he was not allowed to address the board. She said that after the meeting, the family’s attorney reached out to the school board’s attorney and was informed there was no higher authority to file an appeal with, that the decision belonged solely to the director of schools.

Mullins said that in December she again sent a letter of appeal on her daughter’s behalf but again was told that she could attend school but could not participate in sports. Mullins then said her daughter was told they would allow her to play on junior varsity teams.

Mullins said conversations took place with the basketball coach and athletic director, and the athletic director said if a residency check was redone and verified, then her daughter could be eligible to play. Mullins also said they were told of a 365-day rule under the TSSAA guidelines that would allow her daughter to be eligible to play if it had been 365 days from her last participation with her previous team. She stated they spoke with the Warriorette basketball coach who said he would speak with the school system’s athletic director, Terry Crain, who reportedly said that if Dronebarger or Haley would reevaluate the residency check and say that everything was clear, she could play. But Mullins said that again her daughter was denied.

“There is no reason that she isn’t eligible other than they don’t want her to be,” Mullins summed up her complaint to the county’s commissioners. “I would like clarity.”

Hutchings again reminded Mullins that while her concerns were heard, the White County Board of Commissioners does not have the jurisdiction to tell the White County School Board how to conduct their business and that, while they could sympathize with her, they were not in a position to be able to help.

However, both Dronebarger and Young were in attendance at the January Board of Commissioners meeting as they had presented commissioners with a snapshot of the school system’s performance over the previous year. Hutchings asked them if they would like to step up and reply to Mullins’ statements.

“I have an email here from TSSAA that establishes that their daughter was ineligible, so I do not need to do any further house check,” Dronebarger told the commissioners, stating that his priority is making sure the district stays in compliance with the rules set forth by the athletic governing body for school sports. “We are known for having integrity in our athletic programs, and we aren’t willing to violate or jeopardize that.”

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here