Whether teachers can run for BOE

In the wake of Yellow Monday, some school teachers have started looking into whether they can run for a seat on the Board of Education.

Well, probably. Maybe. If that makes sense.

The charter states that “no member of the Commission or any other public official or employee of the Board of Education shall be eligible for appointment or election to the Board of Education.”

HOWEVER, state law might trump the ol’ charter, according to Mark Goins, state coordinator of elections, and Elizabeth Henry-Robertson, assistant coordinator of elections.

They issued an opinion back in late 2011 on a similar matter. You can read it right smack here.

If, not, well, I’ll try to explain. Essentially, if you’re a teacher you can run for a school board seat and the Knox County Elections Office will put your name on the ballot.

Having said that, it doesn’t mean an opponent won’t take issue and file a lawsuit, which would then get the courts involved. Now the courts will probably take the Goins’ letter into consideration, but it’s certainly not the be-all-end-all.

So, at this point, the letter tells local election folks what they should do, but the legal issue could certainly continue.