‘You are all cowards’ | Washington County student school board member called ‘hot’ calls for change

JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (WVLT) - The teenage student who Washington County Board of Education Member Keith Ervin called “hot” during April 2’s meeting had choice words for a school board she thinks let her — and her community — down.

The student appeared in front of the board Thursday and delivered a four-minute speech to the sitting members, bashing them for inaction in delivery consequences to Ervin. In her speech, she called the board members “cowards” who taught her that “no one will stand up for [her].”

Previous Coverage: ‘No confidence’ vote targets school board member after ‘hot’ comment to student

“The failure to act on the board’s behalf was and is equivalent to his actions, and it has hurt me just as much,” the student said. “To watch the chairperson be so quick to bang her gavel, to control the public, yet not use it once to control her own peer was disgusting. I understand the shock — I was there — but it is her responsibility to control and represent this board. You all have done a poor job at that representation."

The April 2 meeting was live streamed, just as all Washington County Board of Education meetings are. A camera captured Ervin turning to the girl, telling her “God, you’re hot, you know that?” Ervin was not removed from the board, as county leaders said elected officials cannot be terminated. He was, however, censured in an act of official condemnation from the rest of the board.

That wasn’t enough for the girl, however.

“Gaining global attention for sexual comments and assault is not the reputation that Washington County deserves. Everyone on this board shares that blame, as does every voter who put you into office. I believe that you are all cowards, especially those who used their god as a cop-out for forgiveness,” she said, referring to an argument promoting forgiveness several sitting members used to justify soft retaliation against Ervin.

Ervin, and the board as a whole, has faced public backlash over the comment. He said in his defense that he was referring to the student’s academic efforts, equating his comment to saying she was “on a roll.”

“I do not forgive you, and I do not accept your fake apologies used to protect yourselves,” the student said. “I do not believe you deserve that peace of mind, so every time you feel a little bit of discomfort from the public, I want you to remember that it isn’t even a fraction of the discomfort that I felt on April 2.”

The student went on to say how the board’s decision had affected her personally. She did so by thanking the board members.

“With all of that being said, thank you,” she said. “Thank you for teaching me that no one will stand up for me besides myself. Thank you for showing this community what you think it means to protect our children.”

The school board is chaired by Annette Buchanan and includes eight other members: Eric Barnes, Chad Fleenor, Mike Masters, David Hammond, Vince Walters, Whitney Riddle, Gregg Huddlestone and Ervin himself.

The entire statement is below.