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A concerned father in Tennessee confronted Washington County School Board member Keith Erwin who called a female student a “hot” during a public meeting on April 2.
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The confrontation occurred during an emergency meeting on April 8, at which the board voted to censure Erwin.
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Ervin, who was previously censured for making sexual gestures in 2009, defended his comments, claiming that “Hot” told the student he was “on a roll” with his question.
A concerned Tennessee father confronted a school board member who called a female student “hot” at a recent public meeting.
Less than a week after Washington County School Board member Keith Ervin referred to the teenager as “hot” during a live-streamed meeting on Thursday, April 2, the Washington County Board of Education held an emergency meeting on Wednesday, April 8 to discuss the comment.
At the April 2 meeting, an unidentified female David Crockett High School student shared some of her thoughts, after which Ervin touched her and asked, “God, you’re hot, you know that? Where do you go to school?”
At a recent meeting, the school board voted to censure Ervin, who was previously censured in 2009 for making “lewd, juvenile gestures of a sexual nature” during a classroom discussion, according to records obtained by NBC affiliate WSMV.
Before the vote, several community members confronted Ervin and the rest of the school board — whose comments about the situation went viral on social media.
After being informed that the board could not formally ask questions at the emergency meeting, the father said, “Okay, I’ll ask a question you don’t have to answer. But let’s just say if you’re really offended by it, raise your hand. If it doesn’t offend you, put your hand down.”
When none of the board members raised their hands, he continued, “Did you see what I’m saying here, guys? How would you feel about your child talking like that?”
“We have to worry about our kids getting shot at school and all that stuff, right? But what we have to worry about is a comment from a minor. Would you want your kid around that guy without a camera? I wouldn’t,” he said, as community members at the meeting clapped in agreement.
“And I’m amazed by every single person here, and I want to tell you straight up that if this guy still has a job here soon, I’m going to raise as much money as I can to get everyone out of here.
Quoting other concerned community members, he continued, “And I have the rest. We go down here every meeting and everything. It’s unacceptable, man.”
The concerned father turned his attention directly to Erwin: “And look at your face – you don’t even care. This is your community you’re serving. Look upset. You put us on the map – nationally, put us to shame. And you don’t even have a spine to walk on, man.”
“It’s a shame you’re still here. It really is,” he added later, “when I was growing up, if someone said something like that—accident or not—you’re gone.”
David Crockett High School
Credit: Google Maps
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Other concerned community members also spoke out, with one telling Erwin, “You wouldn’t have done that if it had been a male student next to you.”
Erwin has defended his comments about them during the April 8 emergency meeting, claiming in a statement that by “hot” he meant the girl was “on a roll” because of his questions during the meeting.
“Obviously, I’ve seen the clip. Look, I understand, if you’re watching, I understand why people are reacting the way they are. But it’s not a full conversation, not even close,” Ervin said, adding that the student was “asking good questions, she was engaged, she handled herself well, especially before the superhot clip in a conversation with a superhot topic.”
“When I mentioned she was hot, I meant she was on a roll. It had nothing to do with her appearance,” he added, adding, “When you take a few seconds out of a two-hour meeting, it can change the tone of everything. And honestly, it doesn’t give her the credit she deserves.”
“I’m sorry it overshadowed what would have been a bright moment for one of our students,” Ervin said.
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