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Haslam calls letter from Republicans a 'political stunt'
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NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam’s office is dismissing as a “political stunt” a letter signed by 15 Republican lawmakers demanding the resignation of Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman.
The letter dated Thursday cites complaints from school administrators, teachers and students about Huffman’s leadership style as his department implements a series of changes in K-12 education.
“Commissioner Huffman has overstepped his authority and failed to serve in the best interest of the citizens of this state,” the letter said. “Anything short of his immediate removal will be unacceptable.”
The lawmakers signing the letter are strongly identified with the tea party wing of the party — including Rep. Joe Carr of Murfreesboro, who is challenging incumbent Lamar Alexander for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in August.
Many of the signatories were involved in a legislative effort earlier this year to thwart Haslam’s wishes by delaying the implementation of Common Core standards and related testing requirements.
Haslam spokesman David Smith said the Republican governor is standing by Huffman.
“The governor believes there is a more productive way to discuss something so significant than through a letter by a small group of legislators more interested in trying to get headlines than substance,” Smith said. “It is disappointing they chose a political stunt instead of constructive dialogue.”
The letter follows a petition signed by nearly half of the state’s superintendents last year criticizing Huffman’s leadership of the department, arguing that the commissioner had “no interest in a dialogue” with local school leaders and that efforts to improve schools were being thwarted by low teacher morale because of policy changes on the state level.
Huffman joined Haslam's cabinet in 2011. He was previously vice president of public affairs at Teach for America, a program that has tried to improve classroom teaching by placing recent college graduates in low-income schools and is often criticized by teacher unions.
The State Collaborative on Reforming Education, which has advocated for Common Core and other education initiatives championed by the Haslam administration, said Huffman has played a key role in improving standards in the state.
“We are raising expectations in our classrooms, better supporting our educators, and prioritizing college and career readiness,” spokeswoman Teresa Wasson said in an email. “We encourage state leaders to put aside individual differences and political rhetoric and work together in ensuring that Tennessee students remain at the center of this work.”

Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
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Warren County Schools has beefed up lunch menus this school year through a new community partnership. Thanks to a collaboration between the district’s School Nutrition Department and Barton Creek Farms, students at Warren County High School, Warren County Middle School, West Elementary, Eastside Elementary, and Dibrell Elementary are enjoying locally sourced, farm-fresh beef in their lunches as part of a pilot program.

The initiative, spearheaded by Terri Mullican, Director of School Nutrition, has already shown great promise in its first few months. The partnership with Barton Creek Farms, located in Rock Island, Tennessee, ensures that the beef served is not only local to Warren County but of the highest quality. Barton Creek Farms specializes in farm-to-fork beef, with grass-fed and grain-finished cattle. Each calf is born and raised in Rock Island and goes through USDA-inspected processing, ensuring it meets the strictest safety and quality standards.

“When the opportunity arose to provide fresh, local beef, we knew it was a no-brainer,” Mullican said. “The fact that it’s a product from right here in our community makes it even more special. We can’t wait to implement it district-wide.”

Barton Creek Farms delivers fresh ground beef to the district monthly, and the nutrition

department incorporates it into homemade recipes such as lasagna, meatloaf, chili, and tacos.

As of now, the beef is being served at five schools, but the ultimate goal is to expand the program to all ten lunch-serving schools in the district.

The pilot program originated from a conversation between Mary Roller of Barton Creek Farms and Mullican. Roller, recognizing the farm’s potential to support local schools, reached out to gauge the district’s interest in serving local beef to students. Around the same time, a Warren County school board member contacted Mullican to share information about a similar partnership in neighboring Dekalb County, which helped push the initiative forward.

The timing worked in the district’s favor, as the nutrition department was able to fund the purchase of the beef using existing resources, eliminating the need for additional funding. Now that the pilot program is enjoying a successful run, the department has budgeted to extend the partnership district-wide for the 2025-26 school year.

Dr. Grant Swallows, Director of Schools, praised the program’s economic approach to student nutrition.

“This pilot is a perfect example of how we can use local resources to continue providing nutritious, healthy meals for our students,” he said. “We are grateful for partnerships like this one that benefit both our students and our local community. We always strive to support our local businesses when we can because our community is so good to us.”

In addition to working with Warren County Schools, Barton Creek Farms also partners with local restaurants to offer farm-fresh beef on their menus. The farm’s offerings include ground beef, steaks, roasts, and custom cuts by the quarter, half, or whole cow, meeting diverse consumer needs.

As the program continues to grow, the district hopes to expand its focus on farm-to-school meals, benefiting students’ health and connecting them to the agricultural roots of the community