I read Mr. Exum's careless opinion piece "The Game Changer on Signal Mountain," which interestingly contradicts his November 12, 2017 piece "Stay, Signal Mountain, Stay," and decided to check his facts. There were plenty of false statements in Mr. Exum's article, but I focused on his comments about Brentwood, Tn. While Exum talked about what he claims was happening in Brentwood, Tn., I actually asked the city manager of Brentwood to tell me what was happening. The facts couldn't have been more different from the careless, misguided thoughts of Mr. Exum.
Kirk Bednar, the city manager for the city of Brentwood, TN, wrote to me via email and said "I don't know where the article you mentioned got it's information . . . ." He further stated that Brentwood has "not contracted for a feasibility study" and has not pursued "any type of court case." Furthermore, Mr. Bednar stated that "The issue of ownership of the school buildings has been identified as an issue that may require court intervention if we decide to proceed after completion of a feasibility study, but we are obviously nowhere close to that point now."
So, there is no court case pending in Brentwood, Tn. There is no feasibility study in Brentwood, Tn. And, there is no magic potion that is going to transfer ownership of the school buildings to Brentwood, Tn. Instead, the city manager of Brentwood, Tn., acknowledged that they may have to pursue a lawsuit in order to attain the school buildings, though, contrary to the tone of Exum's article, Brentwood, Tn., is nowhere close to the point of even deciding that forming its own school district is something it really wants to do.
Fact checking isn't hard - it just takes a little time and effort. Hopefully, next time Mr. Exum writes an opinion piece he will refrain from spreading his fake news and provide his readers with something they can actually believe.
Elizabeth Baker
Signal Mountain