Image Credit: Metropolitan Nashville Police Department / Facebook
Tennessee Conservative News Staff –
A former assistant principal of Antioch High School is suing the city, along with the school’s principal, after she says she now suffers from PTSD in the aftermath of the fatal school shooting that occurred last year.
In the lawsuit filed by Dr. Kelly Latham, she alleges that she ran towards the cafeteria – the area where the shooting took place – while Principal Dr. Nakesha Burnette ran away from the scene.
She claims that she saw the shooter turn the gun on himself and then was left alone to “take charge by organizing the evacuation and dismissal of students.”
The lawsuit says this was not the first time Burnette had responded in a similar fashion. Latham alleges that during a meeting on May 8, 2024, with assistant principals, Burnette received an alert on her phone that a student had a gun on campus. While Latham and another assistant principal ran to the scene, Burnette stayed in the conference room. It was discovered that the student actually had a water gun.
However, in a faculty meeting the following day, Burnette allegedly “falsely claimed she had responded by running to the incident, demonstrating concern for her image rather than the decisive action expected of an executive principal.”
The lawsuit claims that Burnette’s post-shooting incident behavior was a continued pattern of berating faculty and staff.
On January 24, Burnette allegedly called assistant principals into her office and “lashed out, yelling and crying, calling the administrators ungrateful, and stormed out of her office.”
She allegedly told Latham and other assistant principals to critique a teacher in front of students and then “loudly criticize the teacher in front of students, staff, and administrators.”
Latham says she filed an on-the-job injury claim in February after being diagnosed with PTSD but has received little communication regarding that claim. She requested to transfer to another school in March but all assistant principals were told in April that they would have to reapply for their jobs.
Latham was given a reprimand on May 7 for an incident that occurred in November 2024 and was not rehired for her position. The lawsuit alleges that Burnette told other schools that Latham “could not be trusted,” hindering her search for new employment.
Metro Nashville Public Schools has sought to have the lawsuit dismissed, stating that the allegations are “workplace disputes and personnel decisions that are, at most, unpleasant or unfair.”
Antioch High School faced another safety threat earlier this month when a note was found threatening violence on the school. MNPS says the note was investigated by Metro Police and the threat was determined to be a hoax.
