Image Credit: Washington County School Board
Tennessee Conservative News Staff –
Parents and community members are seeking action after a Washington County school board member was caught on video making an inappropriate comment to a student during a recent school board meeting.
During the board’s April 2 meeting, board member Keith Ervin can be seen touching the arm of the student seated next to him and can be heard saying, “God, you’re hot. Do you know that? Where do you go to school at?”
The meeting was streaming on YouTube, and laughter can be heard from others while nothing was said about his comment.
School board Chair Annette Buchanan has called for an emergency board meeting, to be held Wednesday night. Buchanan says she expects that the board will decide to censure Ervin.
Buchanan released the following statement on Monday:
“On Thursday, April 2, 2026, one of our colleagues, Keith Ervin, made a grossly inappropriate comment toward our student board member. Mr. Ervin has explained that he meant nothing offensive and that we have simply misunderstood his intentions. Mr. Ervin knows his own intentions, but the rest of us have to judge his words and his actions. What we saw was shocking. He objectified and diminished a young woman publicly. No explanation can justify that. I have called an emergency meeting of the Washington County Board of Education for Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at 4:00 pm to address this matter. I anticipate that the board will consider and approve a motion to censure Mr. Ervin for his comments. As the chair of the board of education, I greatly appreciate the support the community has shown for our school system and the advocacy so many have shared in support of the board approaching this matter head-on. We are committed to being worthy of your trust.”
In addition to the emergency meeting, an online petition was created in an effort to have both Ervin and Superintendent Jerry Boyd removed from their positions.
“It is imperative that we take action now to hold these officials accountable. We demand the immediate removal of both Jerry Boyd and Keith Ervin from their positions on the Washington County Board of Education. Their continued presence undermines the trust and safety of the students they are meant to serve,” the petition states.
Tennessee law does not make an allowance for an elected official to be removed except by a recall. In order to do that, someone from Ervin’s district would need to obtain signatures from registered voters totaling two thirds of the votes cast in the election.
Ervin has already submitted his petition to run again in the upcoming election.
Sources:
https://wcyb.com/news/local/petition-seeks-removal-of-washington-county-tennessee-school-officials
