Tensions continued to rise Tuesday as the Limestone County NAACP staged another protest outside the Limestone County school board offices in Athens, demanding answers to why Tanner High School Principal Louis Gordon was placed on paid administrative leave last week.

Noise from late-morning traffic on Jefferson Street nearly drowned out Benard Simelton, president of the state board of the NAACP, as he called on Dr. Tom Sisk, superintendent of Limestone County Schools, to recommend Gordon’s reinstatement.

Simelton told the crowd of Gordon supporters, “We are not getting good regress with the Limestone County Board of Education, and we are going to appeal to the State Board of Education. We are going to press this issue until we get results. We believe this man should hold onto his position.”

He said the case has been brought to the attention of the Office of Civil Rights at the United States Department of Education.

Gordon was placed on paid administrative leave March 12 while Tommy Hunter, director of human resources for Limestone County Schools, investigates 21 grievances Tanner employees lodged against Gordon.

Simelton said the NAACP has determined these complaints are unfounded, claiming Gordon has become a target for a “small group of people who don’t like him, haven’t liked him from the beginning and are trying to get him removed.”

Saying Gordon’s removal is racially motivated, Simelton pointed to Dr. Casey Lewis, an African-American who was fired from his position as principal of Johnson Elementary School after purchasing an electronic sign for the school. In November 2012, the Limestone County school board voted 6-1 to fire Lewis after it was determined he violated board policy when he failed to secure written bids for the sign instead of verbal ones.

Leon Steele, a member of the NAACP and speaker at the protest, said the treatment of Lewis and Gordon proves the board is exhibiting a pattern of systemic racism.

“We have seen several cases now where African-Americans have been dismissed for frivolous reasons,” Steele said.

During Tuesday’s protest, Simelton said the NAACP is also concerned the Limestone County school system lacks diversity among its teachers and administrators.

“We (the NAACP) have worked tirelessly with the Limestone County board to bring diversity to Limestone County schools, but we have not made significant progress,” he said. “Our schools are not diversified.”

Simelton also said, “We believe it is important for African-American students to learn also from African-Americans who look just like them and other students to learn from African-Americans in the position of teachers and administrators.”

Eddie Walton, a Tanner parent and the pastor of New Beginnings Covenant Ministries in Belle Mina, showed up at the protest to pray with Gordon supporters and voice his opinion. Walton said nearly 67 percent of Tanner High School is comprised of minorities.

Directing his frustration at the Central Office, he said, “What type of message is the Limestone County board and our superintendent giving our students if you hire a professional who performs on the job, does an excellent job and then you remove him without a cause?”

Walton, whose sister is a sophomore at Tanner, said, “I want an answer. I want him reinstated.”

There was agreement among the crowd that Gordon wasn’t given a fair shake despite the many positive changes he brought about at the school, changes Gordon supporters say were encouraged by the county superintendent.

Simelton referenced a statement he said Sisk made when Gordon was hired. In it, Sisk said, “We hope that because he has a rich experience in a low economic area where we struggle a little bit, he will put his experience to work at Tanner High School.”

Delores Fletcher, a Tanner graduate whose three daughters also graduated from the school, said she believes Gordon was placed on temporary leave because some of the teachers at Tanner did not want to change.

“They wanted Mr. Cleveland (the assistant principal at Tanner who was also considered for the position) because he would have done things just like Billy Owens (the former principal of the school),” she said. “But I saw it in my children, the education just wasn’t there anymore, and when Mr. Gordon came in and demanded more from the teachers, their feelings got hurt. It hurt their pride.”

Attempts by the NAACP to meet with Sisk following the peaceful protest were unsuccessful. According to an administrative assistant at the Central Office, Sisk was in Montgomery for the day.

Hunter listened to questions from NAACP members and protesters who had gathered in a small waiting room, but he declined to answer, referring them to Sisk.

Fletcher objected.

“The climate and unrest at the school is in the community also,” she said. “I am speaking to you so that you can let your cohorts know that we are very displeased with the way things went just because of the way things went.”

She added, “We need to know and we need to know quickly (what Sisk’s recommendation will be regarding Gordon). The school year is almost up. We have kids who are about to graduate. There is no sense in the world for you to do this. There was no sense in the world to do this in the beginning when he hadn’t even been given a chance.”

Walton said he wants to keep the issues surrounding Gordon in the media and he plans to continue to protest until the Tanner community gets some answers from Sisk.