Tensions continue to mount in the Tanner community as the investigation into the high school’s principal Louis Gordon drags on and rumors swirl that he has already been replaced.

The Limestone County Schools system placed Gordon on paid administrative leave over three months ago after a group of Tanner school employees filed a series of grievances against the first-year principal. Tanner parents, students and community members gathered Monday in front of the Limestone County School’s Central Office, demanding LCS Superintendent Dr. Tom Sisk bring the investigation to a close and clear up the rumors regarding Gordon’s alleged replacement.

“My concern is that they (the county school district) had already made a decision about what they were going to do about Mr. Gordon before meeting with him so he could address the allegations against him,” Eddie Walton, Tanner parent and speaker at the protest, said. “Students are saying that their teachers and aides are telling them that an assistant principal at West Limestone was going to become the head principal there and that the head principal from West Limestone (Charlotte Craig) was going to move to the Limestone County Career Technical Center (Dr. Vince Green) would become the principal at Tanner.”

Sisk said via email that moving certified and classified employees around is just part of “the routine operation of a school system.”

“This could mean movement within the same campus or to another campus. This typically occurs during the summer months to address retirements and other employee-initiated moves,” Sisk said, adding employees are sometimes moved to give them “other opportunities.”

“For example, last year, a number of assistant principals were moved and paired up with new principals. It is my belief that this broadens their experience by exposing them to different leadership styles,” he said.

Sisk did not specify in the email which or how many assistant principals were moved. As to when the investigation into Gordon’s conduct will be complete, Sisk reiterated no timeline has been imposed and the investigation “will be concluded when it is concluded.”

Leon Steele said that’s not good enough. Steele is an executive member of the NAACP and was one of the speakers at Monday’s protest.

“If there was nothing in those investigations, why is it taking so long?” Steele asked.

Those investigations include informal and formal grievances filed against Gordon through the Limestone County Education Association by a group of disgruntled Tanner employees.

“Tommy Hunter (executive director of human resources and operations for Limestone County Schools) said there was no policy violation in the first set of grievances, so they came up with another set of complaints that were pretty much the same as the first,” Steele said. “They are just throwing things out there just looking for something to stick.”

For example, Steele said the formal grievance contained an unfounded accusation that Gordon’s wife is the niece of county school board chairman Charles Shoulders. Shoulders has since confirmed that he is not related to Gordon or his wife.

“It’s a joke,” Steele said. “I think those teachers who brought those complaints should be reprimanded or fired. And I blame Sisk for going along with this mess. It’s a waste of taxpayers’ money.”

Sisk declined to comment further about the investigation into Gordon but said it’s possible Gordon will be back this fall.

“Until I see a report, make a decision and the board upholds or denies my recommendation, that is a true statement,” Sisk said. “ No decision has been made or voted on. So with that in mind, there is a chance. In fairness, it could go either way. I have and will continue to keep an open mind on this matter until I have everything before me to consider. I will then make the best recommendation I can to the board.”

Meanwhile, some parents claim conditions at the school are deteriorating. Jennifer Lucas, mother of 16-year-old triplets who attend Tanner, said teachers are losing her daughters’ homework assignments and failing to enter grades into the iNOW system, an online portal that allows parents to check and track their child’s grades.

According to Walton, Gordon had implemented a system that required regular updates to iNOW.

“As soon as Mr. Gordon left, teachers stopped posting students’ grades every two weeks like they were supposed to,” Walton said. “I have had several other parents tell me their kids are failing because they are not finding out about their grades in time.”

Walton also said security at the school has become more lax since Gordon left, citing incidents of students leaving campus to go to lunch and visitors not checking in at the main office.

“We would like Mr. Gordon to come back,” Lucas said. “He set a standard and made the kids feel safe. They are telling me they are afraid, that they think the bullying will come back.”

Ultimately, the school board must vote on Sisk’s recommendations regarding Gordon’s fate. Gordon’s one-year probationary contract began July 1, 2017, which means the board will have to vote to either renew his contract or let him go before then. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Limestone County School Board is at 7 a.m. May 24, in the central office building, 300 S. Jefferson St., Athens.