5 key takeaways: Scathing audit details problems at Nashville schools

An scathing audit commissioned by the Nashville public schools board brought to light numerous issues surrounding the district's human resources department.

The audit by the law firm Bone McAllester Norton PLLC examined board policies on employment and a random selection of internal HR investigations, finding widespread problems in how staff conducted those inquiries.

The report included interviews with more than 40 "stakeholders" within the school system.

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The report found that morale has suffered due to communication issues between the highest levels of the administration, principals and other supervisors.

Director of Schools Shawn Joseph said in a Thursday interview that he hasn't seen the report but will use it to make improvements. He said the HR department has lacked resources for some time.

"Once I receive it, I will sit down with human resources, with our chief of operations and chief of schools and lay out a plan to make the recommended improvements that need to be made," Joseph said.

NASHVILLE SCHOOLS AUDIT:Nashville schools failed to follow own HR rules, hurting morale and hiring, new audit finds

So what's in the report? Here are five takeaways:

Communication issues

A perceived, if not actual, lack of communication regarding standards, procedures and expectations has led to low morale among employees.

That led to a perception that the district has not followed its own procedures and policies, the report found. The report said there was a feeling that Joseph did not address those concerns.

Those concerns persist throughout elementary, middle and high schools, evidencing low morale, the report found.

"While this low morale does not relate only to human resources practices and procedures, a majority of the consternation felt by MNPS employees revolves around talent acquisition and the hiring process," the audit found.

Delays in hiring and issues with pay

Principals and community superintendents said the hiring process is complicated and well-qualified teacher applicants do not take jobs with the district due to HR delays.

Principals said they are responsible for interviewing candidates, but recommendations are sometimes not acted upon for days or weeks by the human resources department.

The report said those issues led to the loss teachers who took jobs in other districts and to an inability to fill hard-to-fill jobs in areas such as science.

Previous audit: Nashville schools need to tighten purchasing procedures

Several principals said that, while they were at the very top of the pay scale based on education and experience, there were other principals with less experience and education whose salaries were higher, according to the report.

The report recommended the district immediately conduct a complete audit to determine any outliers.

"Should the audit reveal such discrepancies, all salaries should be brought into compliance with the pay scale as published by MNPS," the report said. "To do otherwise would be unconscionable."

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Issues with human resources investigations

A portion of the review focused on HR investigations and found that there is "virtually no consistency in the way investigations are completed by individual investigators." Some investigators used forms, while others used no documents at all. 

Many of the people tasked with completing investigations had little or no formal training on how to conduct a thorough and professional investigation, the audit found.

It said investigators routinely failed to properly date or sign notes about investigations. Some files contained Post-it notes.

Reporting to Tennessee's State Board of Education

The report also found that the district is considered an outlier in how it reports to the Tennessee State Board of Education.

When a state licensed employee is placed on leave, suspended or recommended for charges of dismissal, the director should immediately report that to the state's licensure office, according to state board rules.

A final report and action by the director should also be reported to the state education department. The report found that required reports were not made or were delayed pending final action.

The state board also notified Joseph that his educator license was under review in January.

Joseph under review:State education board reviewing whether to discipline Nashville schools Director Shawn Joseph

Nashville public schools spokeswoman Dawn Rutledge said in January that the district is working closely with the state board to address any concerns. Joseph said he is committed to resolving any issues.

A review of HR investigations in August by The Tennessean found Joseph reported only one educator misconduct case — despite 19 educators being suspended, fired or resigning after district investigations during the 2017-2018 school year. Two other teachers were recommended for review of termination by Metro Legal.

In response to the August report, Rutledge said the district found that "a handful of cases which should have been reported to the state were not properly reported."

School board politics

The audit is sure to fuel further divisions on the nine-member board.

So far, Board members Amy Frogge, Jill Speering and Fran Bush have called for the firing of Joseph.

Tensions fly:Nashville schools board has contentious night as group calls for Director Shawn Joseph's ouster

But in an interview Thursday, Board Chair Sharon Gentry sent a shot across the bow at fellow board members, accusing one of them for leaking the report to the media to "weaponize it to malign the reputation of the leader of this district during budget season."

Gentry, who supports Joseph, did not say who specifically she thought leaked the report.

Gentry and a district lawyer on Wednesday declined to release the report, citing attorney-client privilege. The audit was first reported by NewsChannel 5 and independently obtained by The Tennessean on Thursday morning.

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Reach Jason Gonzales at jagonzales@tennessean.com and on Twitter @ByJasonGonzales.