BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) - Blount County Schools Director Justin Ridge has called for the firing of Kathryn Goins, a tenured special education teacher, because of several disturbing incidents involving students dating back to 2020.

Ridge released a lengthy statement to the public and media after Thursday night’s school board meeting. In it, he said he had learned that Goins had been accused of “disturbing and unacceptable” conduct in the past, but leadership at the time had failed to correctly investigate or even notify law enforcement of.

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“What I have learned over the past few weeks has been difficult to process,” Ridge’s statement said.

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