Warning: Explicit Content, Reader Discretion Strongly Advised!
Image Credit: Jefferson County Schools, TN – YouTube
Tennessee Conservative News [By David Seal] –
Before School Board Member Paul Hardy (R-Strawberry Plains) read snippets from a book that his teenage son was required to read as part of a course at Jefferson County High School, he asked if any children were present in the meeting room.
He wanted to share some of what he characterized as “disgusting” text and feared that youngsters seated in the viewing gallery may hear age-inappropriate language as he was reading.
We too warn the readers of this article that some of the themes are adult in nature, involve demeaning vocabulary and profanity, and describe violence.
No children were present when Hardy’s reading took place.
One of the points that Hardy made during the meeting was that students are sometimes assigned reading materials that describe violence in graphic detail, describe student-on-student bullying, including specific details about how student victims would be bullied and murdered, and the trauma associated with violent behavior. He contends that students are hearing these accounts in their assignments as bullying incidents are rampant in the school system.
Hardy added that Jefferson County Schools started providing student mental health services in each school within the district in 2019, and that bullying incidents have doubled since that time, adding to his concerns over decision making within the district. “I feel having stakeholders’ part of the decision-making process is vital, considering whoever is already making the decisions of these books cannot be trusted in my opinion.”
References to specific pages were provided to The Tennessee Conservative News by Hardy for the construction of this article, one of which describes the argument and altercation between two parents from the prospective of their child. “Mom bolted out of the car and ran into the darkness. You crazy bitch! Dad hollered. Get your goddam ass back in this car!”
Hardy read aloud in the school board meeting the following passage from one of the pages he provided for review. “Dad stuck his head out the window as he drove, hollering at Mom, calling her a “stupid whore” and a “stinking cunt” and ordering her to get back in the car, then jammed down on the accelerator and popped the clutch.”
Another passage shared with the school board described a violent confrontation between two characters in the book. “Suddenly, one of Mom’s oil paintings came flying through an upstairs window. Next came her easel. The crowd below scurried back to avoid getting hit. Then Mom’s feet appeared in the window, followed by the rest of her body. She was dangling from the second floor, her legs swinging wildly. Dad was holding her by the arms while she tried to hit him in the face. Help! Mom screamed. “He’s trying to kill me!” “Goddammit, Rose Mary, get back in here!” Dad said.”
The bullying account from the book that Hardy spoke about in the board meeting was described as a plot by youngsters to murder other children. “Brian explained how we could make a catapult, like the medieval ones we’d read about, by piling rocks on the mattress and rigging it with ropes looped over tree branches. We quickly assembled the contraption and tested it once, jerking back on the ropes at the count of three. It worked – a minor avalanche of rocks rained down on the street below. It was, we were convinced, enough to kill Ernie Goad and his gang, which was what we fully intended to do: kill them and commandeer their bikes, leaving their bodies in the street as a warning to others.”
Hardy had been trying to obtain a state approved reading list for two weeks prior to the May 26, 2026, school board meeting. As of the publication date of this report, no list has been provided to him, state or local.
“There is no clear answer to the question of who approves reading materials within the school system.”
“I am concerned about how our district’s English Language Arts (ELA) books are chosen. My understanding is that there is a local District committee that chooses from a list of approved books from the Tennessee Department of Education. But, I have yet to be given a direct answer as to who is on the committee, how this committee is chosen, when this committee meets to review books or even to whom they report their recommendations to.” – said Hardy
A video recording of the school board meeting from the Jefferson County School District is provided here.
The Tennessee Conservative News reached out to Director of Jefferson County Schools, Dr. Tommy Arnold, requesting the name, or names, of who authorized use of the book that Hardy referenced. As of our publication deadline, no response has been received.
Updates will be published as data, and answers to our questions are made available by the school system. We express our appreciation to School Commissioner Paul Hardy for the exclusive interview for the making of this article.
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and past Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a citizen lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level. David is also a 2024 winner of The Tennessee Conservative Flame Award & has received an accolade from the Institute For Justice for successfully lobbing the TN legislature to protect property rights. David can be reached at david@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
