Willco Civic Brew
Welcome to Wilco Civic Brew, a podcast blending community voices to educate, understand, and act on local issues, especially those related to public education in Williamson County. Hosted by former school board members Nancy Garrett and Jennifer Aprea, this podcast serves as a platform for dispelling misinformation and advocating for public education. Each episode dives into school board meeting recaps, interviews with key figures, and explores the intricate challenges and victories in our schools. Join us in making informed decisions and engaging in our community. Questions and feedback are encouraged at civicbrew@gmail.com.
Willco Civic Brew
PART 3: Science Textbook Selection Follow Up with Public Records Included
In this episode, we construct a timeline of Board Member emails and actions related to the controversial Science Textbook vote by reviewing legally obtained emails, and find out that
- The ex-officio board member on the committee was actually informed of the meetings more than the one time that was claimed
- The Board praised the efforts of the Textbook Committee at one meeting, but then began to point out "process improvements" at the 11th hour
- There was no public mention of selecting textbooks other than what the committee recommended until March 17, the night of the Board vote, even though consideration was being given to StemSCOPES behind the scenes via email prior to that meeting
- Over 85% of the emails sent from the community opposed the board decision, and many asked for the Board to take a revote to accept the committee's recommendations
- Even though the vast majority of emails received by the board asked them to reconsider this vote during the April meeting, none of the eight board members who voted to approve StemSCOPES brought it up for reconsideration
All emails used in this episode were obtained via public records requests per the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the podcasters and do not reflect the views of any other organization or person.
School Board Emails:
Click on this page, then scroll to the bottom for the “Email All Board Members” bar
School Board Members - Williamson County Schools
Jason Golden’s Email:
Compiled Public Records Request (note that this document is not in the chronological order that is discussed in the episode. These emails are in the order in which they were received via the public records request):
Combined Records Request April 25 2025 final.pdf
Podcast email: Civicbrew@gmail.com