Board of Education member potentially faces second censure of career

The crowd at an emergency meeting of the Washington County TN Board of Education will likely be at capacity after several days of residents calling for the resignation of a member.

The board chair called for the session on Monday after a video of District 1 member Keith Ervin touching a student liaison of the council and calling her “hot,” with Chair Annette Buchanan saying Ervin’s words objectified and diminished a young woman publicly and were grossly inappropriate.

If Buchanan’s prediction of fellow members censuring Ervin comes to pass, it would be the second of his public service career— the first coming in 2009 after a David Crockett High School teacher reported Ervin made a sexual gesture in front of 15 students and two teachers while visiting the campus, according to an article published in the Johnson City Press.

Because of the incident, the story said Ervin was only allowed on school grounds if he was escorted by a supervisor.

“Investigators said those who witnessed the gesture were ‘stunned’ by Ervin’s behavior,” says the 2009 article. “Another teacher at (David) Crockett also said Ervin had used profanity in front of his students on several occasions. That same teacher also accused Ervin of harassment.”

(File photo)