Knox superintendent directs secretary on paid leave to return to work

UPDATE: Looks like she returns on Friday. RIGHT SMACK HERE.

Knox County Schools has told 52-year-old secretary Tina Needham she can now return to work. Needham has been on paid administrative leave from her job as a central office secretary for almost two and a half years and recently filed a federal discrimination complaint against the school system.

Superintendent Jim McIntyre sent an email to the school board on Friday stating he "assigned Ms. Needham to a vacant, budgeted clerical position in our Special Education Department here in the Andrew Johnson building. Ms. Needham has been directed to report back to work starting Tuesday."

You can read the entire story, which be broke Saturday, RIGHT SMACK HERE.

Whether she actually returns remains to be seen. Also, for all the folks out there complaining about supposedly dragging this lady's name through the mud, that's complete BS. She's being paid - with taxpayer money - to do absolutely nothing.

She's also been given ample opportunity to comment. TWO AND A HALF YEARS!

No one - no one - gets that kind of leave. 

The school administration dropped the ball with her right at the beginning when officials placed her on paid leave, they dropped the ball during settlement negotiations, and I suspect they'll drop it again. This isn't my opinion, either. This comes from both pro and con McIntyre supporters on the board of ed.

Emails: Safety concerns led to Knox Co. school secretary's paid leave

The latest in the Tina Needham saga. If you've been under a rock, she's the Knox County School secretary who has been on paid administrative leave for more than two years. The same person who has filed an EEOC complaint and thus will probably remain on paid administrative leave for another year.

Anyhoo, story, which details what actually led to her going on paid leave, is RIGHT SMACK HERE.

We asked the school system why she was placed on administrative leave and not on medical leave (as they've suggested that's the real reason she's not working).

In a statement from Jim McIntyre, the superintendent said administrative leave was the only option available to the system and that any other type of action must be initiated by the employee.

That is not the case. I'll leave it at that.

School secretary on paid admin leave for 2 years files EEOC complaint; $30K settlement offer off the table

Tina Needham, the Knox County Schools secretary who has been on paid administrative leave for more than two years, has filed a federal workplace discrimination complaint against the school system, according to county officials.

She is now not expected to accept a $30,000 settlement that the county offered her last month. And county officials say they wouldn't pay it anyway, since she filed the complaint.

In an email Monday to Board of Education members, Superintendent Jim McIntyre said the complaint was filed through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

McIntyre in the email said officials do not know the nature of the complaint, which has not been publicly released.

The county has received only a notice that it's been filed but not a copy of it.

However, documents previously obtained by WBIR 10News suggest that the complaint potentially focuses on age or some type of disability discrimination.

Check out the full story RIGHT HERE. 

School secretary on 2-year paid vacay could have returned to work 18 months ago; now offered $30K to resign

So, the Knox County Schools administrative secretary who has been on paid leave for two years was cleared to return to work - like 18 months ago!

Instead school officials said her fellow co-workers were scared of her, so they decdied to pay her to stay at home!

What????? Are you kidding me?

But, wait? I thought the school couldn't comment because of HIPPA rules???

Yeah. Heh.

And in the meantime, the school system is offering her $30,000 to go away.

I'm not so sure I'd take the money if I was her. I, mean, if the school system is determined to keep paying her a salary, then why bother?

I wonder if school officials should really be telling the public that they've cut spending "to the bone."

Here's the story RIGHT SMACK HERE.

Forget Tina! Mayor and Superintendent ready to duke it out over secretary

Jim versus Tim! Put 'em in a cage! In the center of Neyland Stadium!

Knox County Mayor Tim "Big Foot" Burchett and Schools Superintendent Jim "Slim" McIntyre have gotten into a battle of words over Tina Needham, the school secretary who's been on paid administrative leave

"The mayor stands behind his entire statement and believes as the general public does that every question raised remains relevant."

Early in the day, Burchett issued a press release that accused the Board of Education and the superintendent for creating the "mess" that has led to Tina Needham getting place on paid administrative leave for more than two years.

He noted that school officials, particularly McIntyre, blamed the matter on the county's Law Department, when the "school system employment decisions are the responsibility of the superintendent and school board, not the law department."

An hour later, the superintendent issued his own statement, saying that he found it "appalling" that Burchett commented "purely out of ignorance."

You can find the complete story RIGHT SMACK HERE.

I'm thinking that if I'm Tina Needham, I might go ahead, take whatever settlement is offered and run!