Pendergrass sues School Board

School Board Member Vince Pendergrass is suing the Bledsoe County Board of Education, alleging the Board lacked legal authority to censure him last September and violated his due process rights in the process, according to Bledsoe County Chancery Court documents filed on January 14.

Board members Andy Billingsley, Vincent Boring, Stacy Farmer, Jacob Frady, Don Snow and Vince Pendergrass himself voted to approve the public censure of Pendergrass at a September 2018 hearing. His censure included a ban from all school grounds until the end of the fiscal school year, other than to attend Board meetings or meetings such as parent/teacher conferences. 

The censure arose after a formal complaint was filed by Bledsoe County Middle School Head Football Coach Thomas DeGenaro after an altercation at a football game last fall. DeGenaro’s complaint stated Pendergrass violated Board policy by following the coaches into the fieldhouse and failing to leave after being asked to do so multiple times.

For more, see the February 21 issue of The Bledsonian-Banner.