Superintendent reacts to article claiming his school system is ‘worst in the state’

BRUCETON, Tenn. — A West Tennessee school district is working to save their reputation after an online article names their system the worst in the state.

“It kind of reflects a bad reflection on something not even close to being true,” Hollow-Rock Bruceton Special School System Director David Duncan said.

Duncan says the article was first published on 247wallst.com.

It claims the district had an 81 percent graduation rate in 2009 to 2010.

“In reality, our graduation rate for that year was 98.3 percent,” Duncan said.

Duncan says not only does the article state incorrect facts, but it completely overshadows school achievements.

“We were named an exemplary school this year by the state, and to have someone put something like that out there without even getting their facts right is discouraging,” he said.

Duncan says the article looked at categories such as student-to-teacher ratio and what advanced placement courses the district offers.

But Duncan says he could not find what source the article used for that information.

“I sent them everything, and the link to the state Department of Education that tells what our actual numbers were,” he said.

While the facts in the article might not be accurate, Duncan wants to remind parents and students what will remain true.

“This is the pride of the community and pride of everyone who works here,” he said.

Duncan says he sent an email to those in charge of the website with the correct information, but he had not heard back as of Monday afternoon.