More than 150 people packed the room for a contentious Nashville school board meeting Tuesday night amid an ongoing controversy over a board member's call for those opposed to Director of Schools Shawn Joseph to attend wearing masks out of fear of retaliation.

Earlier in the week, board member Jill Speering, who is opposed to Joseph's leadership, encouraged supporters to attend and wear masks to protect their identities. The move, which Speering said was misinterpreted, raised concerns from a colleague about the issue of race.

Board member Christiane Buggs said she was "disappointed" by Speering's actions.

"I was embarrassed, not because she was encouraging community members to take a stand, but because her task was essentially asking the community to do the job we have been asked to do," Buggs said at the beginning of the meeting.

Speering texted supporters in recent days, calling on them to stand with "teachers and parents" to support the motto "we need new leadership."

Speering suggested district teachers afraid of facing repercussions for supporting new leadership to wear masks.

After the meeting, Joseph said he was disappointed that people did not realize masks could be offensive, but said he had to have a thick skin as the director.

"If there's anywhere we can change things, it's in Nashville. I wouldn't be here if I didn't think we could change," he said. "We're here to do hard work, and when you do hard work, not everyone agrees with you."

He said he is optimistic for 2019 and encouraged the community to collaborate, even if they disagree with him.

"Protest to get teachers raises," he said, "or to find ways to help us raise achievements."

Protesters all for focusing on children

No one was seen wearing a mask during the meeting.

Only one person who took the floor during the public comment portion of Tuesday's meeting specifically called out Joseph's leadership as a problem, but she said she had not heard about the masks or the text message until after the meeting.

Kelly Watlington, a parent of an MNPS student, said she signed up to speak Tuesday immediately after the December board meeting.

She does not support Joseph's leadership but hopes mainly to act as a voice for teachers, who she said are too worried about retaliation to speak out.

"It was really disappointing to see board members be overly hostile to each other. At this point, honestly, I would be satisfied if he would end his tenure at the end of the four years, which is two years from now," Watlington said.

During her statements, several members of a parent organization chanted over her words.

They say that they are neither for or against Joseph — they want the board to focus on students.

"The energy the school board is using to fight with each other, they should turn that to getting schools off the priority list," parent Francheska Offutt said. Offutt is part of a parent activist group in attendance Tuesday.

Board chair Sharon Gentry echoed those sentiments in comments toward the end of the meeting.

"For those of us at this table who are so woefully disappointed in the leader we hired with a 9-0 vote, there are a couple of things I need you to do," Gentry said. "If we're that frustrated and disappointed, you can come to this table at any time and make the motion, and we can discuss it and move forward."

Criticism of leadership at forefront in December

At the school board meeting in December about 10 people showed up to protest Joseph's leadership. But Speering called for a much larger crowd this time, and Joseph's supporters indicated on social media they would be there in support of him as well.

"Can you bring 5 parents or teachers? We need 200 participants," Speering said in the text. "If teachers are fearful to reveal their identity, please wear a mask. This will make national news! Please do not share on social media."

"I don't know whether Mrs. Speering made the connection between masked protest she encouraged and those of yesteryear held by the Ku Klux Klan and chose to dismiss it," Buggs said. "The behavior exhibited by sending these messages are in direct violation of board policies."

Joseph told The Tennessean in an emailed statement that adults should be able to work together civilly and respectfully even when they disagree.

"A call to wear masks in public reminds many citizens of a particularly dark time in our country’s history," Joseph said ahead of the meeting. "Nashville is better than this. We need to set a better example for the students, families and staff members who are watching."

Several representatives from the local chapter of the NAACP were in attendance.

"I was an MNPS student in the 1970s, I integrated a school. It disgusted me, it brought me back to the dog days of that fright," said Barry Barlow, chair of the NAACP religious affairs committee and president of the MNPS parent advisory council.

Speering said her text was taken out of context, and she is not spearheading the effort to bring people to the meeting. She said she sent the text on behalf of stakeholders who want new leadership, including teachers and parents who support teachers.

Speakers condemn infighting

Joseph is under contract and the agenda did not call for a vote on his future.

But the public participation portion of the agenda included speaking time for MNPS parent Ashley Haugen, who delivered blistering criticisms of Joseph and the district at a recent meeting. After The Tennessean's initial story was published, Haugen sent an email saying she no longer planned to speak.

"Rather than being a part of furthering the drama created by and surrounding the school board and its director, I'm more interested in refocusing my efforts on supporting the district's staff and students in an effort to make their experience as positive as possible," Haugen said.

Joseph supporter Rev. Sonnye Dixon took the floor Tuesday, too.

Dixon pushed back against the mentality that the board's only employee, and responsibility, is the director of schools.

"You don't have one responsibility, you have 88,000 responsibilities (in the district). You have 10,000 people looking to you for help," he said. "You can fire this man (Joseph) tonight but if you all don’t have a clear vision, it doesn’t matter who you bring in. We are looking to you all to do your job."

Faith leaders, local members of Joseph's college fraternity and the Nashville area chapter of the NAACP attended the meeting in support of Joseph.

Metro council member Ed Kindall took the floor during the public comment of the section, flanked by three other council members.

"I was with the school board for 27 years. When I watch these meetings lately, I am disgusted. It makes it harder for us to get public funding for the board," Kindall said.

Controversial tenure

Joseph's leadership of the district has divided the school board with board members Amy Frogge, Fran Bush and Speering for new leadership. In 2016, Joseph was unanimously hired by the school board, but his critics have accused him of cronyism and incompetence, including hiring friends and not following proper protocol for awarding contracts.

Speering said she is concerned about a series sexual violence lawsuits filed against MNPS, including some under Joseph's leadership. As of mid-2018, the district was the subject of five sexual violence lawsuits filed by anonymous students alleging they were harassed or assaulted at school.

There have also been a series of lawsuits filed by former employees against MNPS alleging sexual harassment.

Speering, who is recovering from surgery, was not at Tuesday's meeting.

A Metro ordinance forbids masks, hoods or other devices to cover a person's face while on public property.

"No person, while masked, shall be or appear on or in any public place in the metropolitan government area," the 1990 law states.

Reach Nate Rau at 615-259-8094 and nrau@tennessean.com. Follow on Twitter @tnnaterau. Reach Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms.