The Rutherford County Library System Board voted Monday to fire Luanne James, the now-former RCLS library director, who refused to move more than 100 books from the children’s to the adult section after a Board decision.
On March 18, James emailed the Board that she “will not comply with the Board’s decision” and that she is “professionally and ethically bound to uphold the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.” The Board fired James in an 8-3 vote at its emergency meeting called by Board chairman Cody York, following James’s refusal.
“I stand by my decision,” James said during the meeting before the vote. “I will not change my mind.”
The audience packed the Rutherford County Courthouse, spotting the seats with white and purple shirts to represent their disapproval or support for James, respectively. Ten Rutherford County residents expressed their opinions during a public comment section, with only two speaking in favor of James’s firing.
“There are likely a lot of other opinions that you’ll hear tonight from speakers, but I’d like to remind you of a few things,” Caleb Tidwell, a Rutherford County School Board member who spoke during public comment, said. “First, follow the law. … The courts are on your side in this issue. A lot of recent cases have been in your favor. You’re doing the right thing, and you’re protecting the children.”
Tatiana Silvas, a teacher at Stewarts Creek High School, also spoke during the public comment, quoting statements from Board members about James during her hiring process in the summer of 2025. The statements all spoke highly of James and her hiring.
Silvas expected the Board to fire James, but was still hoping the members would retain her. The Board is taking away “one of the last places” where kids can go for free and access information, Silvas said.
“They walk out, and they’re smiling, and they’re stretching, and they’re waving at us ‘cause they could give two flying figs about them [LGBTQ+ students],” Silvas said while beginning to tear up. “They want them to be shoved in a closet, and they don’t want them to exist. And that’s disgusting.”
Glen Cotant, an attendant wearing a white shirt and holding a handmade sign that read “Things society does not give kids: drugs, alcohol, porn, gender lies!,” believed the Board made the right decision to fire James to provide a “safe space for children.”
Cotant hopes to see the future director follow Tennessee law and what elected officials decide.
“We have a democracy here,” Cotant said. “We have elected officials, and they are obligated to set the guidelines under legal confinement. So, hopefully, they’ll find a good person for that.”
Before the vote to fire James, the Board entered into a private executive session, where they spoke with Larry Crain, a First Amendment lawyer whose firm provides “legal guidance from a Biblically-informed perspective.” Cody York, the RCLS Board chair, contacted Crain for the meeting, telling the Board in an email on March 25 that the contract the Board has with the American Center for Law and Justice — the current provider of legal advice for the RCLS Board — would not cover employment law.
The RCLS Board voted to approve spending money on Crain’s counsel, but members were only given one option to decide from for the vote.
Lynn Reynolds, a Board member appointed in January, disapproved of only having one option, calling for a more transparent process for selecting counsel. She also said that Crain held Christian nationalist beliefs that she did not agree with.
“We have one choice tonight, a guy who has a point of view that is so far away from my point of view of life,” Reynolds said. “And I’ll be voted out because that’s how this Board is set up. It’s set up as a majority for the Christians. … This is such a setup. I cannot even believe it.”
Reynolds was one of the three Board members to oppose James’s firing, joining Allison Belt and Angela Frederick. After the vote to fire James, Rutherford County sheriffs quickly escorted James out of the room, and the Board was met by cheers and boos from the audience.
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