The following are the billing documents which prove the Michelle Watkins violated Board policy by using taxpayer funds to stay at a luxury resort on the beach while she was conducting official business. I have had these documents since September, 2022, and did not release them because I thought that Michelle was an advocate for the students and teachers of Huntsville City. Michelle was arrested for speaking truth to power. Unfortunately, apparently she has aspirations for higher political office. Andrea Alvarez admitted (see transcript of recording that is posted on another link from Andrea Alvarez) that she and Michelle got in a ‘screaming match’ because Michelle was in favor of firing the teacher who reported the mishandled sexual assault at Jemison. Michelle grew up ‘in the projects’ (she told me that when we met in person), so I was more willing to cut her some slack, because I know how many hours Board members work without pay. Unfortunately, spending $5,672.29 so you can stay in a 3 bedroom, 4 bath suite (which sleeps 8) is not being fiscally responsible with taxpayer money. This is not a matter of opinion. The documents are all public record. I’m disappointed that Michelle seems to care more about her political aspirations than protecting children and teachers. If you’re angry at me for sharing this data, then you might want to ask yourself whose side you’re on.

Michelle Watkins, Board Member

Interview field notes

August 23, 2022

Identifiers:

Jason O’Brien (OB)

Michelle Watkins (MW)

Carlita Collins (CC)

Assistant principal who MW called to get the phone to CC. Maybe Calandra Williams?

ACT Tutor woman who used “n-word” (ACT)—fill in her name for me, please

Irate Parent (IP) whose child was called the N word

(can you get the name of the kid who was insulted?)

MW informed me that one day she got a call on her cell phone from an irate parent. The parent said, “I am going to McNair so I can kick ACT’s ass.” IP relayed to MW that her son asked ACT if she would work with him on test preparation for the ACT test. She said that her son asked ACT if she would work with him to improve his scores and she replied, “N---a, please. Get your dumb black ass outta here.” (Make sure that’s correct). The child called IP upset and relayed the message. IP called MW on her drive to the school. MW called McNair and told (CW?) to put CC on the phone. When she was told that CC was unavailable, she told CW, “If she’s in the bathroom, take the phone to her.” CC answered the phone and MW asked if she knew that ACT used the n-word at a student. CC handed the phone to ACT and ACT admitted to MW that she did use the phrase. MW instructed CC to immediately ‘get her off the property.’ MW arrived at school and….

I can’t remember what happened at that point

MW reported to me that not only was ACT NOT fired, she was given additional access to McNair (I can’t remember the details, fill them in if you can). What I remember…

MW confronted ACT. CC and MW had verbal confrontation?

On Monday, December 31, 2018, MW was arrested for harassment. From the article:

Huntsville police told WHNT News 19 that Watkins’ arrest is in response to an incident she was involved in over two months ago during a school safety engagement forum at Jemison High School. Police say the person who filed the report got a warrant, which was served on Monday.

The harassment report came from the principal of Rolling Hills Elementary, Linda Burruss. The charge stems from an October 2018 incident at a school safety engagement at Jemison High School. Charges were later dismissed.

I need you to do the same thing with the Burruss incident. Call her LB.

Please don’t share this with anyone:

I have the top 25 district employee salaries. If you don’t know this, she is the 9th highest paid person in the district. She makes $137,030.

I want to see what her pay was each year, from 2015-2022…If there is a big bump AFTER you were arrested, that is one piece of evidence. Here’s another you don’t know, and that you cannot share with anyone.

In January, 2019, the month after you were arrested, Christie Finley went to the Board and got big raise for Tim Scott ($16,056.00) and Cathy McNeal ($11,743.00).

Tim Scott current salary: $167,359

Kathy McNeal current salary: $152,082

If you can get Burruss’s salary for those years and we can show that Scott and McNeal got raises at the same time, that looks like a payoff for doing the dirty work of the Committee of 100.

Please fill in the blanks in the story with Burruss and CC.

Also, between you and me, the District has been making threats at work that my work on the DAC can “harm the relationship between UAH and HCS.” This is to get me to stop.

Someone has disabled all District cell phones so they cannot communicate with my cell. I have proof of this, because an AP sent me two texts and I saw her and she said, “you never answered.” I said, “Show me your phone and she pulled it out and it said, “Jason O’Brien, DAC” and it had my correct number. She showed me the two texts she sent and they never made it to my phone. I also made an appointment to meet with another high level administrator who is not ‘on the take’ and we agreed to text to meet and he never answered. He never got my texts. It makes you wonder why the District is so afraid of me talking to people.

Last…if the District tries to harm me or my family in any way, I will release all the information that I have in a manner that ensures that it will make local, and maybe national news. I’m telling you this, because Tim Scott already tried to have me removed from the DAC, if anyone asks your opinion, you can share that I never lie and that I have enough that it wouldn’t be worth it. I have had a target on my back for the last four weeks and it has been pretty bad. All I’m trying to do is help kids and teachers.

OB interview with Andrea Alvarez: begin at 37:32 mark

AA: Here’s the deal, I have been very adamant that we do not retaliate. When I found out about XXXX (the teacher who reported the mishandled sexual assault at Jemison), I was pissed. That is why Michelle and I were in a screaming match, because I said ‘we are not doing this,’ we are not retaliating, you are not doing this. That’s why Kyle didn’t get in any trouble.

End transcription

Here’s a question for Andrea: Why would the Board retaliate against Kyle for reporting the truth? Here’s another question for Michelle: If you portray yourself as the champion of the African-American community in Huntsville, why would you want to punish a black teacher for reporting an attack on a black child, whose life has been ruined because no one believed her? Her mother did not believe her, so she was withdrawn from school and was locked down in her house and attended Virtual Academy.

When I told Chris Gregory about it, he said “I’m not sure that’s a DAC issue.”

It was a violation of the child’s civil rights. Do you think that would have happened in one of the non-Title I high schools?

Oh, wait. It did. The basketball player raped TWO students (there were at least four more) and was allowed to play basketball because the coach really wanted a chance at a state title. That’s on Pape, Finley, Greer, and the entire Board.

What you all don’t know is that my sibling was sexually abused by my stepfather for more than a year. When she told my mother, my mom said, “If I confront him, then your brother and I won’t have a place to stay.” I found out about this (from my sibling) in 2016 and have carried ‘survivor’s guilt’ about it every day since. My stepfather was NEVER allowed to touch me, although when he was angry at me, he would take off his belt and snap it menacingly while saying, “If it wasn’t for your mother, I would teach you a lesson with this.”

So when a teacher reported to me that Crystal Alexander made her delete pictures of belt whippings on a student, how do you think that made me feel? I’m sure none of you care, but if I know that adults are hurting children, I WILL NOT STOP. You can put me in jail (again) if you want, but I know that what I’m doing is the right thing, no matter the personal cost.

Remember the precious little girl on the spectrum with a 45 IQ that was brought back by someone from the neighborhood and Tim Scott didn’t tell her parents? That means she was left alone in a locked space, and she couldn’t tell anyone.

My stepfather’s preferred punishment for me was to lock me in solitary confinement in ‘the office’ for up to a week at a time. Does that help you all understand why I am so triggered by this type of abuse? I’m not going to apologize for advocating for children, especially the survivors of sexual trauma. When I was ten, I was sexually abused by a 14 year old, and I was so ashamed that I didn’t tell anyone until I was in my 30s. In fact, I repressed the memory and only brought it up when something reminded me of it. You all can disagree with my methods, but I have tried to give the Board and Pape the chance to do the right thing, and no one listened. I have an ethical obligation as a human being to tell the world about this stuff, and I’m not going to stop. Hate me if you want, but that’s always who I have been.