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Nashville Metro Schools really love paperwork

So way back last year we filled out all the info we needed for Maggie to go to school if she won the Metro Pre-K lotto. I documented quite a bit of what went into that fiasco where we had to get a school board member to intervene just to let us know she was registered.

During this fiasco I sat and filled out the paperwork for the school again, in person, at the school’s office and handed it in.

Last week we got a request for all the paperwork again. I dropped by the office a couple of times and each time there was nobody there during when I wouldn’t have to be taking off work so I sat on the paperwork for a week and a half.

Two days ago after once again gathering up all the info that’s needed (W2 copies, SSN, daycare expense report, etc) I went in as there were people in the office and there was an animated parent yelling. Seemed like an entertaining bit.

It was a kindergarten teacher berating the school for losing the paperwork that she’d filled out two times before. After a brief back and forth that person was done, and another parent stepped up and had the same complaint. By the time I got asked what was going on and I said I’m here to turn in the paperwork I’ve turned in twice before, there was a round of laughter behind me.

The person at the desk pointed that this was different paperwork than last year’s, and I mentioned that I had filled it out online, and in person here and had a picture of the paperwork I was filling out in my phone (it was actually on my Google Photos somewhere in the cloud, but who cares).

When they said again that last year’s paperwork was invalid I pulled the picture up, mentioned that I filled it out a month and a half before school, gave it to (name of person I gave it to,) and verified it with the school principal a week later when they still didn’t have an answer to whether my daughter’s application got screwed up.

They went back, pulled one bit of paperwork they had on her, and it was in my handwriting and from this current set of paperwork.

As I left the next parent in line dropped off paperwork and said that this was only the second time she’d had to fill it out this year.

Once again, I feel like everyone at MNPS seems to be on my kid’s side, but they’re all working to make everything as difficult as possible for everyone, including themselves.

Paul King

Paul King lives in Nashville Tennessee with his wife, two daughters and cats. He writes for Pocketables, theITBaby, and is an IT consultant along with doing tech support for a film production company.