MNPS parents, teachers hold rally, urging school officials to return to the classroom and football field

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The decision to keep Metro Schools in a virtual setting through at least October isn't sitting well with some parents. To get their point across, some parents and teachers held a rally Monday.

Metro Schools parents and students said they could find no better place for the rally, than right outside Metro Schools headquarters, to make sure their elected school board members were listening to them as they pushed for a return to in person school.

School board member Fran Bush says a group of parents and students are currently talking to an attorney about possibly suing Metro Schools.

"We’ve had network outages, it's extremely difficult to navigate, and the quality of learning is sub par, its a ground floor learning," said parent Daniel Thorne, referring to the virtual online instruction MNPS is carrying out.

Meanwhile, student-athletes and their coaches are pushing for a return to the playing field, saying for some, their athletic highlight videos could make or break whether they go to college.

The Hillsboro High School Football coach says he wonders about the fairness of the situation for his public school athletes, when nearby Lipscomb Academy, a private school, is already playing football games.

"If it was such a problem, why are kids in the private school playing?" said Maurice Fitzgerald, the Hillsboro High Football coach. "They’re just as valuable as our kids, and we’re just as valuable as their kids."

Despite the turnout, several parents on social media have defended Metro Schools decision to delay in person classes.

Read more: 'We are really disabling them;' Upset parents plan rally in opposition to MNPS plan