A Guest Editorial on a Lauderdale Candidate

The following was sent to us by a former student of Gary Dan Williams. We did not solicit the editorial; however, we are happy to publish. Thoughts on other candidates for superintendent of Lauderdale County Schools are welcome.

Gary Dan Williams: Do you really know him?

The answer is more than likely, no. This man can sure talk the talk let me tell you. Think about it. Why would anybody that supposedly “built” a brand new career tech center in muscle shoals, up and leave the school he “created” for Waterloo taking a huge pay cut. Then he got ran off from Waterloo because of his arrogance. 

Let me tell you a few facts about “Dr. Williams” coming from muscle shoals school district. He tells you what you want to hear and gets you fooled. When he talks about supporting students and their careers that statement is false. He supports men in welding because he believes that’s the only trade that matters. He makes females in the career tech feel useless because he believes women should stay home and be pregnant and not have a job. He yells at teacher and students because he has no respect for them whatsoever. He’s arrogant. Point blank. 

Don’t believe me? Ask the people of muscle shoals. Ask the former students and see what they say because I guarantee you they will all say the same. He didn’t willing move to Waterloo. He was forced to leave muscle shoals because students, parents, and faculty have all had negative encounters with this man. He never once supported Skills USA, HOSA, etc. He only acknowledged these students competing if they won. But even if they won, it wasn’t because of him. It was because of the hard working teachers and students. He takes credit for success that shouldn’t be given to him that he didn’t earn. The students did. 

I remember vividly he walked in class one day, asked my teacher why we was listening to him. He asked why we thought he knew so much. Joking or not, you don’t talk like that in front of students about their teacher. He mocked students going down the hallway to I guess show his authority. One parent came to the school trying to fight Gary Dan because of how he talked to his son. He heard the conversation over the phone and showed up to confront him. Gary Dan ran around a cop car being chased by the parent because Gary Dan accused the parent of being “billy bad” which didn’t make the situation any better. 

He yelled at one teacher in his office with the door closed over a situation without the teacher being able to tell their side of the story. So loud we heard the yelling down the hallway outside his office. He came to the career tech a few months ago to a meeting and this teacher was out that day because they couldn’t stand to be in the same building as him. He told the students in cosmetology they “played with hair” and this wasn’t a career for them. He belittled us as students and we wasn’t supported. 

He hasn’t changed and will never change. He is doing this for himself. Not for the people of the community or for the school. He talks about not supporting consolidating the schools yet that is a state thing. He can’t control that. He talks about bringing all of this stuff to career tech that was already in place before he was involved like professional development. He talks about supporting these students that never felt support from him unless we was a welding student. If we wasn’t in welding, we was irrelevant. And he made it very clear. This isn’t the half of it. 

But know your candidate. Actually, Vote Gary Dan Williams and let’s see who he truly is. Maybe that’s what it will take for everyone to see the real him. The real arrogant, manipulative, liar he truly is. Ask around before you make a decision. Because I can promise you, he is a hateful man.