Heads of the Class

Board Games

James Lech has a Vanderbilt doctorate in education, and he's not afraid to talk about it. He isn't afraid to use it, either, which is exactly what the school board candidate plans to do, should he win the District 9 (Hillwood, Sylvan Park) position on Aug. 7. Lech is one of six—including an academic dean, retired math teacher and the state Board of Education's general counsel—competing for the district seat vacated by chairwoman Marsha Warden.

As the Nashville school district struggles with a series of well-publicized failings and a furious racial battle over zoning, more candidates than usual are angling to be elected to its nine-member board. All of the odd districts—1, 3, 5, 7 and 9—have empty seats. The incumbents from districts 1 and 9, George H. Thompson III and Warden, have opted out of what is being heralded as "the most important race in our city's history"—by Lech, at least. Warden, who was portrayed by a recently released memo from former schools director Pedro Garcia as conspiring to move black kids out of the Hillwood cluster, has endorsed Lee E. Limbird.

Many candidates have avoided stating outright their opinions of the three major issues this year, namely the school system's descent into corrective action status, the racially charged rezoning plan and the search for a new director of schools. While the incumbents and those with past political experience seem wary to tell it like it is, candidates new to the school board race are more likely to be, well, honest.

The persuasive Lech, the director of urban planning for Millersville, Cross Plains and Hohenwald, is a member of the latter group of challengers. He says the fact that the state has to monitor the public school system marks an "absolute, unmitigated, unmollified disaster." He projects that property tax revenues will plummet because families will not want to move to a city with a poor school track record. "Nashville will be known as the largest failing [district] in the United States. Everything we've done to raise our profile will be washed away," he says. "Welcome to Nashville; our schools are failing."

Sounding a tad rosier, William D. Mason Jr., contender for District 1 (Cumberland, Wharton in North Nashville), is encouraged by the state's intervention with the school board. "Anytime you can get outside help is great," he says. "It's not time to be pointing fingers; it's time to get the job done."

The job he refers to is the most immediate problem facing MNPS: The district failed to meet No Child Left Behind requirements for four consecutive years because of low student test scores and, under the law's sanctions, the state Education Department now controls spending and hiring in the district.

"I think what Connie Smith is doing, working with the district and the board, is a good thing," said District 9 write-in candidate and general counsel for the State Board of Education Rich Haglund. "I think that having the state get involved that way probably helps to make changes because the state can be the bad guy, [which] buys political cover."

Tim Coleman, a Berry Hill police officer and District 3 (Hunters Lane, Whites Creek) candidate challenging incumbent attorney Mark North, says that he wants to say "Tennessee you later" to the state. "It's sad to see this level of involvement. We're dropping the ball somewhere."

That somewhere could be the search for the next superintendent. The district is currently in a blackout period, meaning that no contract can be offered.

District 1 contender Sharon Dixon Gentry has an established political past, working on her husband Howard Gentry's campaigns for council member-at-large, vice mayor and mayor. Much like her husband, she is tame in her remarks and careful with her word choice, saying that an excellent point for voters to keep in mind when they cast their ballot is that the individuals elected to the school board will be selecting the superintendent. Thanks for the tip. Gentry also adds that the board must hire "the right kind of somebody." As you might have guessed, given her keen level of insight into education matters, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce's SuccessPAC—a political action committee formed for school board elections—gave Gentry its backing.

The chamber released its endorsements of Gentry, North and little-known Cordenus Eddings last Thursday afternoon. Eddings is challenging District 7 (Hume-Fogg, Pearl-Cohn) incumbent Ed Kindall, who failed to receive the chamber's blessing just days after voting against the rezoning plan. SuccessPAC did not make an endorsement in District 5, as incumbent Gracie Porter runs unopposed, and it endorsed both Limbird and Alan Coverstone for District 9.

That controversial rezoning plan, which clearly influences chamber endorsements, is the biggest issue in District 1 in North Nashville, says its board member George Thompson.

Even before last Tuesday's vote, zone lines have already been altered in the Antioch, Hunters Lane, McGavock, Stratford and Pearl-Cohn clusters for the 2008-09 school year. Then six months ago, the board selected a task force to consider future changes, which resulted in the new rezoning plan. At last week's meeting, the board passed the contentious, multimillion-dollar plan by a 5-4 vote, and it will take effect in the 2009-10 school year. Most of the controversy has centered on whether the plan will resegregate the predominantly black Pearl-Cohn and predominantly white Hillwood areas.