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.

When asked why there were so many candidates in this year's election, Kindall points to the invisible hand of the downtown business community. "My understanding is that there was an effort of certain people in the community to get people to run." He says that District 4 board member Steve Glover informed Garcia that he was working with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce to have opponents run against Thompson and Kindall.

There were two efforts made to delay the vote on the rezoning plan, adding to the drama of the evening. Lech calls Tuesday's meeting "provocative, like watching Inherit the Wind. A very Southern showdown."

Coleman and District 9 Candidate Paul Brenner are in favor of the rezoning as long as it avoids "classing," Coleman says.

"I don't think rezoning is leading to segregation. I think where you live sets up your segregation," says Brenner, a retired Glencliff math teacher.

District 1 candidate Barry Barlow, however, believes quite the opposite: "Rezoning actually results in all-out segregation." He says it is paramount for the district to mirror the diverse racial makeup of the city itself. But he also stresses the importance of an educational community that accepts and understands one's culture. For example, he says, he talks with his hands as a way of expressing himself. "Doesn't mean I'm gonna jump you."

It's important, he says, for black and white teachers alike to pay attention to students of all races, as the collective test performances affect the district as a whole. He explains that several black teachers have told him they've noticed their white colleagues now making an effort to reach out to each individual student, regardless of race.

"Because everybody wants good numbers, those students are actually being taught [rather] than pushed to the side," says Barlow. "Some of these white educators, they think, are changing their ways."

But the school choice is up to the family, Brenner says. "There are more people these years who can move where they want to move and live where they want to live."

The data-driven Lech disagrees. He says that younger students should attend schools closest to them and then be bused in the later years when diversity is shown to have a greater impact on student achievement. Parents won't get involved in their children's school if it is across the city, since the lower-income families typically drive earlier cars with poor gas mileage, he says.

Barlow believes that incentives for parents are key to long-term involvement. "Maybe we need to say, if you start helping your child, getting grades up, maybe get some donor to send this parent out to a dinner. I think the more elaborate we make it, the more involved they're going to get." He also suggests offering a Nintendo Wii to parents as reward for their involvement.

District 9 hopeful and Montgomery Bell Academy Academic Dean Alan Coverstone said simply that he wants strong schools, and that a rezoning plan should be the result of greater collaboration.

"You shouldn't be just boxed in or ringed in and forced to go to a school.... Build the school up first and make it a place where people want to go."

The biggest challenge facing the district is the negative momentum, says Tim Coleman's opponent, Mark North, who also served as the task force's chairman. "When things go poorly, when test results aren't good, that feeds the perception, perception feeds the reality and things go from bad to worse."

In Lech's opinion, it will take an influx of teaching assistants and at least 20 years to get the district to meet the No Child Left Behind requirements.

"One of the worst school system failures in the country is happening right here," says Lech, who explains that he attends the school board meetings since he hasn't owned a TV in 18 years. "And that's optimistic." n

Boy Wonder James Lech

The Challenger Barry Barlow

photo: eric england

photo: eric england