From Bill Freeman

Every time I read another negative report on the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, I feel like Bill Murray’s character in Groundhog Day.

In March, the Nashville Area Chamber, under the leadership of president and CEO Ralph Schulz, pulled yet another ill-considered move that has served to frustrate the Metro Council and apparently the mayor as well. The chamber began pushing legislation as an amendment to HB 2092/SB 2021 that would give county mayors the power to take over school boards of districts with a high number of underperforming schools. The mayor would have sole power to appoint and remove school board members. This particular model for oversight would allow voters and residents to hold the mayor fully accountable for results.

What’s wrong with this? 

First, if you’re planning legislation that is going to require the mayor to take full accountability over something, a heads-up to that mayor would seem necessary and appreciated. But Schulz did not inform Mayor John Cooper. You read that correctly. The chamber did not consult with the mayor or his administration regarding this legislation. According to Mike Jameson, Cooper’s director of legislative affairs: “The mayor is a strong supporter of [Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Adrienne Battle], a strong supporter of an elected school board and did not request this legislation.” 

Second, the Metro Council was so taken aback that a resolution was prepared, and on April 5, the council voted 23-1 to condemn the chamber’s efforts to push this proposed legislation, which would apply to any local district with at least 10 schools listed by the state as “failing” for three consecutive years. As The Tennessean reported, “The action highlights a policy rift between Nashville’s elected officials and the chamber, a nonprofit that receives public funds and acts as an economic development arm for the city.”

The council’s resolution was to halt the chamber’s “efforts to subvert democracy and eliminate the people’s voice in determining who serves on the Metropolitan Nashville Board of Public Education.” Those are strong words, and not something we should expect of our Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. But again, I feel like we relive this dissatisfaction over and over again. 

In May 2020, Cooper’s budget cut chamber support by 50 percent, which brought the chamber’s funds down to $175,000 annually. Today, with growing frustration in the community and among Metro Councilmembers, some feel even that is too much. Councilmember Zach Young has said the chamber receives six figures from the city and the mayor should rethink that. Of course, you would think if the chamber’s work or contributions had improved, so would the funds they receive from the city’s budget. Instead, we are seeing repeated disappointments from the chamber under Schulz’s leadership. 

And what are the hardworking school board members to think? MNPS board chair Christiane Buggs has referred to the chamber’s actions as “backroom dealing” to deny residents “their right to choose their representative on the school board.” 

The chamber’s push for legislation on education seems like an exclamation mark on a job already being poorly done. In some of my previous research, I found the chamber to be far less successful at bringing businesses and companies to Nashville than is the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. I read a recent report from the Nashville Business Journal on the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce that listed the group as the largest chamber in Tennessee based on their 2019 financials. That made me scratch my head. The Nashville Area Chamber defines itself as including Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties. That is a large and populous area to recruit membership revenue from, but the chambers of commerce in Rutherford, Williamson and Dickson counties were also on the same list of “largest chambers.” Does the Nashville Area Chamber truly belong at the top of this list, or was it there because other counties are pulling all the weight? 

As the old adage goes, behavior never lies. In this case, the actions of Schulz as president of the chamber have proven unimpressive, time and again. And as Councilmember Young asked, “Do we need to be allocating money to an organization that was actively lobbying against the interests of our own government and our own taxpayers?” 

It’s clear I’m not the only one who’s ready for a new day. 

Bill Freeman

Bill Freeman is the owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus, the Nashville Post and Home Page Media Group in Williamson County.