Headbanging Change Agents

By Kleinheider Posted on December 22, 2008 at 7:20 am

Metro Councilwoman Emily Evans on the school boards decision to offer Jesse Register a shot at turning around Metro Schools:

In Tennessee, the operating political theory is “ease along.” We like change agents but we like ones that can get things done using consensus, team building and compromise with a little bit of but kicking in the background. That isn’t the sort of thing that gets you on the cover of Newsweek but it tends to work with the particular personality that is Nashville’s.

So, the decision is made. Let’s all get behind the new Director, do what we can to make him successful and hold him accountable. And with a little luck and elbow grease we will ease along to a better school system.

SEE ALSO:
City Paper editorial
Jeff Woods

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Tags: headbanging change agent, Jesse Register, Metro Schools, school board  

The Devil Wears Lipstick?

By Kleinheider Posted on July 10, 2008 at 10:06 am

Janell Ross reports on the still hot controversy over the school board member Karen Y. Johnson, the only black member of the board to vote for a proposal many say will result in the re segregation of Metro schools:

“It seems we’ve got a few Aunt Jemimas and Stepin Fetchits in this city,” said Roger Ligon, a prominent black contractor who attended Tuesday’s meeting. “I guess Karen was supported by the chamber and those sorts of groups. And I guess she feels that she needs to support them and their interests, but you have to wonder … with her being so young, she probably does not have the same passion for non-segregation that I have.

“I didn’t know what a new book looked like until I got to college.”

Proponents of the plan say it will put children in schools closer to home, make it easier for their parents to get involved and boost student performance.

Its opponents say the push for “neighborhood schools” is little more than a subterfuge for de facto segregation.

Johnson, a fan of red lipstick and pearls, is the married mother of two sons and one stepson. All three boys graduated from Metro public schools, according to Johnson’s blog profile.

She has a bachelor’s degree in business and human resource management and a master’s degree from Trevecca Nazarene University in business management. She spent just over a decade in human resources at Nashville-based hospital giant HCA Inc. Today, Johnson and her husband are the co-owners of a printing shop.

A fan of red lipstick and pearls? What the heck was that little aside about? Isn’t red lipstick like the default color for lipstick? Don’t a majority of women wear lipstick, especially for formal occassions (like, say, a school board meeting)?

Johnson was not available for comment in the story so how does the reporter know Johnson is a “fan” of pearls? How many times has she seen her wear them other than at a board meeting? I mean excuse her for dressing up.

SEE ALSO:
Enclave
NAACP may take rezoning plan to court

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Tags: janell ross' pearl problem, Karen Johnson, Karen Y. Johnson, lipstick, Metro Schools, pearls, re-segregation, rezoning, school board  

Raise It High, Karen: School Board Votes 5-4 To Approve Rezoning

By Kleinheider Posted on July 8, 2008 at 9:30 pm

By a five to four vote, Metro’s school board passed the the Community Task Force on Student Assignment’s revised recommendations on rezoning. Karen Y. Johnson joined the four white members of the board (Fox, Warden, Glover and North) in voting to affirm the plan.

Members George Thompson and Ed Kindall, as promised, took the lead in opposing the plan citing the infamous Garcia memos and the NAACP’s vocal opposition. In a spirited address, featuring charts, Kindall attempted to rebut the plan laid out by Mark North in a presentation preceding his remarks. In contrast to the silence during North’s presentation, Kindall’s speech moved several members of the audience to offer audible positive affirmations.

Three motions in total were made. One, by Kindall, to defer the vote to a later date and another by Thompson to accept the proposal except for the controversial parts concerning the Hillsboro, Pearl-Cohn and Hillwood clusters were rejected five to four. The third and final motion to accept the proposal was passed.

As the final vote approached, media coverage by the Nashville Scene regarding a possible violation of the open meetings law was discussed. George Thompson referred to the coverage and suggested that some members should recuse themselves. Karen Johnson spoke up immediately and vociferously defended herself telling those assembled that she was in no way lobbied nor did she discuss her vote in violation of the sunshine law and that she would not be recusing herself.

At last, when the final vote was made and Karen Johnson raised her hand above her head a voice from the crowd, clearly disgusted by the side Johnson had chosen, shouted, “Raise it high, Karen.”

Johnson, who was facing the chair, Marsha Warden, with her hand roughly at head level then starred straight at the crowd in the direction of the voice and reached for the sky much like that overenthusiastic kid in the front row in elementary school and made her choice emphatic.

SEE ALSO:
Amy Griffith (II)
Aunt B.
Enclave
WKRN
Channel 5
Gannett

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Tags: Jerry Maynard looked really pissed, Karen Johnson will have a challenger next time, Metro Schools, NAACP, Nashville, resegregation, rezoning