Four Eddings And A Funeral
Posted on July 31, 2008 at 1:23 pmJeff Woods reports on rumors that school board candidate Cordenus Eddings was caught campaigning outside a funeral:
Carnelle Barnes, a friend of Kindall’s, says he was leaving the funeral of his ex-wife’s mother when Eddings appeared on the front steps of Lawrence Avenue Church of Christ and starting handing out campaign fliers.
“I told her, ‘This is a funeral.’ My daughter screamed at her, ‘This is my grandmother’s funeral!’ I said, ‘Someone give me a camera phone so I can take her picture,’ and she took off running. It was appalling. People were crying. How far will a candidate go to get a vote?”
We have asked Eddings to comment on this complaint, but we haven’t heard back yet.
Lech Loves Limbird
Posted on July 22, 2008 at 7:49 amThe City Paper’s Amy Griffith was one of the few journalists to actually witness 9th District school board candidate James Lech eleventh hour endorsement of one of his well-financed opponents:
At a Bellevue press conference attended by few journalists but many Limbird supporters, Lech said he faced a tough decision in choosing whether to endorse Limbird or Steve Hicks, another opponent. Though he knows that his name will still be on the ballot, Lech said he does not believe he will win.
Lech said he supports Limbird because of her experience managing very large budgets, her scientific experience and ability to assess data and studies, and her choice to educate her children at Metro Nashville Public Schools. Limbird worked for years as a high-level administrator at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Her children are now adults.
Limbird is pleased to have Lech’s support, she said, as well as his assistance with her campaign.
“I’m delighted, although I’ve lost a provocative competitor,” Limbird said. “There’s a lot of walking that has to be done. … Even for parents with kids in schools, there’s not a full awareness that this election is going on.”
SEE ALSO: The Lech release
Is James Lech Fixing To Pull A John Edwards?
Posted on July 20, 2008 at 8:56 pmThe Tennessean is reporting that 9th District school board candidate James Lech may announce he is dropping out of the race at a press conference Monday. The earnest young Lech has been overshadowed by the two leading candidates in the race Lee Limbird and Alan Coverstone, primarily due to their successful and substantial fundraising efforts.
The question I would pose is why drop out now? Early voting has started and the ballots are all printed up. Even if he is out, he is in. Is his aim to try and help one of the other candidates with a last minute endorsement or is he pulling a John Edwards, assembling everyone to a press conference only to announce he is soldiering on?
The Devil Wears Lipstick?
Posted on July 10, 2008 at 10:06 amJanell 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
Board in Bellevue
Posted on May 30, 2008 at 7:11 amAmy Griffith surveys the most highly contested and politically excited school board race this cycle — the contest to replace outgoing chair Marsha Warden in Bellevue:
There are no run-offs in school board elections, meaning that a winning candidate for the District 9 seat could command as little as 20 percent of the total vote. Many education-watchers — including some of the District 9 candidates — say there are two anticipated front-runners in the race, Coverstone as well as Lee Limbird. Both are perceived to have solid relationships in the right places; Coverstone has already reported high success raising funds, and Limbird has earned the public endorsement of Warden.
But in an election with five candidates and no run-offs, there’s no writing off of the other candidates, Paul Brenner, Stephen Hicks and James Lech.
“The two front-runners, I think, may split off some votes. I hope so,” Hicks said Thursday. “I’m impressed with [all] the candidates.”
The five candidates have subtly different views as to what will drive the race.
Brenner, a retired MNPS teacher, says the factors most important to voters are “neighborhood-type schools,” safety and parental involvement.
Coverstone, a teacher and administrator at Montgomery Bell Academy and the parent of one MNPS student and one private school student, believes voters are looking for a board member who can help bring back “lost credibility” and improve communication between the district and parents.
Hicks, a former juvenile courts worker, says he thinks District 9 residents want a representative who is very familiar with day-to-day operations at schools, who will promote school safety and vocational education, and who is not swayed by certain “big groups” — he declined to name examples — with stakes in public education.
Lech, a city planner who recently earned a doctorate in education from Vanderbilt University, believes neighborhood schools are at the forefront of voters’ minds, as well as teacher quality and its role in market share.
And Limbird, who has worked as a high-level leader at both Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Meharry Medical College, says the biggest issues are “excellence” in each school, a willingness to study the addition of another high school to the district in keeping with the fast growth of the area, the implementation of career academies and increasing principal authority over individual high schools.
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It Makes You Wonder How You Keep From Going Under
Posted on May 21, 2008 at 12:47 pmLiz Garrigan interviews private school teacher, Alan Coverstone on his run for school board and his controversial decision to send his oldest child, who is zoned for H.G. Hill Middle School, to a private school:
Had we gotten in the lottery, he would have gone there. The reality of the situation is, by working at MBA, I have the opportunity for my kid to go to a school that I could never have gone to, to learn from great colleagues I respect and maybe even to teach my own kids. And the best preparation to inspire him for that transition was at University School. I never thought he would get in because maybe it’s a two-year gig. [Because he’s on staff at MBA, Coverstone’s two sons are eligible to enroll in MBA free of charge once they reach the seventh grade.] So that’s it.
Alan Coverstone discussed his decision on his now dormant personal blog but the entry seems to have conveniently disappeared.
UPDATE: The extended version
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