REVISION: This election was held on August 7. Mary Pierce, the candidate endorsed by Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst won. My error. Wish I had known about it sooner.
There will be a crucial school board race on Tuesday in Nashville.
Becky Sharpe, who has been endorsed by the Metro Nashville Education Association, is running against Mary Pierce, who has been endorsed by Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst.
Support for or opposition to charter schools is the defining issue in the race.
A mailer from StudentsFirst on behalf of Mary Pierce describes Becky Sharpe three times as a “liberal” who is opposed to charters. The mailer says:
“Becky Sharpe is supported by liberal unions who oppose giving parents and students better choices for education,” it reads. “That’s because Becky Sharpe refuses to support charter schools — even for those who need them the most.”
The Metro Nashville Education Association, which endorsed Sharpe, said in its mailer: “Charter zealots are backing Becky’s opponent and this seat could determine future privatization of education in Nashville.”
The choice for Nashville voters is clear: if you want to support public schools, vote for Becky Sharpe.
If you want to support more privately managed charter schools, vote for Mary Pierce.
Funny, isn’t it, that Michelle Rhee insists she is a Democrat, yet her organization denounces a school board candidate as a liberal? Since when do organizations that claim to be allies of the Democratic Party attack candidates as “liberals.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Since when do organizations that claim to be allies of the Democratic Party attack candidates as “liberals.”
Since when are Democrats so liberal any more? Or represent the working person?
There are a few who do, but not many. They are just as rotten as the GOP.
Support the Green Party.
I don’t believe they ever were liberal; it was just a label used against Democrats in exactly the way Michelle Rhee has used it.
This election actually took place on 8/7. Sadly Becky Sharpe was no elected.
Bummer
It’s probably fortunate that Michele Rhee and most of the voters in Nashville have not read the classic novel, “Vanity Fair” in which Becky sharp is not a very admirable character.
Joanne Yatvin: I had the same thought.
How did part of my email address get inserted in my message?
Rhee puts the “lies” in “allies” …
Charter schools are the idea of greedy business men trying to see how much money they can suck out of the MFP. This is also a liberal agenda to indoctrinate children and control what is being taught in schools.
About TN charters:
http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2014/06/charter-school-reality-tn-edition.html
Election was last Thursday and, unfortunately, Pierce won. Charters gain yet or three supporters in that election.
Vern Denney Sent from my cell phone
Bruce Rauner (GOP IL running for governor) is the next Scott Waker. Please share. http://www.ibtimes.com/bruce-rauner-gop-candidate-illinois-governor-promises-government-shutdown-mass-firing-1648244
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/09/opinion/school-lessons-from-south-korea-to-finland.html?mabReward=RI%3A6&action=click&contentCollection=Middle%20East®ion=Footer&module=Recommendation&src=recg&pgtype=article
Susan Ohanian’s letter in the NYTimes re: School Lessons from South Korea to Finland
In Memphis when you go to the National Civil Rights Museum, on a wall honoring school desegregation there is a plaque honoring Bill Gates continuation of MLK’s work through the wonderful Charter schools. Yeesh! Further, when you go to the Stax Records Museum, you watch a short film plugging their wonderful affiliated charter school and how you can donate.
When I was getting my car fixed there, on a trip to Memphis last May. A little hole-in-the-wall car repair place, they were chatting about how everyone was trying to make money in the charters, and the old (or current?) Mayor owned a bunch. I told them about Chicago and they just chuckled and indicated that’s just how it seems to be now.
Glad to see that this debate is finally taking center stage there.
Party affiliation are meaningless. People who identfy themselves as Democrats have been enlisted in the relentless and increasingly well-cordinated campaign to dismantle unions, especially those of teachers. Case in point is the Commentary in EdWeek Aug,6, 2014 by a person who criticizes unions for not jumping fast enough and high enough into “the future.” Read–you join any bandwagon to be innovative. You should read the results of polls from teh Wall Stree journal and comply with prorities in those push surveys. There is more, and it is ugly caricature, holding unions responsible for everything from egg-crate architecture in school, the length of the school day and school year, to (of course) the survival of the country.
I surely wish that Nashville citizens were made aware that *outside* money and outside influence was helping Mary Pierce in this race. It boggles my mind how they can insert themselves into communities and interfere with the wishes of people in that community.
Democrats against liberals just look at th governor of Connecticut he is selling kids for elected office
Unfortunately, we have bigger problems than this. The winner of the Democratic primary for governor of TN can be read about here… http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014/08/charlie-brown-bill-haslam-tennessee
Haslam/Huffman have already won unless Dems all do a large-scale write-in campaign for somebody serious.
As a passionate whole-hearted supporter of Becky Sharpe in this most recent Nashville schoolboard selection process…. here is the ‘pity’ party take on it all; not pity at all but pitiful for our fair city. A number of things stand out as too many Nashville voters took the low-road with 5100 taking the higher route with Becky. The not so new national game previously known as Pokeman has warped to Kochemon. How much money can be spent to elect the most vacuous of one-trick pony candidates; the charter advocates who fill the pages of our right-wing rag of a paper known as The Tennessean; a paper which the most celebrated and revered John Siegenthaler must hardly have recognized in his later years. On election day there were at least 4 and possibly 5 articles touting the charter schools whose names like Rocketship Elementary, RePublic (get it?) Schools, Valor Collegiate, and others seem o-so-festive and o-so-vacuous; nothing of substance, nothing newsworthy; only the drivel of and enormity of financial contributions most often from unnamed sources. Many contributions were attributed to the same business types who seem to have the idea of getting onto the public dole by ultimately realizing/profiteering from the privatization of said public schools. Somehow a number of months back the cat left the bag as a for-profit group approached the legislature to be recognized as a legitimate model for charters (how smarmy and how honest and o-so-premature). And our Mayor whose sister-in-law told him to charterize; seemingly a play to the busness types with whom he appears most comfortable. And so many who demonize our teachers, any and all unions, and who watch enraptured as test results become the end-all and be-all of these educational times. And as to these test junkies it seems that all good scientific analysis shows almost no appreciable differences between charters and your public-public schools.
So where is all this privatization leading… perhaps we will see a movement from the ‘lilies’ and ‘vouchsafes’ to return to the cityscape as throngs attempt to ‘white’wash charters to be offered in well-to-do neighborhoods on the west side; an idea floated and beat back not so long ago. Imagine the savings if charter school options provide opportunity for many to bypass real private schools and head for their neighborhood charters.
Diane Ravitch where are you? Dr. Norm
It’s an honest campaign by ed reformers, though – 100% about charter schools.
I think it’s better than running on “improving” public schools, which was wildly deceptive.
I wish they would all run on charter schools. At least we could drop the pretense this has anything at all to do with existing public schools. It doesn’t.
‘The Metro Nashville Education Association, which endorsed Sharpe, said in its mailer:
“Charter zealots are backing Becky’s opponent and this seat could determine future privatization of education in Nashville.”’
That phrase is meaningless to your average voter and if it indicates how the MNEA handled its PR then I’m not surprised their candidate lost.
Why can’t unions learn from effective campaigns and mimic their strategies? Zealots? Privatization? Becky’s opponent? Could determine?
Not near scary enough and probably unknown/unimportant to your average voter.
Instead they need to be blunt and simple: “They want to make money off of your kids. Charter schools have a long history of stealing money from your children. Charter schools are a way for greedy people to make money while taking it from kids.” “Pierce wants to give your tax money to investors instead of your kids’ schools.”
See, it isn’t that hard.
Until we stop playing by the Marquess of Queensbury rules and assuming our opponents are honorable people who just have a slightly different take on things we are doomed to love.
They are fighting with everything they’ve got. We are asking politely, in our insider language, for people to reconsider and maybe, please, if it isn’s any trouble, do something to help us, OK?
My friend in Nashville, who is a public school supporter, thought that teachers were OK with charters. I explained to her the truth before she voted but she is generally and informed and active voter and she didn’t have a clue about what the teachers’ union was talking about in their mailer so she was going to vote for Pierce out of name recognition.
We’ve got to do much better and take our gloves off and start fighting teachers!
Doomed to LOSE. Darned autocorrect! LOL Although loving IS more appealing.
http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2014/08/08/charter-school-backers-go-metro-school-board-race/13762461/
A portion of the newspaper article is here: “The Pierce-Sharpe race in the politically active, affluent neighborhoods in and around Green Hills quickly emerged as the most closely watched. It turned negative in the last week thanks to dueling mail advertisements — one batch from California-based StudentsFirst hitting Sharpe and another from the local teachers’ union against Pierce.
Pierce, who celebrated her win alongside Mayor Karl Dean — and received a congratulatory call from Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell — said she’s ready to get going.
TENNESSEAN
3 takeaways from Thursday’s Metro school elections
“How we can get more dollars to the classroom and directly to the students, that is a priority,” Pierce said, adding that she’s optimistic the board can change its tone.
Sharpe called for her supporters to embrace the winner. “She needs to be respected in this position she has now.”
Register’s future
Added intrigue circled this year’s election because of the unclear future of Metro Director of Schools Jesse Register, whose contract is up in less than a year and who has not said whether he wants to continue serving.
Early on, the newly installed board will have a decision on whether to extend his contract or begin the search for Nashville’s next superintendent.
“That’s something that we need to address immediately,” said Shepherd, who has suggested a two-year extension to prolong his stay past the election of a new mayor next year.
The loss for Mayes, who along with Shepherd and Brannon is a Register loyalist, makes it two years in a row a sitting school board chairwoman has lost to an upstart supported by charter school enthusiasts.
Hunter, a speech pathologist at Tennessee State University, benefited from an organized campaign apparatus that got going quickly this spring.
“We had a strong, strong, strong ground game,” Hunter said.
Mayes did not return a message seeking comment.
The current board, including Mayes, will leave one last mark, with a series of committee meetings lined up to revamp board policy before the two new members are sworn in later this month. That process begins Saturday morning with a four-hour board retreat.
Nearly $350,000 in contributions had poured into board candidates as of last week, continuing a trend established two years ago of Nashville’s nine-member school board becoming a new target for campaign fundraising.
Charter school advocates, for the second straight election, identified and funneled money to preferred candidates, countering the force of employee unions. They hit on two out of four candidates this year but lost with Driscoll and Dixon. Two years ago, only one of their candidates won.
Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison.