Politics Memphis style

(Red Hat) Rob Shearer posts over at the Tennessee ConserVOLiance his take on this whole HB2795 testing for every student dust up. He starts with:

Background: The Memphis delegation has wielded disproportionate influence in the Tennessee Legislature for over a century. This was partly due to demographics (until quite recently, Memphis was the largest city in the state), partly due to party discipline (Memphis is overwhelmingly Democrat and the Democrats control the state legislature), and partly due to the legacy of Boss Crump. Don’t get me started on Boss Crump. But if you’re going to play politics in Tennessee, you’d be well served to do some research on him.

and then answers the question: So why is Representative Hardaway picking a fight with homeschoolers?

Give it a read.

Let's go to the replay

Here's the video of the Special Initiatives sub-committee yesterday. I want to remind folks that as HB2795 stands now it includes ALL non-public students. This is not just a homeschool fight. It's my sincere hope that Rep. G. A. Hardaway (D-Memphis) actually creates a bill that has a clearly defined goal and plan to accomplish that specific goal. While we may not agree it's necessary, at least we'll know what the debate should be about. But if he thinks we're going to work with him in an effort to require non-public students to submit to any kind of state testing, which will drive the scope and sequence of our children's education, it's not going to happen.

Hardaway punts

Yesterday's House Education Committee's Special Initiatives sub-committee was very well attended by parents, children and others interested in stopping HB2795 mandating state tests for all students sponsored by freshman legislator Rep. G. A. Hardaway (D-Memphis). I'd estimate at least 100 people were crowded into the room with many waiting in the cloakroom and hall. They came, despite the snow, from across the state, literally from Sevierville to Memphis, such was their concern about unnecessary interference in the education of children. People in suits and blue collars some with children in tow. They were determined to make their voices heard. It was very clear from statements made by legislators in the hearing that they had each received thousands and thousands and thousands of calls and emails about the issue--and they didn't want a repeat of that.

Not surprising to those of us familiar with the legislature the Education Committee meeting went very long. Then it was decided that Rep. Tommie Brown's (D-Chattanooga) Higher Ed committee would be slipped in before the Special Initiatives Committee. Despite that the crowd remained fairly quiet and patient until the meeting started and hour after the advertised time.

The bill was introduced and there was a moment or two while we waited for a motion in order to even hear discussion on the bill. Unfortunately, Rep. Tommie Brown (D-Chattanooga) provided it and later when he finally arrived Rep. Joe Towns (D-Memphis) provided the necessary second.

Amazingly, Hardaway spoke at great length about his bill but people were still unclear as to why non-public schoolers were involved. Hardaway seemed to be saying that he was concerned about the unfairness in public school testing and was using this as a tool to highlight that and push improvements. He acknowledged that the State Board of Education was reworking testing and that while Gateway's had been very high stakes they now accounted for only 25% of the graduation requirement. Observers wondered: If this is a public school problem, why are all these non-public schoolers being impacted? Interesting comments considering Hardway's relationship with a Memphis Charter school, Memphis Academy for Health Sciences.

Brown asserted that she was a supporter of homeschooling and the legislature granting us the right to do so. She also stated that she was working toward making the public schools so good that we wouldn't want to homeschool anymore. These comments only pointed out how differently many of us view our 'right to homeschool' and our reasons for doing so. We appreciate the support, but this isn't the way to show it.

Committee Chair Rep. John Mark Windle (D-Livingston) was very helpful to attendees making sure they knew how much longer they'd have to wait, assuring them HB2795 would be heard today and allowing several to speak to the committee. But, frankly, since the intent of the legislation was so fuzzy, it was very hard to rebutt. A homeschooling dad who testified came closest to expressing our collective point of view when he essentially said: We're not broke. We don't need fixing.

Rep. Les Winningham (D-Huntsville) was obviously displeased with the way this bill had been handled and confessed he wasn't sure what Hardaway's intent was. Winningham wasn't alone. Winningham, who is not just another committee member but a long time chair of the House Education Committee strongly suggested, several times, that Hardaway put the bill 'off notice' (off the calendar entirely), figure out what he wanted to do, consult with his fellow sub-committee members and homeschoolers and give everyone a week's heads up before putting it on the calendar.

But Towns, who was late to the discussion, spoke up and suggested that Hardaway just roll (postpone) the bill three weeks instead and so he did. In the meantime, after Winningham's comments, it's expected that Hardaway will come back with something much more concrete, that can actually be discussed. 45 minutes of talk, hundreds of man hours, travel time and untold other resources expended for this. It was very frustrating.

The fiscal note for this legislation says HB2795 it will cost $2 million plus to test non-public students next year and some $4 million and up in succeeding years. The assumption is there will be 20,000 non-public students taking these tests. I know no one did much research on that 20K number. As if thousands of outraged parents, frustrated legislators and staff who were unnecessarily inconvenienced, the lack of a clear goal and proof that pulling in non-public schoolers into public school testing was necessary 'for the public good' it'll be tough to sell expending $4 million that could be much better used elsewhere.

Tennessean coverage, such as it is.

The pressure is on

Not surprisingly the volume of calls regarding HB2795 which would require non-public students to submit to public school tests has been huge. THEA's Lana Thornton reported yesterday that more than 1200 calls had been received by the office of Special Initiatives Committee Chair Rep. John Mark Windell (D-Livingston). Not everyone has handled it as well as he or fellow committee member Rep. Ron Lollar (R-Bartlett). Lollar's voice mail clearly stated he would vote against. This morning Rep. Tommie Brown's (D-Memphis) phone is still on voice mail and she doesn't want to hear from anyone unless they're from Hamilton County. She suggests you call your own representative.

So unless YOUR representative is on one of these committees that are crafting legislation---Rep. Brown would deny you a voice in the process.

World's collide

Tomorrow the Legislative Plaza will have two very different views of early childhood education on the hill. Tomorrow is Pre-K Day on the Hill. It's also the day many homeschoolers will be attending a House Education sub-committee to voice their opposition to non-public schoolers being subjected to public-school tests. People who are adamant that what children need is a professional head-start before going to school and families that have proven that a 'professional' education wasn't necessary at all. Ain't America great?

Testing for all: public, private, home schooled

Rep. G. A. Hardaway (D-Memphis) has introduced HB2795 which will require all students whether public, private or home schooled to submit to state testing. The old saying is "He who creates the test creates the curriculum". One of the very reasons parents choose to leave the public schools is the curriculum. I expect he'll be hearing from them until he decides to pull the bill.

District Address

1243 Worthington Street
Memphis, TN 38114

Nashville Address

109 War Memorial Bldg.

Nashville, TN 37243-0192

Phone: (615) 741-5625

Fax: (615) 741-1005

Staff Contact: Tina Hunt

Internet E-Mail Address

Rep. G. A. Hardaway

Rep. Mike Turner (D-Nashville) tried something similar back in 2004 without success. I trust Rep. Hardaway will also realize that this isn't a better path, especially since the State BOE has just recommended dumping Gateway exams altogether and creating more end of course tests. Testing for the professionals is a moving target. Mandating them for all students is a huge infringement on their freedoms. Further, once having passed these tests, I don't see the state offering to provide a diploma for those students in return. This is just a bad idea all around and this bill needs to be pulled before its hearing in the House Education Special Initiatives Committee next Wednesday, February 27, 11:45 a.m., Room 16 of Legislative Plaza.

You can read details for this legislation at http://tnhomeed.com/HB2795-SB3412.html

Cleaning up the backlog

I haven't fallen off the planet. I'm busy updating websites, investigating some current legislation and trying to clean up some projects that have been in the IN basket far too long--oh and raising and educating the children, of course. :-)

I'll be back. Thank you for your patience.

Goose/Gander

This is interesting.

The potential ramifications are huge, for a ruling in favor of the couple could affect the millions of Americans who send their children to religious schools of all types. At stake is whether people of all religions can deduct the cost of religious education as a charitable gift, as Scientologists are allowed to do under an officially secret 1993 agreement with the Internal Revenue Service.

(snip)

''If the I.R.S. does in fact give preferential treatment to members of the Church of Scientology -- allowing them a special right to claim deductions that are contrary to law and disallowed to everybody else -- then the proper course of action is a lawsuit to put a stop to that policy,'' Judge Silverman wrote. NY Times

Tom Cruise won't be happy about that.

AND

The appellants in the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals case, Michael and Marla Sklar, are Orthodox Jews. They took deductions for some of the private religious school tuition they paid for their children, and for after-school classes in Jewish law. Although the IRS eventually disallowed these deductions by the Sklars, starting in 1994, the agency meanwhile reportedly has allowed members of the Church of Scientology, under a 1993 settlement agreement, to take substantial deductions for "religious training and services." ABA Journal

AND

At one point, the IRS lawyer actually warned the court that the tax collector would have difficulty resolving tax disputes if the IRS were forced to disclose its secret agreement with the Scientologists. "Every person who can find out about it from any other religious group is going to come in and want the same thing and that would really tie the IRS's hands," she said. NY Sun

That's exactly correct. Accountability and equity may be inconvenient to the IRS but both are essential to the larger job of meeting the greater needs of the public.

Yes, I know this is San Francisco's 9th Circus, but even a blind squirrel finds an acorn occasionally.


Hat Tip: Instapundit

Super Tuesday--Quiet Wednesday

I'll be very glad when this day is over...no matter who wins what. It'll mean the end of constant robo-calls and just now one of the children came in to say a plane trailing a Huckabee sign was over the house. Enough already. In the last three days I've heard from Hillary Clinton twice, Bill Clinton once (I shuddered and considered buying a new phone), Huckabee (twice), Romney, McCain have all been calling. The phone is ringing this very minute--it's some poor schmuck who is tongue tied and doesn't realize what state he's calling into. He just asked me to vote for Hillary in the New Jersey primary!

I've voted and it wasn't for any of them. I voted for Fred Thompson and Republican delegates committed to him. Please, may I have my life back now?

UPDATE: Romney again at 5:22 p.m.

Memphis (F)liar II

AC Kleinheider posts that the misleading photo of Rep. Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville) published in the Memphis alt-weekly Memphis Flyer didn't originate with the Flyer, something the Flyer failed to mention. So the paper lied to the public about the legitimacy of the photo and apparently stole the 2005 idea. And here's their editor's explanation via MediaVerse:

Perhaps in this case we should have explained that it was photo-shopped. Apparently it wasn’t obvious enough for some readers.

Bianca Phillips wrote the straight news item, which appeared in the paper this week without the photo in question. The photo was just a way to have fun with the story online. Bianca had nothing to do with it.

That's the point...it wasn't obvious and they should have made it so. Dare I say that the readership of the Flyer would be inclined to assume the worst about Campfield? All the more reason to keep the 'straight news item' and the 'fun' photo away from one another. It was a straight news item (though obviously slanted). Why would you want to have 'fun' with such a serious story?

As of this morning...no notation at the original story that the photo was altered. No apology to Rep. Campfield there either.

Maybe the Memphis Flyer should take a lesson from the Nashville Scene (also an alt-weekly) who had fun with a picture of Pedro Garcia last March to go along with a much more serious piece regarding his tenure (adult site). However their cover art of a smiling Garcia vandalized by black marker was obvious to all as altered. Maybe you didn't think it was funny but you didn't confuse the lengthy, legitimate story starting on page 23 about his tenure with the 'having fun with it' artwork. The altered photo didn't appear next to the online article at all. In fact I couldn't find a copy of the 'fun' cover art at the Scene's site and had to tell people to pick up the hard copy if they wanted to see it. Thankfully I saved my copy.

And thanks to AC's linking I learn there actually is a Memphis Liar web site watching the publication and pointing out the errors. Glad I don't have that job.

Construction for Bredesen, but not children

Apparently Gov. Phil Bredesen can find $12 million to fund his party bunker from a very tight state budget but the hundreds of millions of excess lottery dollars just sitting around collecting interest cannot be touched to build classrooms for public school students despite the FACT that the TN Constitution allows this use of those funds.

Bill Hobbs has details and quotes from the Tennessee Journal (subscription needed).

Instead of coming up with another proposal to use some of the lottery surplus to fund school construction, Bredesen appears to be leaning toward a last-minute proposal from House Democrats to divert the money instead to a loan fund for projects that improve the energy efficiency of public school buildings, the TJ reports.

That makes no sense. You want maximum energy efficiency? Replace portables with brick and mortar. And loans? Not grants? Why do we have to further encumber our school districts by requiring them to go into debt for improvements when the cash is available?

Hobbs points out:

Nine school systems have more than 10 percent of their classes in portables.

Last year the best Bredesen could do was to create the Lottery Bank of Tennessee:

Gov. Bredesen has already suggested in his State of the State address that lottery funds be used for loans to local school districts.

So, high on the Governor's list of construction projects is a party facility for himself, the legislators, lobbyists and other unnamed swells. Low on his construction priority is classrooms for children. Oh, he'd loan the school systems the money but an outright grant to the systems to do what is best for the children? No.

Why is this party facility necessary? Why do the swells get more than comfortable accommodations and our school children don't even get safe and secure ones?

Memphis (F)liar

This isn't about Rep. Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville) , it's not about any legislation he has, is or will offer. This is about the lack of professionalism in reporting. The January 31 edition of the alt-weekly Memphis Flyer has what seems like a serious article about legislation introduced (it's obvious where they stand on the issue, btw). However, instead of providing a stock photo of the sponsoring legislator they altered a photo from a completely different situation to ridicule the him and make their editorial point.

Here's the original photo where Rep. Campfield was expressing his opinion regarding Gov. Phil Bredesen and on the right is the altered and editorializing version published by the Memphis Flyer. They changed the wording on Campfield's sign and removed Campfield's left index finger which was pointing to the governor.














And professional journalists complain about the lack of professionalism in the blogging community. Please. An apology and retraction is in order to be sure.

UPDATE: Read what Rep. Campfield has to say on the subject.

Hat Tip: Terry Frank

MNPS needs a CEO

As I consider the Metro Nashville Public Schools' need for a new Superintendent I'm of the mind it may be time to abandon the usual superintendent model and look for someone who is more 'business CEO' to run this enormous system. A huge portion of the system isn't really 'education' related at all. It is services related though--transportation, food service, nursing, facilities maintenance, customer and public relations, purchasing, security, and human resources to name a few.

If we can find a MNPS CEO that can run the non-educational but essential day to day stuff AND has the ability to work well with those that know the education delivery portion of the system we'll be on our way to creating a better system. I don't think it's necessary for an educator to be in charge of the whole system though.

The upside to a CEO is that the efficient running of the non-educational portions of the system should free up valuable resources that can be made available to the educators. Money is going to be tight. Taxpayers are of the mind that there is a lot of waste and they're not inclined to hand over anymore until they're convinced money is being spent wisely. We're going to need someone that can 'turn a penny twice' and clearly show the taxpaying public they've done so before they're ever going to agree to a property tax increase.

We also need someone able and willing to keep the educators accountable for job performance--because job performance, educating these children, is THE focus of the system. It's why we pay our taxes. It's why we vote in school board members. We want children well educated for the benefit of our community. Failing to ensure that they're educated doesn't just impact their life, but their families, their neighbors and our community as a whole.

Having an educator in charge of the system hasn't served these children well. Let's try something different.

BOE is unsure--I'm not

It's the sub-headline that tells the real story regarding the MNPS BOE and Nashville Mayor Karl Dean's 'partnership' to find a new superintendent for Metro schools. That sub-headline at the Tennessean is:

"Board members seem unsure about next step in process"

And that's exactly it. We've hired 9 people to run the district, they rubber stamped pretty much everything former superintendent Dr. Pedro Garcia wanted, they were propped up by the business establishment and the unions and haven't been held accountable by the electorate, it was assumed that since they had legal and education experience they were qualified and so here we are. They are unsure about how to hire one employee. Like nearly everything else they've decided to 'hire' out the hard work which will then allow them to avoid accepting all the blame later. They'll let the mayor help, they'll call in the Tennessee School Boards Association and before the final decision is made they'll have created a community group to advise them. What are these folks getting paid to actually do? When things are cruising along they wield that rubber stamp pretty well, but let the system wobble a bit and they just aren't up for the task. One of them needs to grow a backbone and start leading.

From BOE member's Karen Johnson blog:

"...the School Board in a 7-2 (Marsha Warden, Steve Glover, JoAnn Brannon, Mark North, George Thompson, Gracie Porter and Ed Kindall -7) (Karen Johnson, David Fox -2) vote moved the following motion from Board Member George Thompson "I move that we request the involvement and participation of Mayor Karl Dean in helping to identify a candidate for interim director of schools to be selected by this board....then at the appropriate time the Mayor would further be involved to participate with the board in a search for a permanent Director that will be hired by the board."

Karen Johnson offered an amendment to include 'all stakeholders' in this motion. It was voted down:

The amendment failed by a 5-4 vote (Marsha Warden, Steve Glover, Mark North, JoAnn Brannon, and David Fox -5) (Karen Johnson, Ed Kindall, George Thompson, Gracie Porter -4)

From the City Paper:

[Mayor Karl] Dean later added that he believes the interim director position should be filled quickly, and that he believes the best process would be for Dean himself to find members of the community willing and qualified to fill the temporary position. The board could then make the final decision.

This is just a bad idea. first of all...it's not his job. He's got enough on his plate. It is the BOE's job and they need to earn their paychecks. What quickly hiring someone will do is give the appearance of stability and progress in time for the August BOE election.

At this point in time the MNPS staff doesn't need the distraction of taking on a new person and training them in the finer points of running the school system. Something like this will slow them down and eat up valuable resources at a time when we don't have them to spare.

For now, Chris Henson needs to focus on the budget. I suggest the other 'cabinet members' can step up and finish out the school year and begin planning for the next. They've been around long enough to have done this several times, this isn't reinventing the wheel. They can do this. Likely, without the heavy hand of the former superintendent they'll have a great opportunity to shine and show us just how successfully they can work together and actually get the job done.

This season of change is a great time to see which of the BOE members is up to the task of actually running the system and has earned the right to stay on the BOE. Pay attention and remember this August. Remember, all but North, gave former superintendent Pedro Garcia a hefty raise and voted to renew his contract, Porter once, the rest over, and over and over again.










From left to right:
Ed Kindall on the BOE 23 years since 7/9/1985,
George Thompson, more than 12 years: 4 months on the BOE in 1991 and then back on 8/1/1996,
MNPS BOE Chair Marsha Warden on the BOE since 8/24/2004 ,
Gracie Porter elected in August of 2006 and
Mark North since spring of 2007.

It's 2 to 1

Yesterday's mail contained letters from Experian confirming they've placed a security freeze on our credit accounts after the theft of our Social Security Numbers from the Davidson County Election Commission. Why Experian and Equifax had no problem with the form letter from the Election Commission and the blanket theft report and TransUnion did still remains a mystery. Last week their phone representative insisted that a supervisor would call me back...no call, no message, no letter so far.

Hillary's Blue

Since last evening I've been getting robo calls from Blue Solutions (615-254-2200) inviting me to a Hillary Clinton townhall meeting "Solutions for America" at TSU. I got half a message one time and just hang ups after that. An invitation less than 24 hours before the event...I guess I was supposed to have my calendar cleared, just in case.

And ummm...my solution for America is Fred how did I get on their calling list?

We're not stuck yet

When Fred dropped out I posted about my intention to still vote for him. Bob Krumm voted for Fred yesterday. I'm glad he did. He explains why and I am encouraging folks to follow Bob and me in this same path.

"If you’re a Tennessee Fredhead who hasn’t yet voted and you want to send a message, deliver that message through a trusted delegate. I encourage you to vote for Fred and then select the same delegates: Bryson, Casada, Norris, Ramsey, Campbell, and Krumm."

It looks like having people you trust on the convention floor during this election cycle will be more important than it has been in some time. Don't just stop at touching the screen for Fred. Finish the ballot.

Update: Instapundit points to someone else with the same idea: Daily Pundit.
UPDATE: Add Rob Huddleston to the group still voting for Fred and encouraging others to do the same.

TransUnion says no

I've just gotten off the phone with TransUnion. After writing them a very specific letter with 5 pages of documentation with the information they require I got back a 9 page form letter telling me what my rights are and how to put a freeze on our accounts. I called them back and it turns out that they blew off my letter because the police report doesn't specifically say I'm the victim of fraud and they won't put a freeze on my credit report without my paying their $7.50 fee. What? They expect 337,000 people to get personalized crime reports from their local precincts? I actually have to have been harmed before they'll do this? The best "Jenna" could offer was to have a supervisor call me back. Right. To her credit she didn't lose her temper when I lost mine.

Heads up folks. Oh, and if you decide to call TransUnion use the Dispute number (1-800-680-7289) where actual people answer the phone instead of the Fraud number where you're stuck in a never ending automatic circle.

Equifax didn't have a problem with any of our documentation at all and I got letters from them yesterday saying our accounts were frozen and they provided PIN numbers for when we want to make any changes. Simple one page confirmation letter. No request for any payment or additional information.

Foxy idea

Yesterday's real surprise wasn't what the Chamber thinks needs to be done about MNPS or even Fred's dropping out. It was David Fox's out of the blue statement that the BOE he was elected to serve on should be, instead, appointed by the mayor. How are his fellow BOE members not supposed to be insulted by this?

According to the usual media sources, Fox made his statement to a gaggle of reporters after the Nashville Chamber of Commerce's Report Card report. I hung out a bit afterward and there was no 'gather 'round folks' at all. This was a very low key announcement. Maybe he wanted to take advantage of the reporters being there without taking away any of the Chamber's thunder. Well, that didn't work.

Fox wrote:

To have a truly effective superintendent requires a truly effective board of education. And now, after a few decades of electing school board members, we must do whatever is necessary to ensure that people with the appropriate expertise and experiences are governing the school system.

Ooookay. Does this read elitist to anyone else? I agree that we need an effective BOE and I agree that if they're effective the superintendent will be effective. But I'm concerned about what Fox (or any mayor) will consider 'appropriate expertise and experience'. For the most part we've got lawyers and teachers on the BOE. How's that working for you? Oh, you want " people who have experience successfully leading or governing big organizations through challenging times." Define successfully, big and challenging.

How's this mayor appointed board going to sit with those that balk at non-users of the public education system running the system? He made a non-public school choice. I don't fault him for making the choice but there are those out there that did/do. Some of them were apoplectic about about a BOE member not having had their children in the system. What are the chances that those with 'appropriate expertise and experience' didn't make the same decision the mayor did?

The problem is that the unions, the chamber and the system got, for the most part, the members and superintendent they wanted. Maybe that's where we need to make some changes.

MNPS is a large, complicated organization. More than 10,000 employees, a budget approaching $600 million, fast-shifting demographics among its customer base, pervasive governmental regulations. Transforming this system into a district that provides a high performing school for every student requires a skill set you just can’t get through public elections.

And how is this different from the mayoral position or the council, or congress? Who should appoint them to ensure they have the 'appropriate expertise and experience?" The reality is it's up to voters to decide what is 'appropriate expertise and experience'. They're going to blow it occasionally, and it's a messy process, granted. Taking this power out of their hands is a very wrong move.

This only works when the elected mayor is one you agree with. The disconnect from the voting public, parents and taxpayers will be huge. An appointed board will be accountable to the mayor and not the citizens whose money and children will be subject to this board. You think your BOE rep isn't responsive now? Just wait.

The biggest understatement in the coverage comes from the City Paper:

These efforts may not make Fox popular with the other eight members of the Board of Education.

They thought MNPS BOE Chair Marsha Warden's direct order to Garcia was a problem. What are they going to do with this? While I don't agree with Fox's suggestion...I'm thrilled he rocked their world.

The Education Mayor: Aligning leadership, experience and accountability
David A. Fox
January 22, 2008

Right now, all eyes are focused on who the next director of schools in Nashville will be. Speaking only for myself and not for the school board, I don’t think that’s where everyone should be looking.

To have a truly effective superintendent requires a truly effective board of education. And now, after a few decades of electing school board members, we must do whatever is necessary to ensure that people with the appropriate expertise and experiences are governing the school system.

Beyond that, as the Chamber’s Education Report Card today points out, “the governance structure of our school system represents a misalignment of funding authority, policymaking responsibility and managerial effectiveness.”

MNPS is a large, complicated organization. More than 10,000 employees, a budget approaching $600 million, fast-shifting demographics among its customer base, pervasive governmental regulations. Transforming this system into a district that provides a high performing school for every student requires a skill set you just can’t get through public elections.

On the school board, we must have people who have experience successfully leading or governing big organizations through challenging times. You can assemble a board populated with those rare skills and experiences only through a careful appointment process.

You know the omnipresent bumper sticker: “Education is the most important thing our community does?” I believe that really is more than just a feel-good slogan. And if I am right about that, then most Nashvillians should be ready now to embrace the changes needed to see to it that our most qualified citizens are on the school board…governing with experienced hands this institution that is so vital to Nashville’s future.

It is exceptional good fortune that our city is led by a mayor whose educational mantra is “I want to be as involved in schools as I possibly can be.” Mayor Karl Dean is a rarity among elected officials – a man who seems eager not just to have some authority over public schools but also to take responsibility for their results.

Were he given authority by the state, Nashville’s mayor could use the influence of his position to draft our community’s most qualified residents to form a successful and diverse Metro Nashville Board of Education. And the mayor’s profile in the city could help keep public education one of Nashville’s highest priorities.

In order to ensure that each student in Nashville realizes his or her ability to excel at levels not previously imagined, I request that as soon as practically and legally possible, Governor Bredesen empower the Mayor with authority over Metro Nashville Public Schools and support legislative efforts to give Nashville’s mayor the power to appoint all members of the Metro Nashville Board of Public Education. Nashville Scene (warning: adult site)

I'm disappointed

He's still getting my vote. I'll be examining the Republican convention delegate names very carefully.

I'm not sure what to think. Maybe it was that his mom is seriously ill. Maybe it's because the best person to run the country isn't always the best campaigner. Maybe we'll really have to wait for the convention for this to be settled. I'm not giving up. Voting for Fred is the only way I know to let the convention delegates know what I really want. I'm not settling yet.