Enrollment in Metro Nashville Public Schools has been on the decline, and that’s a serious concern for both of the people vying to become the city’s next mayor. But how they would address it varies significantly.
As Councilmember Freddie O’Connell and political strategist Alice Rolli head into a runoff, WPLN News sat down to talk about their education priorities.
Increasing MNPS enrollment
Both candidates say that as the number of school-age children in Metro goes up, so should the enrollment for the district.
But they have different visions for how to get there. During an education-focused debate hosted by Nashville Public Television and Opportunity Nashville, O’Connell said part of the solution is playing up the district’s strengths.
“I’m excited to get to work on making sure we both celebrate excellence where we know it exists, because we have seen higher performance over the past few years. … And we’re also going to hold accountability as a top level value as we go through this to ensure that performance continues to attract students into our public school system.”
Meanwhile, Rolli is focused on expanding in-demand options, by looking at the types of schools that have long waiting lists. That includes traditional public schools that are run by the district, and charter schools, which are operated by private nonprofits.
“If a school is operating and getting results for our kids and we’re able to fund it through public tax dollars as we are with our publicly funded charter schools, let’s support them. Let’s stop vilifying it. It’s not productive,” she said in an interview with WPLN News.
On school safety
Also during the NPT debate, candidates answered a question about how they would address school safety. The issue has become a critical one for parents following the Covenant School shooting in March, where an assailant shot and killed three students and three adults.
For Rolli, the answer centered around adding school resource officers, also known as SROs.
“I am fully supportive of increasing SROs in in the schools. And I’d like us to get smart about what do we need to do to put that ‘help wanted’ sign out.”
Rolli has criticized MNPS for not placing an SRO in elementary schools after the state approved funding for the positions. But Metro Police have said they don’t have enough officers to staff elementary schools without leaving the rest of the city vulnerable.
O’Connell highlighted that two SROs will report to each high school this year. Each middle school will have one SRO. He also pointed to school security funding he voted for on the Metro Council.
“I’m proud to have supported the budget this year that included safety-specific funding, ballistic glass, radios, additional technology for schools.”
Those were requests made by the school district during a special meeting of Metro’s Public Health & Safety Committee focused on school safety.
Other education proposals
Rolli listed early childhood literacy among her top priorities as mayor. She wants kids to be able to read by first grade.
“We know that kids spend the first part of their education career learning how to read,” she said. “And then the rest of their education career is really predicated on how well they read.”
She also has a strategy to evaluate schools, based on certain statistics. They include attendance, parent assessments and employee satisfaction, retention, and transfers.
Rolli has also vowed to offer transportation assistance for students who are zoned for certain low-performing schools. It would apply to students zoned for schools that performed in the bottom 5% statewide for the previous three years.
“We have to say, ‘I want to keep that family and that child in Metro, and I want to serve them well,’ ” Rolli said.
O’Connell is emphasizing some issues outside the walls of the classroom. He wants to ensure that Nashville teachers remain the best-paid in the state. He highlighted his support for Community Achieves, an MNPS program that offers wrap-around services. And he said he wants to address barriers for working families.
“We don’t guarantee after care or before care spots for students who often need those,” he said. “We also have the earliest high school start times in the country. And we know it’s impacting student performance and health.”
On the school board
When asked why several of his proposals focus more on the logistics of schooling, O’Connell said:
“Because we have an elected school board and director of schools that are supposed to actually be setting education policy. My job as mayor is to make sure they have the resources to deliver on their own policy goals and to partner with them as we can.”
Meanwhile, Rolli said earlier this summer she would consider taking over the school board if they don’t reauthorize some high-performing charter schools. In an interview with WPLN News this week she indicated she’s still open to the idea, but not eager.
“I mean, so if parents and the dollars and the schools are not performing in the structure that we’re given, then I think the structure ultimately has to be changed.”
She noted she wouldn’t be the first to consider that option. Karl Dean had explored an appointed school board when he was mayor. And the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce floated a similar proposal last year.
Voting information
Early voting for the runoff elections begins Friday. You can find the full early voting schedule here. Election Day is September 14.
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