Karl Dean Doesn’t Want Charter Haters On The Nashville School Board

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean is an outspoken supporter of charter schools and says the Metro Board of Education should be open to expanding them. Credit: Office of Mayor Karl Dean

Nashville’s mayor says he “sort of doubts” he’ll endorse specific candidates running for school board. But he does have criteria for who he wants on the panel – charter school advocates.

Karl Dean has been a charter school booster as long as he’s held office. And he hasn’t been shy about suggesting the school board should think a little more like he does. When the board rejected Great Hearts Academies two years ago, Dean even asked the state to overturn the decision.

Privately run, publicly funded charter schools have become a wedge issue in this year’s races. One candidate in Green Hills, Becky Sharpe, said at a forum this week she thinks the city doesn’t need any more charters right now. Currently, there are more than 20.

“Obviously I think we need to have people on the school board who are interested in change, interested in reform, interested in moving the city forward,” Dean told WPLN this week.

“I’ve been an advocate for charter schools and other things, and I think that’s part of the equation the city needs to latch onto. So if someone is taking a position in a race that they’re not in favor of charter schools or they want a moratorium or whatever, I would be opposed to that. I think most of the citizens of Nashville would.”

Dean says standardized test scores – which are currently embargoed – will show that Nashville charters are performing at a high level, bolstering the case for expansion.

However, not all of them have been successful. Two charters are closing this year for underperforming.