The Metro Nashville School Board has made its top pick for schools director: by a vote of 8 to 1, they selected Mike Looney, who is the head of Williamson County Schools. The process isn’t over; first comes a site visit to see how things are running in Looney’s current district.
The final vote on offering him the job is scheduled for next Thursday.
But Nashville’s pick comes as Williamson County considers offering Looney a contract extension. The school board there has a work session scheduled for tonight with a vote at its Monday meeting. Williamson Strong, a group that strongly supports Looney, quickly reminded its Twitter followers that his moving to Nashville is not a done deal.
So the question for the
#wcsb is this: what can you do to keep Dr. Looney?
#looney4wcs— Williamson Strong (@WilliamsonStrg)
July 16, 2015
So, Chamber supports Dr. Looney. Parents support Dr. L. Teachers support Dr. L.
#wcsb: do you hear us?— Williamson Strong (@WilliamsonStrg)
July 16, 2015
Those contract talks have frustrated Williamson County board member Susan Curlee, who posted this on her Facebook account last week:
I get the impression the board is being forced into a proverbial prisoners dilemma. It feels as if we are being pressed to rush and extend a contract; however, if for some reason our superintendent does not get the position in MNPS, we are the “Plan B?”
Since joining the board last year, Curlee has been a vocal critic of Looney. She contends Looney crossed ethical, if not legal, lines by using his school district email to voice support for the formation of Williamson Strong. She also filed the complaint that lead to the state Registry of Election Finance’s determination that the organization, which considers itself a parent group, qualifies as a political action committee. Williamson Strong is currently appealing the $5000 fine that was levied for failing to register as a PAC.
Tyese Hunter, the only member of the Metro School Board to vote against Looney, brought up the matter before Thursday’s vote, citing documents attached to an email sent from an unnamed “Davidson County Voter:”
Looney insists the concerns are a “false allegation.” During debate over the finalist decision, Metro Schools board member Amy Frogge says she feels comfortable that the claims are probably overblown. But, she said, “if we vote this through today then I would say that we need to fully vet that and look into everything that you mentioned. And then if there is any question then I am happy to put a halt to it.”
Within Nashville, there have been questions about the quality of the three finalists and whether the school board was moving too fast. A coalition of ten community and business groups urged the Metro School Board to accept more applications, while mayoral candidates David Fox and Bill Freeman both urged the school board to delay making a decision.
From Freeman’s statement, issued last week:
What I’ve seen of this process so far does not meet the standard expected by the people of Nashville. The process has been ragged and confusing. I have confidence in our school board, but perhaps a new beginning with a new search firm and a new slate of candidates will clear the air. There’s simply too much at stake. It’s just the right thing to do.
Fellow candidate Howard Gentry disagreed, telling the Tennessean it didn’t make sense for the board to “yield to the request of someone who’s not even mayor.”
Candidate Megan Barry quickly reacted to the board’s choice. Her statement calls all three finalists good candidates, but characterizes the choice of Looney as a “homerun.” Barry mentions that she’s met with Looney one-on-one, saying, “I believe he has the right temperament, experience, and vision to keep our public schools moving forward.”
Later in the morning mayoral candidate Jeremy Kane offered his own praise, saying Looney, “possesses the creativity, high expectations, and clear vision we need.”
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