Three of five county school board candidates take part in TNHS public forum
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024 — Three of the five candidates seeking a seat on the Nelson County Board of Education in the November election participated in a candidate forum Tuesday night at Thomas Nelson High School.
Incumbent Tracy Bowling (District 3) and challengers Dr. Karen Lee (District 5) and Joedy Gilliland (District 2) took part in the forum. Incumbents Diane Berry and Nicole Milburn were invited but did not participate.
Moderators Kim Huston and Tom Hamilton posed a variety of questions to the candidates for the hour-long session.
Bowling frequently cited the well-publicized issues the board has experienced since the beginning of 2023, then newly elected members David Norman and Amanda Deaton joined the board.
In early 2023, the new board members, plus Diane Berry, voted to scuttle plans for Community Campus, a plan endorsed by the district’s Local Planning Committee. The board reneged on existing contract obligations on the project, which ended up costing the district more than $3 million.
Members of the board earlier this year tried to fire Superintendent Wes Bradley, but their attempt to fire him for cause was overturned by the acting state commissioner of education.
After listening to lengthy parent and teacher comments during board meetings, the board approved a limit on public comment — a move all the candidates said needed to be reversed.
The board of education has lost the trust of the community, Dr. Lee said. Her goal as a board member is to be transparent. She stressed the importance of listening to the district’s experts — the men an women who are educators and administrators — in order for the board to make informed decisions.
She also said she would like to see the board return to monthly working sessions that would allow the board to have detailed conversations with staff and others about the resources needed to meet the district’s needs.
Improving communication among the board members was a common theme expressed by the candidates.
Bowling said an existing board member still refuses to communicate with the superintendent, which she cited as an example of the need to improve communication.
Gilliland not only brings experience in law enforcement, but he also served as a DARE officer and for more than four years as a School Resource Officer.
He said he’s been a team player in his law enforcement career and would be one as a member of the board. With kids having attended county schools, he said the board needs to work better together to insure the district manages its resources to meet the educational needs of all of its students.
At one point during the candidate forum, more than 2,200 people were watching the live stream on Facebook.
The forum was organized by former teacher Mary Crum Spalding and was sponsored in part by the Democratic Women’s Club and several other organizations.
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