Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board: Who's staying, going, what's next after election
Three incumbent school board members will continue to serve the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System after winning their respective elections last week, and they'll be joined by a newcomer on the board.
Herbert Nelson, who was appointed in June 2019 to fill a District 3 seat, admitted that he was worried about his campaign after two challengers joined the race.
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The Democrat, however, was able to fend off Janet Peterson, a Republican, and Independent Ambar Marquis.
"It was really hard to tell... unsure how it was going to turn out. But I put my faith in God," Nelson said.
He received 592 votes (48.97%) to Peterson's 478 votes (39.54%) and Marquis's 139 votes (11.5%).
Incumbents Carol Berry, a Democrat in District 1, and Jimmy Garland, a Democrat in District 5, also secured re-election.
Berry defeated Republican John Crespo by a vote of 829 (54.86%) to 677 (44.8%). There were five write-ins. Garland held off Republican Brad Morrow by a vote of 922 (52.27%) to 840 (47.62%). There were two write-ins.
Republican Aron Maberry ran unopposed in District 7. He will take over for Josh Baggett, who did not seek re-election.
Nelson said he hopes the continuity on the board with the incumbents will allow the district to continue moving forward with providing quality educational opportunities to the more than 38,000 students in the district.
"I think we need to re-evaluate safety," Nelson said. "In hindsight, looking at things that happened in Uvalde, we want to double-down and make sure our students are safe."
In addition to safety, Nelson said the board and new Director of Schools Jean Luna-Vedder need to continue addressing building capacity issues amid growth in Clarksville-Montgomery County.
Berry also said safety and building capacity will be a top priority moving forward.
She's a former educator for CMCSS.
"Numbers in the classroom, it really does matter," Berry said of student overcrowding, noting that the operations staff is on top of the issue.
Garland said leadership is important and there's a good board in place for CMCSS.
"I know six out of the seven (school board members), and i believe that their heart is to represent the needs of the children," Garland said.
Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on Twitter @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to TheLeafChronicle.com.
This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: Here's what's next for the CMCSS board after the August election
