Republican school board debate: Candidates differ on charter schools, partisan elections

Williamson County's Republican school board candidates discussed charter schools, critical race theory and how to support teachers at a candidates' forum March 3. The event gave voters a closer look at where candidates stand ahead of the countywide primary on May 3.

Tom Lawrence of WAKM and Derby Jones of the Williamson Herald moderated the debate.

Who were the candidates?

Josh Brown is seeking re-election in District 4. Jay Galbreath is seeking re-election in District 6 and does not have a primary challenger. Donna Clements and Shauna Graham are running for the District 8 seat. Eric Welch is seeking re-election in District 10 and faces a challenges from Ali Wallace Adair. Drason Beasley and Jamie Lima are running in District 12.

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Dan Cash, the incumbent for District 2 who does not have a primary challenger, and Elliott Franklin, who is running in District 4, did not attend the debate.

Critical race theory: Is it taught in Williamson County Schools?

Candidates were asked about their position on critical race theory and whether they believe it is being taught in Williamson County Schools. Critical race theory is a framework to understand and address inequality and racism in the United States.

No candidate said they supported critical race theory. Brown, Galbreath, Graham and Welch said they did not believe critical race theory is being taught at WCS.

"I think if you ask 100 people what CRT is, you'd get 100 different answers," Brown said. "If you look at the academic definition of what CRT is, I don't support that. I think it's harmful. I think it's not productive. Do I think that, in the purest form, that CRT is being taught in our county schools? I don't."

Candidates including Graham and Beasley said they support an "accurate view" of history in classrooms.

"I do want an accurate portrayal of history. I want my children to learn about slavery. I want them to learn about Jim Crow and Reconstruction and the failures of those things," Graham said. "I don't think we have to have an ideology that makes children feel like race is the most important thing about them."

Lima said that he was "strongly against" critical race theory and that curriculum reform was a primary issue of his campaign.

"Our kids should understand our country is the greatest in the world," Lima said.

"Sometimes I feel that's not always emphasized as much as it should be."

Candidates were also asked about SB 2407, which would require public schools to make public a list of materials available in school libraries. The "Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022" would also require local school boards to adopt a review policy for library materials.

"I am very pro-First Amendment. I am not in favor of censorship," Graham said. "That being said, our most sacred duty to our children is to protect them, and sometimes keeping harmful content out of their hands is what we should be doing as parents, so I do think it's appropriate to evaluate the books that are available."

Welch said he supported transparency in school libraries and said WCS employs school librarians who have master's degrees in library science. He said he is wary of removing books based on individual lines.

"Some of the books that we read as kids — 'Of Mice and Men,' 'Animal Farm,' 'Atlas Shrugged,' 'The Scarlett Letter,' 'The Outsiders' ... there's sentences and phrases in them that, taken out of context, sound awful," Welch said. "But those are all great works of literature that we all read."

Should Tennessee have authority over charters?

The WCS board unanimously passed a resolution to oppose state legislation that would ease the approval process for charter schools in Tennessee. The new bill would allow the Tennessee Charter Commission to take over the approval process for new charter schools for five years if it overturns a local school board's decision three times over three years.

Welch said the resolution wasn't about whether charters were good or bad. He said he opposed the state bill because it would take decision making power away from local elected board members.

"It's really the antithesis of what we're talking about: conservative, small, local government," Welch said. "If we are going to talk about the success of charters, there is not a single charter in Tennessee that outperforms WCS. Not even close."

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Graham and Brown said they supported charter schools and school choice in principle but did not think charters were necessary in Williamson County.

"I believe that Williamson County doesn't have the need for charter schools because we have such excellent public schools, and that will be my focus," Graham said. "That being said, if a charter comes before the Board and I'm sitting on that Board, I will fairly assess that and vote accordingly."

Lima and Clements said that they supported charter schools and that increased school choice would improve education quality across the board in Williamson County.

"The more options that parents have, the better," Clements said. "With competition, both sides get better."

How can the Board support teachers?

WCS has faced staffing shortages during the coronavirus pandemic, and exit interviews suggest many teachers are leaving due to the "challenging climate" of working as a teacher today. Candidates were asked how the Board can support teachers and help them feel appreciated.

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Several candidates said it's important to get parent volunteers back in schools to ease the burden on teachers.

"Teachers have been at ground zero of a really, really tough time in our nation," Galbreath said. "I want to get more parents back in schools, get the parents back in relationship with the teachers."

Other candidates said Tennessee's new education funding model, a draft of which was released by Gov. Bill Lee in February, could provide more money to pay teachers. The WCS Board approved a 3% salary increase for full- and part-time staff in February.

Welch said statewide conversations about teachers had become "venomous" and "nasty." He referenced a state legislative hearing regarding HB 1944, which would target "obscene" books in school libraries.

"I think you can look at what happened up on the Hill yesterday," Welch said. "Teachers (were) compared to pedophiles, perverts in white vans and everything. It's just an environment that has to stop."

Are partisan school board elections good or bad?

The 2022 election cycle marks the first time school board candidates in Tennessee can run with a party affiliation after a new state law cleared the way for partisan school board elections. Candidates were split on whether this was a positive change.

"I don't know what my mechanic's politics are. I care that he can fix my car," Welch said. "I think it's a shame to have to look at everything through a political lens.... Education should be one of those areas where we don't have that."

Candidates including Lima said partisan elections can help voters know where candidates stand on specific issues before casting their vote.

Galbreath said that partisan elections would not change how school board members operate and that politics will continue to be kept out of the classroom.

"The way that I conduct business — and I think the way that business will be conducted — will not be changing at all," Galbreath said.

More debates to come

The Williamson County Republican Party will host additional debates for County Commission candidates on March 17, April 7 and April 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the Williamson County Administrative Complex (1320 W. Main St. in Franklin).

Cole Villena covers Williamson County at The Tennessean, part of the USA Today Network — Tennessee. Reach Cole at cvillena@tennessean.com or 615-925-0493. Follow Cole on Twitter at @ColeVillena and on Instagram at @CVinTennessee.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Republican school board candidates differ on charter schools, elections