Roy Exum
Just hours after the chairman of the Hamilton County School Board emailed a list of 14 candidates on Friday afternoon to be considered as the next Superintendent of the 42,000-student system to the other board members, Dr. Nakia Edwards, an Assistant Commissioner with the Tennessee Department of Education, became the early “common sense” favorite. And, at first glance, she has a lot to offer.
Oddly, very few education professionals would even consider applying if they fully understood the hurdles and roadblocks that await the dubious winner but Edwards – well informed -- has studied Hamilton County’s dilemma and has reportedly told people she has formulated a plan already.
There are some other candidates who will draw notice when the actual interviews begin to take place next month but first there is a more immediate task.
The school board must present a balanced budget to the County Commission, this after a special “called” meeting to be held this Thursday. The budget will not include $24.5 million in dire and urgent needs, a list that will accompany the request, and the commission’s reluctance in years past – accompanied by an obvious lack of leadership and trust on both the board and ‘central office levels – has resulted in a disaster after the last three superintendents have left prematurely.
Steve Highlander, who heads the school board, specifically asked that the candidate list – compiled by the search firm of Coleman Lew and Associates – remain confidential but, after a tumultuous 16 months, almost nothing is any longer confidential in the county’s Department of Education. The recruiting firm is said to be amazed by the light response for the position but why?
Both parents and the public know the students are under-performing, that the buildings are in alarming disrepair, that the County Commission has woefully under-served public education for over a decade, and “a lack of internal judgement” has, in essence, cost “a generation” of students dearly. At almost every monthly meeting of the school board, the same sentence is repeated. “We are a broken system.”
Edwards is not deterred and, ironically, the lengthy list of problems is what puts Edwards in the best position when the school board begins interviews. Of the 14 candidates, she knows the pitfalls almost as well as her friend Kirk Kelly. Also a viable candidate, Kelly is now the Interim Superintendent and he has known Edwards for some time.
Before joining the state Department of Education, Edwards was the Chief Accountability Officer with the Knox County School District (2013-2015), the same position Kelly held in Hamilton County. Edwards has since married a Chattanooga businessman and, with a home in Chattanooga, has followed the Hamilton County “train wreck” with much more than a passing interest.
From a strategical view, Edwards appears to have the management skills, has the now-crucial contacts, and a well-honed vision to lead the Department of Education out of what seems to be an ever-worsening quagmire. Her most important strength at this point is the fact she is highly-respected in state education circles where a Hamilton County influence has been notoriously lacking.
With as many as three or four additional Hamilton County schools expected to be added to a growing iZone list of poor performers in May, and the threat some Hamilton County schools may be wrestled into the now-perilous state-operated achievement district, Edwards is in a position none of the other candidates can match. After obtaining her bachelors and masters at Duke, Edwards received her doctorate at Vanderbilt and then spent time in the private sector (banking) before teaching and becoming a principal. She has a wide range of experiences she can apply.
If the Hamilton County district loses students to the state-operated school district (think roughly $10,000 less in tax money per child) and, with Signal Mountain appearing intent on creating its own district, it is imperative that Hamilton County have a reputable player seated at the state’s planning table. Edwards is said to be knowledgeable, personable and well-connected in Nashville.
Frankly, several of the last Hamilton County superintendents have shied away from any involvement with the state. Just two years ago, the HCDE handled state monies that were sent to Hamilton County so poorly that the district as publicly castigated by state education commissioner Candace McQueen.
Edwards could quickly mend that bridge and then there is one more tidbit: Randy Boyd, the odds-on favorite to become Tennessee’s next governor, got to know Edwards well when Boyd served as the State’s Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and she has his full backing, which is helpful to know, as they say.
The other candidates are:
* -- NATASHA BAKER, the state reform officer for the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget.
* -- ALAN COVERSTONE, Professor of education and director of graduate programs at Belmont University in Nashville.
* -- CLIFFORD DAVIS JR., Chief of Staff, Knox County Schools.
* -- NATALIE ELDER, Director of school improvement and professional development for Stamford (Conn.) Public Schools (worked in Hamilton County system and was principal at Hardy Elementary 2001-2009)
* -- JACK ELSEY, Chief Officer for Education Achievement Authority in Michigan.
* -- TIMOTHY GADSON III, Superintendent Designee at Robbinsdale (Minn.) Area Schools.
* -- KEVIN GAFFNEY, founder of Gaffney Consulting Group in Chattanooga.
* -- STUART GREENBERG, Chief Academic Officer for Leon County Public Schools, Fla. (Tallahassee)
* -- BRYAN JOHNSON, Chief Academic Officer for Clarksville-Montgomery Co., Tn.
* -- ARTHUR W. JOHNSON, founder of First Performance Corp. in Georgia.
* -- VERNA RUFFIN, superintendent in Jackson (Madison County) Tn.
* -- ANDRE WRIGHT, learning community director in Aurora Public Schools, Colorado.
Dr. Nakia Edwards