For a major American city, I've found Nashville to be surprisingly tight-knit. So if you think Gaylord matters, then let's compare Gaylord to Metro schools:
According to Gaylord's 2011 Annual Report, Opryland had $292 million in revenue and employed somewhere around 2,000 people*.
For 2011, MNPS employed about 8,240 people and had a budget of $662 million to educate about 73,000 students.
In Anchorman terms, MNPS is Ron Burgundy:
Metro schools are the largest single entity within local government. As I've canvassed for Elissa Kim, I've yet to meet the citizen who didn't have some connection to our public schools.
That's because every single citizen is affected by Metro schools and has a stake in our success.
And that is why I find accusations like the one below to be so frustrating. From today's Tennessean on the District 9 race:
While candidates have tried to introduce themselves to voters and distinguish themselves from their opponents, the common issue of where they sent their own children to school has come to the forefront. Two of the favorites in the race — (Margaret) Dolan and (Eric) Crafton — chose not to enroll their children in Nashville’s public school system.
Isn't the fact that these parents felt that Metro didn't offer good options for their children a reason for these candidates to run?
Look, I can think of plenty of reasons to not vote for Eric Crafton. For one, his signature "English only" ballot initiative was a slap in the face to the 13,000 Latino students in Metro and an embarrassment to a diverse city on the rise. Crafton also believes we can magnet our way to success for (a few) children. But the fact that he plans to enroll his daughter at Christ Presbyterian is a sign that Metro has a problem, not Crafton. He said in a City Paper article that his daughter lost in the lottery to get in Meigs Academic Magnet. If a former councilman looks at the options for his child and decides that he can't risk putting his child a zoned school in Metro, then how in the world is MNPS following through on its vision to be "the first choice for families?"
As for Margaret Dolan, she's done nothing but served on seemingly every significant board or task force in Nashville in addition to being an accomplished businesswoman. Are we actually going to have an argument about whether she has a stake in Nashville's success or cares about children? Does anyone believe she is insufficiently dedicated to this community? Seriously?
The idea that only people who enroll their children in MNPS should have a voice in running the system is ludicrous.
Imagine what would happen to the already hot Nashville real estate market if families knew that their child could get a great education in any public school.
Imagine what would happen to our economy if employers looking to move to this area knew the typical MNPS graduate has a college-ready skill level.
Imagine what would happen to our crime rate if our graduation rate were more than 76 percent and those graduates were ready for the next level of education.
The quality of our public schools affect all of us who own a home in Davidson County, want to raise a family here, employ or work with its graduates, or just want to live in a community with a high quality of life.
Think of our school board elections as deciding who gets to govern this town's largest and most important corporation. We need bright, savvy board members who are completely dedicated to increasing the achievement of our students. As the quality of MNPS' graduates goes, so goes the success of Nashville.
Everything else is a just a political sideshow.
* I'm not as sure about that number, but when they rehired after the flood, 1,700 positions were filled. That, plus the people who weren't laid off, gives me around 2,000.
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