CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – After voting on the new chairman of the Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board resulted in an iron-clad deadlock, the election has been postponed until the next formal board meeting.
With the arrival of two new School Board members – Chris Lanier and Kacie Bryant – the board has been tasked with voting for new officers. On Tuesday night, the board voted for two nominees: current Chairman Kent Griffy and Jimmie Garland. With one member absent, that resulted in an unbreakable tie.
Why the chair matters
Griffy told Clarksville Now the chairman position is important because it sets the direction of the board.
“It does not have any more authority than the board itself,” Griffy said. “But the chairperson has the responsibility to take the ideas of the other board members collectively and get them on the agenda and determine what action is taken to put that in action.”
According to CMCSS policy, the chair ensures the integrity of the board’s processes and serves as the board’s official spokesperson. Along with presiding over board meetings, the chair works with the director of schools to develop the agenda for the meetings and may take action in the form of an executive order for management of the school system.
The Chair also monitors board behavior to ensure that it is consistent with its only policies and rules and can make all interpretive decisions that fall within the topics covered by Board Policies except where the Board specifically delegates such authority to others.
In the absence of the chair, the duties and power of the chair fall to the vice chairman.
Deadlocked vote
Tuesday night, Aron Maberry nominated Griffy, and Carol Berry nominated Garland.
After a confusing first-round vote, the board finalized their vote and the results were split down the middle, with Kacie Bryant absent.
- Berry, Garland and Herbert Nelson voted for Garland.
- Maberry, Griffy and Lanier voted for Griffy.
As the board prepared to vote a second time, they opened the floor for discussion once more. “Mr. Griffy has served as our chair for the last two years,” Berry said. “And I think change is good. So, that’s my rationale for considering the co-chair, which is Mr. Garland.”
The vote was called for a second round, then a third, and the results were the same. After the board resubmitted nominees, the names were the same, with the vote unchanged.
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Filling the chair
For two years, Griffy has served as chair, but it’s not his first time. He had a previous tenure on the board, during which he held the position of chair for a combined seven years.
When asked why he wants to continue, Griffy said the board is changing and moving in a more positive direction. “The board is taking a different step in involving the community and allowing the community to have a voice in what the school system does,” he said. “I think our director’s recent hire, Dr. (Jean) Luna-Vedder, was an integral part of that, and she’s doing a marvelous job of allowing that.”
This direction, Griffy said, started a few years ago by the board wanting to bring the public back into interactions with the board, even before the state passed it into law. Since the process began, Griffy says it’s grown and there’s been more parent involvement in committees and planning. “I don’t want to go back to trying to find out a way to not listen to the people that we’re representing,” Griffy said.
Garland has served as vice-chair with Griffy for the last two years. He has previously served as both chair vice chair during his 22 years on the board.
When reached by Clarksville Now, Garland declined to comment.
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