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District 11 is primarily downtown and central Franklin but extends south to the Goose Creek Bypass. If you vote at Franklin Elementary, the indoor soccer arena or Winstead Elementary, you’re in District 11. Confirm your district by entering your address here. Mark Gregory has been the District 11 WCSB rep since 2004 and decided not to run for re-election.
Stuart Cooper
campaign@votestuartcooper.com
Facebook page: Liked by J. Lee Douglas (founder and president of 912 TN) who endorsed Burgos, Cash, Curlee and Emerson in 2014; State Rep. Jeremy Durham who contributed $1000 to Susan Curlee in 2014, WCRP Executive Director Jean Barwick who endorsed Burgos, Cash, Curlee and Emerson in 2014; District 1 WCSB candidate Richard Davis, District 4 WCSB candidate Joey Czarneski, District 5 WCSB candidate Julie Mauck, District 7 WCSB candidate Jennifer Luteran; Facebook friends with Glen Casada, Bev Burger, Barb Sturgeon, Denise Birnbaum, Judson Phillips, Kim Little, Denise Boothby
Twitter: N/A
Current school engagement: Homeschooled his four children before moving to Franklin three years ago, oldest daughter attends Page Middle and two younger children attend Winstead Elementary; did not attend the 5/16 WCSB Candidate Panel on Special Education
Professional: Tek Links; bachelor’s degree and executive MBA from UT
History: Native Tennessean who moved to Franklin three years ago to start Redeeming Grace Church
Politics: Republican, self-identifies as both fiscally and socially conservative, ran as a 7th Congressional District GOP delegate for presidential candidate Rick Santorum
“I would like a conservative person to jump into the field. I am conservative.”
Other groups and associations: Active member and small-group leader at Redeeming Grace Church
Endorsements: Williamson County Homeschool Coalition, 912 TN, WCRP Executive Committee; attended school board meetings with Chuck Shelton, a “county Republican activist” involved in “vetting” and “encouraging” candidates to run in 2014, who endorsed Burgos and Curlee and provided campaign support to Emerson in 2014, was accompanied by Shelton at the Winstead PTO candidate meet-and-greet (Shelton, in purple between Cooper and his campaign manager, is not a PTO member or WCS parent); attended school board meetings with and was introduced to Curlee, Burgos, Emerson and Gregory by Denise Birnbaum who was Candy Emerson’s campaign treasurer, endorsed Laurie Cardoza-Moore in 2015, and supports Susan Curlee and Barb Sturgeon
Public social media posts: N/A
“I believe in parental involvement, personally in my own kids’ lives. I want to continue to see the success of the Williamson County school system.”
“I would like a conservative person to jump into the field. I am conservative.”
“I would love to delve deeper into [educational issues of concern or importance] later on. I just pulled my papers. I’m looking into all educational issues. I’m currently studying all the options. In a few months as the campaign picks up, I’ll be able to talk about that.”
“I’ve watched school board meetings and that type of that thing. I’ve been to one meeting in person and I’ve watched some online.”
“I read a book called ‘Going Public‘ that is about how your children can thrive in public schools. That sort of piqued my interest in the school system in general.”
Williamson County Association of Realtors questionnaire
KC Haugh
kchaugh@gmail.com
Facebook page: Liked by District 3 WCSB candidate Christy Coleman, District 3 WCSB candidate Eliot Mitchell, District 4 WCSB member Anne McGraw, District 4 WCSB candidate Joey Czarneski, District 5 WSCB chairman Gary Anderson, District 6 WCSB member Jay Galbreath, District 7 WCSB member Bobby Hullett, District 7 WCSB candidate Jennifer Luteran, District 9 WCSB member Rick Wimberly; Facebook friends with Mike Looney
Current school engagement: Father of two daughters who attend Centennial High School and Page Middle School, PTO volunteer
Professional: Vice President – Information Technology at SOS (Store Opening Solutions); University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate
History: Moved to Tennessee in 2008 for work and chose Williamson County for the schools
Politics: N/A
Other groups and associations: Board member and treasurer of the Nashville Figure Skating Club
Endorsements: WillCo Rising PAC, Williamson Business PAC, former WCSB members Vicki Vogt and Eric Welch, FSSD member Alicia Barker, former FSSD board member Kent McNish, Franklin Aldermen Pearl Bransford, Margaret Martin and Mike Skinner, District 11 County Commissioner Brian Beathard
Public social media posts: N/A
“As a parent, I’m pleased with Williamson County Schools and what they have accomplished. They are not complacent, strive to be the best they can be, and are innovative.”
“I want to keep the focus on education, not ideology. Schools are an important factor in the quality of life in a community, regardless of if a person has a child in the schools or not. I also want to look at the value and frequency of standardized testing. While local government doesn’t have as much say in this matter as the state does, I want to be able to give support to teachers and students.”
“The need to prepare for growth is important to me. The growth projections for this county are rising. It’s a priority to me to retain and attract top talent. I also want to maintain a good relationship with the community and the county commission.”
“I feel I could bring a spirit of collaboration [to the school board]. I am able to disagree in an agreeable manner. I can do so with a sense of levity. I also want to support the teachers and their efforts.”
District 11 Home Page Candidate Survey Responses
KC Haugh…what’s your philosophy on school rezoning, grandfathering and the anticipation of future growth for rezoning?Rezoning is essentially a by-product of growth and we are growing rapidly. It’s something we have to do. Growth is a good problem to have but it does create challenges. I think we need to over communicate. I think we need to communicate, communicate, communicate again. We need to listen to people, but also need to lead throughout the process.Not everyone will be happy with decisions that are made. We can’t please everyone, but if we communicate and lead well I think it will go very well. I did speak to a voter who said her two children have been rezoned four times. She is past all that with her kids in college, and she had a smile on her face.It will go well and it will be fine. I never make promises. But it’s going to be painful. Good leadership prepares people for things when they could be challenging.We are growing so fast. We can’t please everyone, but we will do our best to make decisions for everyone involved.It’s going to take a lot of listening and analysis. We should go for the goal of minimal disruption. I was really involved in the last rezoning discussion in 2010. We didn’t feel there was a lot of good communication. I started a Facebook group to facilitate that and pull different perspectives together.That’s going to be needed in this discussion too. Thinking about the growth challenges they are huge. District 11 is going to be impacted. With the growth happening in the south, I think we need to make sure we plan appropriately so people aren’t rezoned multiple times.So it takes into account a quality of life that considers traffic, facilities, parental involvement. Goals would be minimal rezoning in the future. We should attempt for as close to a clean feeder patten as possible. I know it’s almost impossible, but having that drive the discussion is helpful in making sure the parents aren’t driving past a school to attend another school. That’s the challenge.The challenges arise out of growth, which is good. No one likes change, and I can appreciate that. But all of the schools are excellent, and I think the district has done a good job to make sure there is a quality education at each of our schools, versus just a few schools.What is your position on standardized testing – is there too much, too little?I think that teachers want to teach. I don’t think they want to test all the time. Students want to learn and not be over tested. So, I do think in some cases testing is excessive. We’ve had tears. They’ve come home in tears and that type of thing. It’s nothing I am overly concerned about but we have to prepare for the week of testing and able to make sure they are well rested.I think there is too much, and there is too much emphasis on it. The school board doesn’t have a lot of say nor does this district. But I think Williamson County is in a position to advocate for testing that is appropriate and not overly onerous on the students.Measuring achievement is important. I think the district does a good job of that in measuring across the board. The testing with TNReady is a debacle. I wasn’t wild about TCAP. The emphasis on that was a little much and puts the stress on the kids I wish wasn’t there.I think the district can help push back on some of that. TNReady was beta testing and it’s irresponsible to make people take a test that hasn’t been validated. The district and administration does a great job of accepting the challenge and taking the high road. It would be easy for everyone to complain and throw up their hands. [Superintendent Mike] Looney is confident that they will do their best through adversity and that’s good leadership.What is your position on Common Core?I am opposed to Common Core, and I think it’s a great move to phase it out. I want local control, and this a nonpartisan race, but I am a Republican. A lot of people ask me that at the door. They are asking a question behind a question. Some of them are pro-local control, and I think we can make decisions locally that don’t need to be made from a federal level.I don’t see the district having much of a position. I think you have to do with what the state says and as long as we have standards that exceed them, I see it as a non-factor. We can apply our own local standards to maybe do a better job of keeping the education challenging and appropriate.What do you think of current state education standards?I know we recently implemented a standards review committee. I think that’s a wise decision, and I am glad we have a mechanism in place in which to review standards. I think we are making progress and that we are reviewing them.I think that Williamson County schools exceed the standards and I think that the education is rigorous enough. It’s adequately challenging. I haven’t seen any I thought were lacking. I think they are well developed, and I think what my kids are learning is appropriate and challenging.Do you think world religions should be part of history or social studies curricula?I think the history of world religion should be taught in history. I think if you teach world religions in the context of history, you’re going to be more fair and accurate in the representation. I would teach it in the context of history.To the extent that it covers history, absolutely. There is no separating religion and history. My daughter is seventh grade this year. When this came up, I asked to look at the textbook. I read it, and I saw that it was covering the basics, and I think that’s appropriate.It gives them a good base understanding of other cultures without proselytizing or advocating one or the other. I think the material is fine. It covers the subject in an innocuous manner. But it has become an opportunity to create some divisiveness in an issue that takes the focus off of the academic achievement and education.What is your opinion of the current state of WCS and the current leadership?The US News and World Report that ranked five of our schools in the top 20. We are obviously doing very well. I think we can do better, but we are obviously doing well. Our ACT scores have gone up since our superintendent has been at the helm. People move here to be a part of the school system. Our reputation is strong in the state of Tennessee. Not that I want people moving from everywhere, but I would love to see our reputation grow outside of this region and outside of the state. So we are thriving locally and competing nationally.I think it’s really good. Achievement is excellent in looking at the ACT scores with a goal higher that’s this year. Student achievement is the best, tangible, quantifiable measure of how we are doing. They’ve done a good of creating a welcoming environment and focusing on academics and achievement.I think there have been unnecessary distractions, and I want to do what I can to keep the focus on supporting academic achievement. I’ve met with teachers, administration, and students. It does seem at times the board has been pulling the focus away from what’s important, and we need to have everyone going in the same direction.What is the best thing about WCS?I think our experience has been wonderful. At Winstead Elementary, we’ve had three of our kids in school there, and one is on the way. The principal is great. The teachers are amazing. The events that they hold for us to bring them to is always a family friendly environment. It’s a fertile ground for excellent schools. The cooperation is strong between parents and teachers and students and the community as well. The community values education. Business leaders value education and our schools. Businesses move here because of the reputation of the area.I think the engagement of parents and the involvement of the community, plus the appreciation of the businesses. Local businesses and international businesses are drawn here. That focus on achievement is really fostered by the involvement of parents in the schools. I think that is one of the things that drives a spirit of community where I’ve been at Winstead, Page and Centennial. When I talk about the community, you do feel like everyone is in this together. It feels supportive and supported.What needs attention and what aspect of it could need adjustment?I think what needs attention is growth. I think we have our hands full with growth. We could be build a new school every year. We need to work with the County Commission that we are balancing our growth with the fiscal responsibilities as a county so that we can ensure we don’t go in a lot of debt or increase it further.I think we need to focus on education and the most appropriate use of our resources as we plan. There is so much serious work to do in the next few years particularly with rezoning that we can’t have outside agendas drive the business of our schools. Williamson County is the fastest growing economy in the country. We don’t need things that put us in the news for the wrong reasons.