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How will the District 4 school board seat be filled?
According to state law, the process works like this:
District 4 County Commissioners Kathy Danner and Gregg Lawrence will nominate an interim District 4 School Board rep who will then be required to run in the August 2016 election to keep the seat.
At the September 14 meeting, County Commissioners will consider their nomination.
Any one of the 24 county commissioners ALSO has the authority to nominate a candidate at that time.
There has been some misinformation about this process. The above is the law obtained from the Williamson County Attorney by WCS Facts.
Who are the candidates? (listed in order of expression of interest date)
Below is some very basic information on each the candidates. We compiled this info from the candidate profiles and public web sites, AKA the 10-minute Google method.
Anne McGraw (6/26 Home Page, 7/8 Tennessean, 7/16 Williamson Herald, Facebook)
Current school engagement: Mother of two daughters at Trinity Elementary; volunteers and helped to rebuild the PTO website
Professional: Senior manager of Global Digital Assets at Nissan North America, marketing degree from Georgia Tech
History: Moved to Nashville in 2007 and relocated to Franklin three years ago “for her job and the public school system”
Politics: “Self-described as not having a political bone in her body”
Plans: Plans to run in 2016 to continue serving the board if appointed
Garry Adams (6/30 Home Page, 6/29 Tennessean, 7/16 Williamson Herald)
Current school engagement: Wife works for WCS as a senior language arts specialist
Professional: Retired. Worked 38 years as a public school teacher, assistant principal and principal in Alabama and Georgia; Master’s degree in school administration
History: Retired to Williamson County in 2012
Plans: Plans to run in 2016 to continue serving the board if appointed
Joey Czarneski (6/30 Home Page, 7/11 Tennessean, 7/16 Williamson Herald)
Current school engagement: Wife is a Reading Specialist/Literacy Coach at Scales Elementary, where his son is enrolled; school volunteer
Professional: Application development manager at health services company Optum. Former project manager and director of performance, compliance and testing services at the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development
History: Has lived in Franklin for the past 10 years
Politics: Says he has “no political agenda to plug.” Ran for a Franklin at-large aldermanic seat in 2011 and was supported by Kathy Danner, Bev Burger, and Laurie Cardoza-Moore.
Plans: Plans to run in 2016 to continue serving the board if appointed
Jane McGrath (7/6 Home Page, 7/8 Tennessean, 7/16 Williamson Herald)
Current school engagement: Parent volunteer at Woodland Middle; Representative on the school district’s bullying prevention committee; Kenrose Elementary PTO president from 2011-2013; Kenrose PTO member-at-large from 2013 to 2014; Kenrose’s parent representative for the school district’s “Be Nice” campaign
Professional: Former special education teacher in LaVergne from 2000-2003, Bachelor’s degree in special education
Politics: Endorsed by former District 6 school board member Cherie Hammond
Plans: Plans to run in 2016 to continue serving the board if appointed
Harold A. Smith (7/8 Home Page, 7/8 Tennessean, 7/16 Williamson Herald)
Current school engagement: Said he has “no background in education or volunteering with the public school system.” One grandchild in WCS, one of his sons went through the school system
Professional: Retired five years ago as manager of credit and collections for Manheim Auctions and previously worked for Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation.
History: 30-year resident of Williamson County
Politics: “I’m not a political animal.” Said he was “encouraged to throw his hat into the ring for the seat.” “I believe in Christian values, and I do not believe in Common Core.” “I am a conservative Christian. I think we need more of that in the school systems.”
Plans: Would not likely run in August 2016 to keep the District 4 seat
Laurie Cardoza-Moore (7/10 Home Page, 7/10 Williamson Herald, 7/16 Williamson Herald, Facebook)
Current school engagement: Currently has one child in public school. Homeschooled her five children in elementary school. Four of her five children have attended WCS over the past nine years.
Professional: Founder and president of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations
History: Resident of Williamson County for 26 years
Politics: Says Common Core standards are “’globalization’ standards that will ultimately undermine the freedoms Americans have fought and died to preserve”; vocal opponent against the construction of a new Islamic center/mosque in Murfreesboro in 2010
Statement: “Should I be honored with the opportunity to serve my community on the Williamson County School Board, I will work diligently to ensure that our children are not used as guinea pigs for anti-American propaganda that will serve to threaten our state and U.S. constitutions.”
Christopher Koczaja (7/16 Home Page, 7/16 Williamson Herald)
Current school engagement: Father of three children at Trinity Elementary where his wife is PTO president
Professional: VP of Engineering and Implementation at PHG Energy, mechanical engineering degree from Purdue
History: Five-year resident of Franklin
Politics: Has never run for office
Plans: Would not run in August 2016 to keep the District 4 seat
See also:
Filling a Seat for a description of the selection process
Brief article about the 8/11 District 4 Candidate Forum