Community schools bill on hold until task force makes recommendation

A state bill that would remove barriers to neighborhood schools in Davidson County may be shelved, for the purpose of allowing the new Metro Nashville Public Schools Rezoning Task Force to do the work it was created to do.

The bill — House Bill 2524 — was filed by State Rep. Mike Turner (D-Old Hickory) in January. Turner is a member of the MNPS rezoning task force, and said Thursday that he’s scheduled the bill to be discussed by the state Legislature’s Education Committee on the last day this session that the committee meets.

Turner said he’s keeping the bill on file in case it can be amended to provide more funding for MNPS. But in the mean time, he said, he wants to let the rezoning task force make its recommendations.

“I’ve got a bill in place that can be used in many different ways,” Turner said. “If the task force doesn’t work out and we don’t get things done, then we’ll look at legislation again in the future. But right now, I have confidence in the task force.”

The bill states that the school board must “allow” children to attend the schools closest to their homes, if those students so choose.

The bill also states that school board members should be able to take other factors into account when zoning students, including building capacity, transportation, and “psychological qualifications” of individual students for the type of teaching at schools. It applies only to Davidson County.

Turner believes the bill could have found support in the Legislature, but the concept of community schools is a controversial one, filled with arguments on both sides of the issue. In Nashville, the matter is tied to race and socioeconomic issues as well as concerns for efficient use of school facilities.

And not all stakeholders in public education believed the best way to address the complexity of the matter would be through legislation. Stephen Smith, assistant executive director of the Tennessee School Board Association, said his organization opposes the bill on the grounds that student zoning assignments are complex, and are best dealt with by individual districts.

“Potentially [districts would] have to add on space, instead of having a comprehensive redistricting plan that used all facilities in the most efficient manner,” Smith said.

School board member George Thompson said at the board’s most recent regular meeting Tuesday that he believed the board should come to a collective stance on Turner’s issue. On Thursday, though, Thompson said he has changed his mind, since the bill may not go forward.

“I’m not interested in creating a problem or generating a problem. Right now, it’s on hold,” Thompson said. “If the [task force] comes to something that’s amenable to everyone, it means that we don’t have an issue.”

The new task force is charged with creating a comprehensive zoning plan for MNPS by the end of April. Board of Education member Mark North is chair of the task force, which includes one individual appointed by Mayor Karl Dean, by former Director of Schools Pedro Garcia, and by each of the school board’s nine members.

Members include government officials, Metro Nashville Public Schools parents, and other engaged community members. Turner was appointed by school board member Steve Glover, but joined the task force just after he filed the community schools bill, he said.

Turner is a strong proponent of community schools, but the task force as a whole was assembled in an effort to bring together a diverse group of community members. The task force has not created any final recommendations, nor has it taken a public stance on community schools.

But Turner said that some of the ideas discussed for bringing back community schools could cost more money, as schools with higher concentrations of economically disadvantaged students should have more resources. He said he’s keeping his bill alive on the chance that it could be amended to garner funds for that purpose.

“It’s actually there as a vehicle in case we want to do something else,” Turner said. “I do have confidence in our school board, and I have confidence in the task force that we’re going to get something out there that hopefully the school board … and the mayor will support.”

The task force is due to make recommendations to the Board of Education in April.