The editor of the Tennessean has, for the first time in six years, started publishing news stories critical of Pedro Garcia. While she innocently pretends that the news media did nothing to enable the administrative disaster which has befallen Metro Schools, the very fact that the direction of the reporting has changed, indicates a 180 degree shift in the Nashville power structure.
One quote in particular portrays a wistful Garcia saying his biggest regret was that he could not have a better relationship with the MNEA. That was not a sincere comment. It was probably motivated by “spin,” knowing that the people in distant locations would be reading the recent news stories. The tone of his administration was set early on by a number of consistent, sustained, hostile actions toward the teachers and principals which naturally caused the MNEA to react appropriately. As the MNEA President said at the time, “Even a dog knows the difference between being tripped over and being kicked.”
Of the board members who were present when Garcia was hired, only two remain. Those two, George Thompson and Ed Kindall were opposed to him from the beginning. However, as of 2006, the Chamber of Commerce was able through their political action committee to elect two new supporters of Garcia, who along with three who came from districts where the previous members supported him, made a majority of five who extended his contract to 2010. So this allowed Garcia to follow the George Bush model of “51 percent.” With that 51 percent he runs roughshod over all opposition as if he has unanimous support of the community. Up until November of 2007, by all appearances in the corporate news media, he did have total support.
Now, without the fig leaf of his leaving the system for “bigger and better” California, the school board and the supporters of the majority will have to confront the disaster that they have enabled. It is not a pretty picture. But the five members who voted to extend his contract deserve to sit through the long tense meetings, and receive the heart-rending phone calls, and lose sleep at night. It is small consolation, but the truth is, Garcia has given the school board members themselves more trouble than he has to the teachers. We will soon see how much power frustration has to move those members toward courage.