Johnson Picks New JPS Board Members

Kenya Hudson

Johnson's picks for JPS board could change the face and the politics of the board for at least a year.

by Adam Lynch
November 18, 2009

Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. announced his picks for the Jackson School Board last night. The returning mayor fell back on the ward rotation method in making his selections. He re-appointed board member Jonathan Larkin to finish his term, which will last another year and a half, on behalf of Ward 1, and appointed retired JPS Deputy Superintendent for Elementary Schools Kisiah Nolan to fill the Ward 4 slot. Johnson appointed retired cardiologist George Schimmel for the Ward 7 slot.

"I have no doubt that these three individuals have a strong commitment to the Jackson Public School District," Johnson said in a statement. "I have confidence in their ability to work for the best interests of the administrators, teachers and students."

Council members had stepped over a Ward 4 appointment in 2007 to approve board member Ivory Phillips to replace former board member Maggie Benson-White. Ward 4 Councilman Frank Bluntson had not argued against Phillips' appointment at the time. In fact, Bluntson and council members Kenneth Stokes and Charles Tillman had difficulty getting Phillips into the seat because a majority of council members repeatedly refused to attend the confirmation vote, stifling the possibility of a quorum. Legal fears, it turned out, fueled their hesitation.

Former Council members Marshand Crisler, Ben Allen, along with current Council-woman Margaret Barrett-Simon told the Jackson Free Press in 2007 that Marcus Ward, the chief of staff under then-mayor Frank Melton, had threatened Larkin's re-appointment to the board if he did not approve a bid for a contract by a company supported by the mayor's office.

Ward allegedly told Larkin that the mayor's office would not submit Larkin's name to the council for re-confirmation if he did not approve a contract bid by Jackson business Integrated Management Services PA, for work related to the $150 million bond project. Despite the alleged threat, Larkin voted against the IMS contract—and Melton asked council members to pull Larkin's name from consideration that year. But a majority of council members refused to take up a vote potentially removing Larkin, whose term expired in 2006, fearing an association to what could pan out to be an extortion attempt. Barrett-Simone openly said she withheld her vote due to anxiety over an ongoing federal investigation of Melton.

Johnson's choices this week keeps Larkin at the board for a little longer, however.

Nolan, for her part, is deeply embedded in Jackson Public Schools. Her son, Fred Nolan, heads the JPS program Dads for Destiny, which encourages participation of male role models in the lives of JPS students. The woman Nolan is replacing, Ann Jones—whose term expired in March 2008—said Nolan also served as a school principal for many years and will bring considerable experience to the board.

"She'll bring with her a wealth of knowledge on how schools work, and the work that principals do and the challenges they face," Jones told the Jackson Free Press. Jones added that she had not received any calls from Johnson regarding her removal, and had only heard about the changeover through a text message to the board last night.

"I had no idea about it until I was told during the board meeting. Somebody had notified Jonathan (Larkin), who then told me," Jones said, explaining that she has had no contact with the mayor for more than a month.

Also on the way out is Delmer Stamps, whose term ended March of this year.

The three appointments still face a confirmation vote by the council, which has been overwhelmingly supportive of Johnson's appointments since he returned to office this year. If confirmed, the new members could create a new majority voting bloc on the board, depending on the dispositions of Nolan and Schimmel. For the last two years, the board had moved away from a Larkin, Jones, Benson-White majority to a new majority consisting of Stamps, Phillips and board President Sollie Norwood, thanks to the arrival of Phillips.

The existing majority is partly to blame for the departure of former-Superintendent Dr. Earl Watkins, who left after a JPS court settlement with Michael Ellis, the former principal of Chastain Middle School (whom Watkins fired), and lingering tension with the board. Phillips, Stamps and Norwood had little love for Watkins and offered few regrets at his departure. They approved new Superintendent Lonnie Edwards after a hasty three-month job search, but today, the board is largely united in frequently opposing some of Edwards' decisions regarding JPS appointments, new hires and promotions.

Should Schimmel and Nolan side with Larkin on contentious issues, the new bloc could potentially leave Phillips and Norwood in the minority.

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