5A
FRIDAY MAY 27 2016
LEDGER-ENQUIRER.COM
FROM PAGE 1A
RUNOFFS
ified for the runoff in
District 7 against former
board member Cathy
Williams, whose campaign
manager, Shannon Small-
man, is the incumbent
who chose not to run.
A Pete Taylor, who
finished second in the
four-way District 5 race
that another political new-
comer, Laurie McRae,
won outright with 52 per-
cent of the vote. On Jan. 1,
she will succeed Rob Var-
ner, the boards chairman
who supported McRae and
THAT TELLS YOU
FRANKS MESSAGE
RESONATES WITH
THE PUBLIC AND
THAT MAYBE THE
PUBLIC DOESNT
WANT A BOARD
THAT
UNIVERSALLY
SUPPORTS ITS
SUPERINTENDENT
Fife Whiteside, Muscogee
County School Board
1993-2008
didnt seek re-election.
That tells you Franks
message resonates with
the public and that maybe
the public doesnt want a
board that universally
supports its superintend-
ent, said Fife Whiteside,
who served for 15 years
(1993-2008) on the board.
The function of the board
isnt so much to support
the superintendent but to
support the children, and
those things are not al-
ways the same.
Whiteside then de-
scribed the dynamic an-
other way: I think its a
mistake to focus too much
on this being Frank vs. the
superintendent. I think
whats at issue here is
what the public expects in
its board and what is its
proper function.
District 4 representative
Naomi Buckner balked at
any attempt to draw con-
clusions about the board
from the 2014 and 2016
election results, calling the
sample too small.
I dont see any specific
meaning, Buckner said.
Theres no trend on that.
People are always con-
cerned about their chil-
dren, so youre always
going to have issues on
the school board.
Regardless, add it all up,
and Myers and Thomas
already are guaranteed
one additional like-mind-
ed vote, and the two run-
offs could give them two
more. That means they
could be on the winning
side of some of their pro-
posed reforms that failed
the past two years, such as
conducting a forensic
audit, ending no-bid con-
tracts, decreasing the
superintendents spending
authority and increasing
the information the ad-
ministration gives the
board.
Varner also has heard
that these runoffs will
determine the balance of
power on the board, but I
dont want to draw that
conclusion because I
would hope that all of
these people, whether
being supported by Mr.
Myers or anyone else,
would come in with a
more open viewpoint,
rather than saying, Were
going to go in and now we
control things. In my
eight years, I never
thought I controlled any-
thing on this board of
education.
Elections have con-
sequences. The electorate
needs to be careful about
just blindly saying, Throw
the bums out.
Sometimes the first-
time candidates Myers has
Thomas-Brown Taylor
Williams Jackson
helped elect end up oppos-
ing his agenda.
Myers gave Smallman
advice for her 2012 cam-
paign, but their alliance
collapsed after she didnt
vote with him to block
outsourcing custodians.
Smallman wasnt reached
to comment for this arti-
cle, but she told the Led-
ger-Enquirer last month,
At the beginning of my
term, I realized he thought
I was a puppet, and I nev-
er saw myself that way.
Seniors falling out with
Myers happened between
the 2012 election and
when she took office the
following January. She
told Myers in November
of that year she wouldnt
vote with him in his effort
to open the school dis-
tricts contract for legal
counsel to bids from other
law firms.
Frank wants to be the
CEO and have everyone
answer to him, Senior
said. He wants to stack
the board and have con-
trol. Hes detrimental to
our district and our chil-
drens education.
Failing to question the
districts administration is
detrimental to the district
and the childrens educa-
tion and contributes to
failing schools, Myers
argues.
There have been three
rounds of test scores since
Ive been on the board,
and weve gotten three
Fs, he said. John and I
have done a great job of
making the public under-
stand that we have to do
better and we can do bet-
ter.
Green believes Myers
contributed to Seniors
defeat.
Im sure shes dis- Alice Through The Looking Glass
appointed to have a cur-
rent sitting board member
to campaign against col-
leagues, Green said.
Thomas-Brown said its (Thur no 11:20 show)
unfortunate that Myers
has become such a big
focus in the election.
He does provide good
information and he en-
dorsed us, and that is his
right to do so, and we
appreciate any endorse-
ments that we receive
along the way, she said.
But I believe we are get-
ting the message out
about the fact that we
need to make a change.
Varner contends that
news stories affect the
perception about the
school district and its
board.
What Im sensing, Xmen: Apocalypse 3D PG13 12:00 6:40
because were in the news
a lot and because its
largely negative, its tough
for people to vote for us,
Varner said. It just is.
Their assumption is, when
all they see is the negative
media coverage, their
assumption is were doing
things poorly, and I cant
blame them for thinking
that.
Looking ahead to the
runoffs, Myers said, The
stakes could not be high-
er, and plainly explained
the July 26 choices.
If Pat Hugley Green
and Cathy Williams go
back in, its going to be
business as usual, Myers
said. But if Shelia Wil-
liams and JoAnn Thomas-
Brown win, whatever
momentum John and I
began will continue.
Staff writer Alva
James-Johnson contributed
to this report.
News
City officials cut the ribbon
on the new parking deck.
PHOTOS BY MIKE HASKEY mhaskey@ledger-enquirer.com
Phenix City officials cut the ribbon Thursday morning to officially open the city's
parking deck. The garage has two levels of parking without the need for ramps and
offers a unique exposed stairwell which also acts as an observation deck offering views
from the deck's corner at Whitewater Avenue and 14th Street. Parking costs $3 per day.
New parking deck in Phenix The new 200-space
parking deck sits across the
City now open to the public street from the riverfront
Courtyard Marriott and
Troy States new campus.
VIDEO
Go to www.ledger-enquirer for
video from today's event.
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