CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Businesswoman Kacie Bryant, the Republican in the race, defeated Democrat Ritchie Patton and independent Laura Barnett for the Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board District 2 seat.
Bryant told Clarksville Now the race was “quite a battle” though everyone kept the race civil. She thanked her family and supporters. “I had a lot of people behind me, and even when I was gone for a week in early voting to spend some much-needed time with family, I had people out there showing up and holding signs.”
On the School Board, she said she has many goals. “The first thing is looking at what comes up over and over again when I talk to teachers is the behavioral issues that we have in our schools. That is No. 1 on my priority list, getting feedback from teachers and parents to handle these situations and come up with solutions for these behavioral issues.”
Bryant had 57% of the votes with 1,311. Barnett and Patton each carried 22%, with Barnett at 484 votes and Patton at 482.
Barnett, a professional educator, said she wasn’t surprised by the results. “I think there is a strong Republican base in this county and a lot of people vote the ticket. I knew it was an uphill battle, so I’m not terribly surprised, but I am disappointed.”
She said had she been willing to run for School Board on a party ticket, she would have run as a Republican. “Obviously I think it would have been a different outcome. But it wouldn’t have been true to what I believe about education.”
Barnett said she plans to continue working to improve education. “I teach full-time at Austin Peay, I’ve gotten $3.2 million in grants for students to come through my program free, and I’ll continue to teach teachers to become principals.”
Patton said that to him the loss “was a blindside. I was prepared to win and really expected to win. I poured my heart and soul into this and felt like I did everything that I had the opportunity to do. It’s tough for the race to come out like this.”
As for what’s next, Patton said, “I want to focus on my farm and family. … I definitely want to find ways to get involved and continue to defend our public schools.”
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About the candidates
Bryant, a Republican, is founder of Local Clarksville and The Business Project. She graduated from Mississippi State University in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. She previously owned a fitness business, and has been involved in many local business ventures.
Patton, a Democrat, is a US Army veteran and Clarksville native and a graduate of Northeast High School. He is co-owner of the Sunday Morning Flower Farm, and the annual Natural Living Fair. He has a bachelor’s degree and Master’s of Business Administration from Belmont University in Nashville.
Barnett, an independent, grew up attending local schools before enrolling at Austin Peay State University to earn her B.A. in English and Business, MAED in Curriculum & Instruction, and Ed.S. degree in Administration and Supervision. She completed her doctorate in Leadership and Professional Practices at Trevecca University. She has had a 32-year career, serving CMCSS in assistant principal and principal roles. She is an assistant professor in the APSU Eriksson College of Education as the graduate coordinator for the MAED Educational Leadership program. Barnett has been president of the College of Education Alumni for five years.
Christian Brown, Knox Rives, Lily Russell and Chris Smith contributed to this report.
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