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Williamson County Education Association
Election 2012
SCHOOL BOARD QUESTIONAIRE
Rick Wimberly
Ninth District
Personal Information:
1. What influenced your decision to run for the office of Board of Education? Being on the
Williamson County school board is something I’ve wanted to do for years. Career and family
make timing right. I want to be a part of the effort of teachers, students, administrators, and
parents to make this a nationally acclaimed school district. My spouse and many long-time friends
teach in the district. I’ve had good exposure to their challenges and want to help.
2. What are your priority objectives for moving Williamson County Schools forward? Please provide
any details you would like to share. I want to see us keep a sharp focus on implementing the
strategic plan. To do this, we must have strong, highly-motivated people in the class room. That
means successes need to be celebrated, and teachers need to be remunerated appropriately.
Also, we need to do a better job communicating with the public about our challenges and
accomplishments.
3. How are you currently involved with our public schools? I have been consistently involved for
nearly thirty years. My wife and I were the first PTO members at the new Walnut Grove School.
I’ve been one of the leaders of the Destination Imagination creative problem-solving program
which has very strong participation in the Williamson County schools. I routinely attend school
functions and participate actively as a current school board member. I also spend a great deal of
time talking with the public about our schools.
4. How do you see your role as a Board Member in relationship to school employees and the
Director of Schools? As a board member, I am responsible for evaluating the Director of Schools
and giving him feedback. I am also responsible for listening to teachers and supporting their work.
I see us all as part of a dynamic organizational team.
5. What personal talents and qualifications do you believe you could bring to this position? I feel like
I’ve been training for this job for years. My Dad was an educator. My Grandfather was the first
school board member in the county where I grew up. My wife teaches in Williamson County
schools and two of my four children are in education. It’s in my blood. So, I’m a businessman
with a deep passion for education. I have a strong aptitude for communication, and think it’s
essential for a school board to help facilitate communications between the public and central
office. I have deep experience with strategic plans, both writing them and making sure they’re
followed. I also have a good understanding of how government really works (in fact, wrote a book
on the topic).
6. Do/Did you have children or grandchildren in the public schools? Private? Like many people, we
moved to Williamson County because of the schools. Our four children attended Grassland
Elementary, Walnut Grove, and Grassland Middle. They attended Catholic High School. They’ve
attended both public and private colleges (MTSU, Colorado University, Berklee College of Music,
Harvard, Columbia Teaching College).
School Funding:
7. What steps will you take to ensure that the local school system receives funding for a budget that
meets the needs of the students and school system from both the state and the County
Commission? I work closely with Dr. Looney and the balance of the Board to meet with, lobby,
and collaborate with the County Commission to secure much needed funding. I believe we are
making progress in this area and as the economy recovers more success can be achieved in this
area. I also believe that the majority of people of Williamson County want schools to be better
funded. We all need to work more effectively in rallying public support, particularly on funding
issues.
Instructional Programs:
8. If you have visited many of our schools, you have found teachers sharing classrooms throughout
the day and utilizing push carts to move from classroom to classroom to provide student
instruction. While teaching bell to bell is our goal, continual movement from room to room
somewhat inhibits the ability to implement this concept with fidelity. Our teachers have attained
phenomenal results. The data clearly show so. However, it hasn’t been easy as resources are
tight. I am committed to working with Dr. Looney to acquire much needed resources, including
additional learning spaces to minimize traveling, so that our success can be sustained.
Please share your ideas on the current condition of available classroom instructional space for
teachers and students. No doubt about it, we need additional classroom space and improvements
to some of our existing spaces.
9. Williamson County Schools has instituted a BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) program in
several of our schools.
What are your ideas on the use of student cell phones, IPAD’s and various types of technology
brought from home to use during the instructional school day? I am a supporter of the BYOT
initiative. I believe teacher training and the establishment of clear guidelines for appropriate use of
these devices will be critical to a successful implementation. We also need to make sure that our
students have equitable access to technology so that we don’t have two tiers of students – the
haves and have-nots.
10. Please share your ideas on the current Teacher Evaluation System. What changes if any do you
feel should be made? Explain. The flexibility package that we submitted is a good step in the right
direction. However, the process still has serious shortcomings. I don’t like the fact that teachers
are evaluated on subjects they don’t teach. I want to see that part of the process changed. The
program needs to be reasonable and consistent. It’s not currently.
11. Student testing has become a major factor in a student’s instructional program. Beyond the state
and federally mandated tests such as TCAP, EOC (end of course test), ACT, AIMS WEB, and
others, Williamson County implements Benchmark testing, Honors and AP course testing, and
Technology Proficiency testing. Please share with us your views on this amount of testing in
addition the normal cumulative curriculum test. I know we do a lot of testing. I would like to
explore options for streamlining some of the local assessments. I also have big concerns about
the PARCC assessment process as common core is implemented.
Employee Compensation:
12. Williamson County Schools currently ranks 94th out of 136 Tennessee school systems in per pupil
expenditures spending on average $7,821 per pupil, $952 below the current state average of
$8,773.
What are your feelings about these statistics; what do you believe needs to change, and how do
you plan to implement these changes? We should all be embarrassed by these numbers. At a
minimum our investment in teachers and students should reflect the state average. I am
committed to working with all stakeholders, and the public, to get us there.
13. The Williamson County Director of Schools ranks 6th in the state of Tennessee for salary.
Principals’ average salaries rank 3rd in the state, while the average salary of a classroom teacher
ranks 20th in the state. The starting classroom teacher salary ranks 47th in the state.
What are your thoughts on this issue and what, if anything should be done to address the matter?
Williamson County is the highest performing school district in the state. It has unique challenges
and a public that constantly wants more and better. Both our teachers and administrators should
be at the top of the pay scale.
14. Recently Metro Nashville Schools sought funding to increase the beginning teacher salary to
$40,000 in order to attract and retain the best and brightest teachers. Williamson County Schools
beginning salary is $33,950.
What are your thoughts on this issue and what if anything should be done to address the matter?
In order to reach our objectives, we must be able to attract and keep strong teachers. Metro’s
initiative should get our attention, and we need to figure out how to address it. Again, public
education is an important part of the process. I believe the majority of Williamson County
residents want excellent schools, and understand that we need to offer competitive pay and
incentives.
15. Currently, WCS employees receive 100% of their health insurance paid. The state BEP program
provides 45%, and the local government provides the remaining 55% for BEP certified positions.
What are your thoughts on this benefit, and would you recommend any changes to the current
funding? I support paying 100% of insurance benefits. We’re struggling with it, though, in part
because of unfair penalties on WCS by the BEP funding formula. I support a review of the funding
process and am working with Dr. Looney and our local legislative delegation to affect change.
*Rankings provided from the TEA Research Report, Tennessee School Systems Profile Rankings 2010-2011,
Williamson County Schools website,