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Christiane Buggs
Christiane Buggs was a member of the Metropolitan Nashville Board of Education in Tennessee, representing District 5. She assumed office in 2016. She left office in 2024.
Buggs ran for re-election to the Metropolitan Nashville Board of Education to represent District 5 in Tennessee. She won in the general election on August 6, 2020.
Buggs participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 school board candidate survey. Click here to read her responses.
Biography
Buggs is the assistant director of TRIO Programs at Tennessee State University. She has worked in that position since May 2015. She previously worked as a teacher in Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. She is a member of the Urban League Young Professionals of Middle Tennessee and a board member of the YMCA Black Achievers. Buggs earned a bachelor's degree in physics and a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from Tennessee State University. She also earned a second master's degree in teaching and learning in urban schools from Vanderbilt University.[1][2]
Elections
2020
See also: Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, Tennessee, elections (2020)
General election
General election for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools school board, District 5
Incumbent Christiane Buggs won election in the general election for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools school board, District 5 on August 6, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Christiane Buggs (Nonpartisan) | 98.8 | 11,627 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.2 | 136 | ||
| Total votes: 11,763 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2016
Buggs' residency was challenged prior to the 2016 election, but the Davidson County Election Commission voted 5-0 to dismiss the challenge and keep her name on the ballot.[3]
Five of the nine seats on the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools Board of Education were up for by-district general election on August 4, 2016.[4] District 1 incumbent Sharon Dixon Gentry defeated challenger Janette Carter to win another term. In District 3, incumbent Jill Speering also won another term by defeating challenger Jane Grimes Meneely. Norman Merrifield originally filed to run for the District 3 seat, but he withdrew from the election. Christiane Buggs, Miranda Christy, Corey Gathings, and Erica Lanier ran for the District 5 seat, which was left open when board member Elissa Kim did not file to run for re-election. Buggs was elected to the seat. The District 7 race featured incumbent Will Pinkston and challenger Jackson Miller. Pinkston was re-elected to another term. District 9 incumbent Amy Frogge faced challenger Thom Druffel. She was also elected to another term.[5][6][7]
Results
| Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, District 5 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Christiane Buggs |
58.27% | 2,812 |
| Miranda Christy | 27.31% | 1,318 |
| Corey Gathings | 7.09% | 342 |
| Erica Lanier | 7.02% | 339 |
| Write-in votes | 0.31% | 15 |
| Total Votes | 4,826 | |
| Source: Metro Government of Nashville & Davidson County Election Commission, "August 4 Election Results," accessed January 12, 2017 | ||
Funding
Buggs reported $40,712.96 in contributions and $40,685.96 in expenditures to the Davidson County Election Commission, which left her campaign with $27.00 on hand as of September 30, 2016.[8]
Endorsements
Buggs was endorsed by the Metropolitan Nashville Education Association, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce SuccessPAC, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 205, and Women In Numbers (WIN).[9][10][11][12][13]
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Christiane Buggs did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Christiane Buggs participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on May 20, 2016:
| “ | I look to improve and provide platforms for collaboration and communication between all stakeholders. I look to bridge the achievement gap. I look to ensure that the well-being and success of students are the basis for every decision. I look to bring my classroom experience and knowledge of education policy to the board and increase the effectiveness of MNPS policies that govern our schools.[14][15] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Tennessee. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Blank | |
| “ | Every board-level decision should be student-focused. Supporting the growth and success of young people is my main priority.[15] | ” |
| —Christiane Buggs (May 20, 2016) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer nine questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| No. MNPS families have 154 public schools to choose from. The schools we have now should be allowed to continue their work. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| Yes. This depends on the standardized test. Some are not as well written or culturally diverse as they would need to be to offer appropriate feedback. But, standardized tests do offer at least one piece of data that gauge student achievement. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| They will make our students competitive in the global market as they support critical thinking development. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Offer additional training options. Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. The response to this question is relative because it depends on the track record of the teacher. New teachers will become better with experience, and sometimes experienced teachers should be encouraged to learn new pedagogy ad teaching methods. Also, the district should consider the performance indicators used to monitor and label teachers. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. There are times where stipends could be beneficial and encourage teacher growth, but a blanket answer from me would "no". Merit pay often discourages teachers from working at traditionally underperforming schools, or at least encourages working at schools that are perceived as having fewer behavior problems and potentially being high performing. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. Public dollars should not be used to pay private entities. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Sparingly after restorative practices have been tried. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Parent involvement Having taught for almost a decade, I understand that the answer to this question is relative. Different classrooms require different supports based on need. Student-teacher ratio may not e as large of a concern in some classrooms because of the experience level of the teacher. This is not always the case though. The curriculum is standard across the state and serves as a guide for what is to be taught. Teachers, parents, and administrators all influence student success in different ways, and in different capacities based on the needs of the students and classroom. There is no one answer to this question. |
Candidate website
Buggs highlighted the following issues on her campaign website:
| “ | Student-Focused Curriculum Christiane’s experience as a teacher in Metro Schools makes her keenly aware that schools aren’t just buildings. They’re comprised of the people who walk the halls and whose lives are affected by district-level decisions. Christiane’s insight into what goes on inside of our schools will help her promote developmentally appropriate curricula. Educator Advocacy Parent Peace of Mind System-Wide Collaboration |
” |
| —Christiane Buggs (2016)[16] | ||
See also
2020 Elections
External links
|
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Christiane Buggs, M.Ed.," accessed May 19, 2016
- ↑ Buggs for Schools, "Meet Christiane," accessed May 19, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedchallenge - ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "Election Calendar 2016," accessed March 30, 2016
- ↑ The Tennesseean, "Who's running for the Nashville school board?" April 7, 2016
- ↑ Davidson County Election Commission, "County General Sample Ballot: August 4, 2016," accessed July 12, 2016
- ↑ Metro Government of Nashville & Davidson County Election Commission, "August 4 Election Results (Unofficial)," accessed August 4, 2016
- ↑ Davidson County Election Commission, "Financial Disclosures," accessed November 29, 2016
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Christiane Buggs," June 12, 2016
- ↑ Metropolitan Nashville Education Association, "Facebook Event: Phone Banking Party," accessed June 12, 2016
- ↑ Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, "SuccessPAC endorses candidates for the Metropolitan Board of Public Education," July 1, 2016
- ↑ SEIU Local 205, "Local Union Supports Metro School Board Candidates With “Real World” Experience in Public Education," June 29, 2016
- ↑ Women In Numbers, "2015 Endorsed Candidates," accessed August 1, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Christiane Buggs's responses," May 20, 2016
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Buggs for Schools, "Issues," accessed May 19, 2016
