Rick Wimberly

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Rick Wimberly

Prior offices

Williamson County Schools, District 9

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Personal

Religion

Christian: Catholic

Profession

President

Contact

Personal website

Rick Wimberly was a member of the Williamson County Schools in Tennessee, representing District 9. He assumed office in 2012. He left office on September 1, 2024.

Wimberly ran for re-election to the Williamson County Schools to represent District 9 in Tennessee. He won in the general election on August 6, 2020.

Biography

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Wimberly is the president of Galain Solutions. He has served in this role since July 2008. Wimberly is also the co-author of the book Seven Myths of Selling to Government. He previously worked as a sales manager for Dialogic Communications Corporation from 1998 to 2008. He has been involved with Destination ImagiNation, an international creative problem-solving program for students, since 1999 and serves as the Tennessee board chair. Wimberly is also the founding chair and trustee of the Education Foundation for Williamson County, and he previously served on the parish council for St. Philip Church. He and his wife have four children, all of whom attended Williamson County Schools.

Elections

2024

See also: Williamson County Schools, Tennessee, elections (2024)

General election

General election for Williamson County Schools, District 9

Claire Reeves defeated Shandus Parish in the general election for Williamson County Schools, District 9 on August 1, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Claire Reeves (R)	62.7	2,359
		Shandus Parish (D)	36.6	1,379
		Other/Write-in votes	0.7	25

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 3,763
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Williamson County Schools, District 9

Shandus Parish advanced from the Democratic primary for Williamson County Schools, District 9 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shandus Parish	98.9	282
		Other/Write-in votes	1.1	3

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 285
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Williamson County Schools, District 9

Claire Reeves defeated Darlynne Jordan in the Republican primary for Williamson County Schools, District 9 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Claire Reeves	56.6	1,747
	Submit photo	Darlynne Jordan	42.8	1,320
		Other/Write-in votes	0.6	17

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 3,084
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

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2020

See also: Williamson County Schools, Tennessee, elections (2020)

General election

General election for Williamson County Schools, District 9

Incumbent Rick Wimberly won election in the general election for Williamson County Schools, District 9 on August 6, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rick Wimberly (Nonpartisan)	100.0	3,052

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,052
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

See also: Williamson County Schools elections (2016)

Seven of the 12 seats on the Williamson County Schools Board of Education were up for by-district general election on August 4, 2016. The District 1, 3, and 11 seats were left open for newcomers when incumbents Kenneth Peterson, PJ Mezera, and Mark Gregory, respectively, did not file to run for re-election. Richard Davis and Angela Durham ran for the District 1 seat, and Durham won the election. The District 3 race featured candidates Christy Coleman, Kimberly Little, and Eliot Mitchell. Mitchell was elected to the seat. The District 11 race featured candidates Stuart Cooper and K.C. Haugh, and Haugh won the election. In the race for the unexpired term in District 4, incumbent Anne McGraw defeated challenger Joey Czarneski. In District 5, incumbent Gary Anderson defeated challenger Julie Ellen Mauck to win another term on the board. District 7 incumbent Robert Hullett won re-election against challengers Jennifer Luteran and Christopher Richards. The District 9 race featured incumbent Rick Wimberly and challenger Denise Boothby. Wimberly was re-elected to the seat.

Result

Williamson County Schools, District 9 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Rick Wimberly Incumbent	62.57%	1,312
Denise Boothby	37.24%	781
Write-in votes	0.19%	4
Total Votes		2,097
Source: Williamson County Election Commission, "Summary Report: Primary and General Election August 4, 2016," accessed August 5, 2016

Funding

See also: Campaign finance in the Williamson County Schools election

Wimberly began the race with an existing account balance of $290.00 from his previous campaign. He reported $5,620.00 in contributions and $1,548.24 in expenditures to Williamson County Election Commission, which left his campaign with $4,071.76 on hand as of June 30, 2016.

Endorsements

Wimberly was endorsed by the WillCo Rising PAC and the Williamson Business PAC.

2012

Williamson County Schools,
District 9 General Election, 4-year term, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Rick Wimberly	99.4%	1,571
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.6%	9
Total Votes				1,580
Source: Williamson County Election Commission, "Primary/General Election," August 2, 2012

Campaign themes

2024

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2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Rick Wimberly did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Candidate website

Wimberly highlighted the following accomplishments on his campaign website:

“ Accomplishments on WCS Board Although there's much more to be done and I'm just getting started, here are some of the things I've accomplished in my 4+ years on the Board: Considered decisions with the big picture in mind after developing information through preparation, community input, and inquiry. Remained calm and focused. Supported at every turn the strategic plan mission of national recognition for academics, athletics, and the arts. Along with many others in the community, helped retain Dr. Looney, a very strong WCS superintendent. Demonstrated support for our professional educators including introduction of resolution encouraging WCS employees to speak up, even when their views differ from board members. Resolution passed. Demonstrated fiscal responsibility including developing necessary understanding of a complex budget. Supported initiatives to enhance safety and security at our schools. Supported addition of psychologists to help diagnose and better serve students with special needs. Helped organize the Education Foundation for Williamson County as founding Chair. Served as Chair of the Board’s legislative committee. Encouraged further development of "alternative" learning opportunities for students (i.e. International Baccalaureate, Renaissance High, Service King partnership, Destination Imagination, and more). Cultivated relationships with parents and community leaders. Made myself accessible consistently. Responded to hundreds of emails and inquiries. (Drank gallons of coffee in community coffee shops.) Represented the board by attending many school and community events. Supported stronger relationships between WCS and the local business community. Aggressively communicated growth issues. ” —Rick Wimberly (2016)

Franklin Home Page interview

The Franklin Home Page asked Wimberly the following bolded questions. Wimberly's responses are shown below.

“ Rezoning is one of the first issues the new board will deal with together as the Nolensville schools open and Thompson's Station's is on the horizon. What's your philosophy on school rezoning, grandfathering and the anticipation of future growth for rezoning. It's a fact of life in Williamson County, and it will continue to be. It's complex, controversial and it's difficult for families. What we have to do is be as sensitive as possible, but at the same time, it's doing what's best for the county. Rezoning will continue as long as there is growth. We don't have a strong record of anticipating growth in the long term, but we know it's coming based on population projections. There are 52 schools in the county including the Franklin Special School District. We cannot build 53 more schools - it simply will not happen. That means we will have to move people around. This is a community problem, so we need full community engagement from not only local officials, but the community as a whole, even for people who don't have kids in the schools. Everyone will be affected significantly, and the communities need to help us find a solution on how we are going to handle this. What is your position on standardized testing - is there too much, too little? We are currently doing too much, but there is a fine balancing act of what is too much for teachers to get sufficient input on their ability to teach properly. What is your position on Common Core? I supported the resolution that we passed. It said in effect that certain standards are necessary. However, the local districts need to have the ability to adapt to standards in a way that they are feel most appropriate for their communities. What do you think of current state education standards? First, I think it's important to understand what a standard really is. It's a guideline, and from that is a scope and sequence and lesson plans. We have to rely on our educators to develop the proper scope and sequence and for the teacher to develop those plans tied to them. We have historically exceeded standards in our scope and sequence. I'm proud of that and hope it continues. Do you think world religions should be part of history or social studies curricula? Of course, they are a part of history. What is your opinion of the current state of WCS and the current leadership? I think our schools are in excellent shape. We can obviously do better and clearly the leadership of the schools from our superintendent on down are constantly striving to make them stronger. That's something I am proud of, and the community is as well. There's a fellow named Tony Waggoner. He's an education guru, and he did a study on what survival skills do young people need to be effective in what's down the road for them. He came up with seven skills, but what that includes is helping prepare our students to be good thinkers and good doers through things such as critical thinking and creative problem solving and communication skills. We have a tremendous set of offerings of extracurriculars that work toward teaching skills. After we renewed Dr. Looney's contract, I asked, "What's next?" That's when he started telling me about his six big ideas, and those are tied in nicely to those seven concepts. Whatever is ahead, you have to start young. I think your typical educator is helping students with them, but there are so many pressures through excessive testing. What we do in a day, sometimes those pressures interfere with helping students develop these survival skills. We, as a community, are aware and working toward solutions and must continue to do so. What is the best thing about WCS? The community involvement, without a doubt. We spend less per pupil on almost every school district in the nation, yet our results are superior. The reasons that is a fact is because of parents who are deeply engaged on a daily basis, and the quality of our professional staff which starts with Dr. Looney and permeates throughout the system. They are connected. People like to get engaged because they know they are working with top-notch educators. What needs attention and what aspect of it could need adjustment? Within the school system, it depends on what level you are talking about. I am comfortable with Dr. Looney and his team, and what they are doing and their awareness to getting them done. I am concerned that we as a school board have lost focus. I would like to see that change. We need to focus on what really matters to the system and to the students. We need to avoid getting sidetracked. How do you deal with it? You acknowledge you need it, set a good example, and keep talking about it. ” —Rick Wimberly (2016)

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