Jackson Free Press

The Jackson Public Schools Board that Jonathan Larkin served on for almost eight years is a far cry from the board's current, collegial incarnation. Larkin, 55, served from 2002 until this spring, when Monica Gilmore-Love replaced him.

In 2007, Larkin risked his renomination by opposing then-Mayor Frank Melton's choice of a bond contractor. Melton never followed through on a threat to pull Larkin's nomination, and Larkin served until April 2010 on an expired term. By the end of his service, board meetings regularly ran for three hours or more, spurring accusations of micromanagement, and votes often divided the board into rigid blocs.
Larkin, a native of Boston, Mass., is vice president of regional sales for Royal Mirror and Art Company and operates his own company, Hospitality Lighting Management.

What specifically are you proud of from your one-and-a-half terms?
I was very proud of the fact that we were able to pass this bond referendum that is now resulting in a whole lot of the construction being done. I was proud that … we ratcheted up the academics, so that there were more kids who can take AP courses. I'm proud that, believe it or not, our graduation rate, compared to most urban schools in the country, is significantly higher. … We're talking about graduation rates, for most of the schools, that when I left were in the 80s, some of them even in the 90s. And you've got schools in most urban areas that are running in the 30s and 40s.

Is it a good idea for the district to pursue another bond referendum?
In this economic climate it might not be as successful. We need to look at a five- to seven-year window to see what the tax base is going to be, because there are significant amounts of downtown commercial construction going on. If you get buildings like that going … all of a sudden, you've got a much bigger tax base. There's a whole lot of different dollars coming. And also, at that point, if you do decide to do a bond referendum, that referendum would be (funded with) a smaller millage rate increase, because you have so many more tax dollars on the roll.

What parts do you not miss?
I don't miss the pressure of the decision-making. Particularly, now, next year and the year after, there are going to be so few dollars to allocate. People will lose jobs, in my opinion. Projects that should be funded won't be. At the same time, the district is going to have to learn to curb its spending and become a lot more efficient.

Where could the district become more efficient?
I've always thought—and the entire board has always thought—that downtown was top-heavy, that there were too many downtown positions, and that we hadn't really looked at how to most effectively operate.

A new law that takes effect in July will allow the mayor to expand the school board to seven members. Do you think it will change the board's dynamic for better or worse?
I think in certain instances, for certain board members in the past five years, it has been very territorial. Their focus was specifically on the areas that they lived in or that the people in their consensus group lived in. Now, where you're going to have individuals from every city council district … As long as they are responsible to the city in general, I think you won't see a lot of the political factionalism that happens when you have elected members from specific territories.

You originally voted against Dr. Lonnie Edwards' confirmation. What do you think of his performance now, two years down the road?
That's something I really don't want to comment on. I did publicly make a comment at the time that Dr. Edwards was actually hired that I did vote against him—not against him particularly but against hiring him at that time, because I thought it would be best for the district to go back out again to see if there were other candidates. That while he was the best of the candidates who was available, I thought that we didn't need to rush into it.

He had my support from day one. He is a very personable man. He is deeply devoted to the education of children.

How do you see your involvement with the schools here continuing?
I'm a member of the Downtown Jackson Rotary Club. The Rotary Club adopts kids and has a reading program. Now I'll be free to do that. And I've told the members of the board (that) if they ever need help, if they want advice, I'm here.

I'm hoping the mayor will look at me for service on a future board. Based on what I do for a living, I'd love to be on the (Jackson Redevelopment Authority) board, because that's an ideal match.

I was going to ask whether you had more public service in your future.
Sure. Elected public service, no. I have no intention of running for public office. It's something we've discussed, (my wife) Dana and I, and we're just not up for that type of public abuse. I have tremendous respect for the people that put themselves forward.