After three years at the helm, Jonas Barriere is out as executive director of UnifiEd, the local education advocacy nonprofit that has sometimes proven controversial in its support of Hamilton County public schools over the years.
In an email sent to supporters of the organization on Dec. 6, board chairwoman Edna Varner said Barriere was stepping down effective Dec. 20.
“After leading that movement for the last three years our Executive Director, Jonas Barriere, has informed us that he will be leaving UnifiEd – to pursue the next chapter in his career,” Varner said. “I want to take this opportunity to thank Jonas and express my gratitude for his leadership and service to the organization.”
Deputy Executive Director Walton Robinson, who joined the organization in 2018, will serve as interim executive director while the board searches for its next leader, according to the email.
“I appreciate the vote of confidence from the UnifiEd board, and I am excited for the opportunity to lead the organization into its next chapter,” Robinson said in a statement. “We have several new projects launching in 2020, and I plan to work closely with the staff and membership to ensure UnifiEd continues to be the leading voice for excellent public schools for every student in Hamilton County.”
UnifiEd launched in 2014 and immediately began to grow grassroots community support for Hamilton County Schools. The organization’s first move was to establish the Pact for Public Education, with four priorities: ensuring high-performing teachers are in every classroom, guaranteeing equal opportunity for all students, increasing transparency and accountability, and prioritizing funding for public school.
Barriere took over in 2016 after the organization’s founding executive director, Elizabeth Crews, left for a job in New York City. Before taking the job, Barriere worked with the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, the two largest teachers unions in the country.
“It has been an incredible honor to serve as the Executive Director of UnifiEd,” Barriere said in a statement. “Together we have reached important milestones. We successfully advocated for a new community in schools model and built public support for new resources – with over 61% of Hamilton County agreeing. I am going to continue my work on education policy issues and I look forward to remaining a member of UnifiEd. I am confident in their new leadership and look forward to seeing what they accomplish in the New Year.”
During Barriere’s tenure, the group launched the Action Plan for Educational Excellence, or APEX, project, which included months of community meetings including an interactive bus tour and released a report that contained recommendations for the Hamilton County Board of Education to consider.
Some of those recommendations – such as redrawing attendance zones, increasing magnet school options and providing more adequate transportation for students to attend non-zoned schools – were met with pushback from some school board members and provoked the ire of some politicians and conservative groups in town.
“I simply do not believe what UnifiEd believes,” said school board member Rhonda Thurman, of District 1, in a statement after the group presented the report to the board. “I don’t think there are many people in Hamilton County who will agree with what they are proposing.”
In 2017, UnifiEd launched a campaign to increase public education funding as the school district was drafting its budget – which succeeded partially when the Hamilton County Commission voted to maintain the millage rate, a de facto tax increase for residents.
Barriere stepped down briefly in March 2018 to lead the affiliated but separate UnifiEd Action political action committee. The PAC endorsed and funded candidates for mayor, county commissioner and school board spots in 2017 and 2018 local elections.
After UnifiEd’s political participation, other groups have cropped up in Hamilton County, too. The Horizon PAC spent more than $22,000 and endorsed a school board member and county commissioner running against UnifiEd-supported candidates in 2018 and a conservative group, Hamilton Flourishing, formed in 2019 to promote conservative ideals, especially regarding education – countering UnifiEd’s ongoing efforts.
During the 2019 budget cycle, UnifiEd took on a quieter role of garnering support for the 34-cent property tax rate increase that would have been needed to fund school system Superintendent Bryan Johnson and Mayor Jim Coppinger’s initial budget requests.
Since this year’s failed vote, the organization has been working on beefing up its membership program and supporting its parent engagement and student programs, Robinson said.
“We remain committed to working alongside members and amplifying their voices. In the coming year we will ask the membership to take on additional responsibilities in guiding the organization – I’ll be in touch soon about next steps,” Varner said in the email.
Robinson said that members, who support the organization financially, will have the opportunity in the coming months to elect, or run for, three board seats of the organization. Members will also have a hand in the search for a new executive director and even the direction they, along with Varner and board member Alison Lebovitz ,want to take the organization.
“We’ve made progress – but there is more to do,” Varner added. “Working together we’ll be able to continue growing this movement and continue taking bold action toward a brilliant future for each and every child in Hamilton County. Every student, teacher and member of this community deserves no less.”
Barriere was unable to be reached for comment for this story.
Contact Meghan Mangrum at mmangrum@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.