Nashville Standard

Nashville Mayor John Cooper and Covid-19 task force Chair Alex Jahangir both have children attending private schools while advocating for public school children to remain out of school. 

In a recent meeting Metro Nashville school board member Fran Bush said the children of all task force members are in private school while public school children are not allowed to return. 

Jahangir has three children in private schools, which he did not refute. 

“I don’t know if the fact you said about all of the people of the kids on the task force went to (private) school, I don’t know if that is a factual statement,” Jahangir said. 

 The comment did not go unnoticed. 

“Board member Fran Bush notes all the task force kids are in school,” Nashville resident Sadie Luck said on Twitter.  “They think it's safe for their kids but not for yours.”

“Hypocrisy in Nashville” Matt Malkus poosted. 

 Cooper and his wife Laura have three sons - John, McGavock and Crockett. 

 Freshman Crockett Cooper is currently enrolled at Montgomery Bell. The school costs $29,500 per year. 

John and McGavock graduated from Montgomery Bell Academy in 2018 and 2020. 

 Back in late August, Cooper defended keeping schools closed. 

"Nashville’s classrooms, athletic fields, courts and gymnasiums should not be laboratories for risk in public health decisions," Cooper said. "These are places where our children and their families must know they are safe.” 

Cooper has been the target of a recall campaign. A rally was held two weeks ago in which Nashville residents bemoaned the death of and future damage to businesses due to Cooper’s continued lockdown. 

Earlier this year Nashville was also subjected to riots under Cooper’s oversight.