Ritchie Patton has announced his candidacy for Democratic nomination for Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board, District 2.
Patton, a US Army veteran and Clarksville native, is a graduate of Northeast High School and has three children attending Clarksville-Montgomery County schools. While he has worked with multiple organizations in the Middle Tennessee area, Patton currently partners with his wife of 18 years, Amy, to develop the community through their small business and farm, the Sunday Morning Flower Farm, and their annual vendor fair, the Natural Living Fair.
“I’m running because I want to bring a new perspective to the School Board with a focus on stability. As someone that has worked in jobs from fast food to retail, medical clinics to office buildings, I know firsthand how the needs of a family dramatically shift, and want to ensure that CMCSS can be a stable foundation to support these shifts for students, teachers, and the community,” Patton said. “I’m thankful for the service of Margaret Pace representing District 2 on the CMCSS School Board, and I hope to bring the same level of commitment, hard work, and service to my district.”
With his focus on stability, Patton wants to take a long term view on zoning to reduce the impacts of rezoning by ensuring future capacity aligns with future growth and expanding non-traditional programs to increase access across all parts of Clarksville. He also wants to ensure we are attracting and retaining top talent within the school system’s teaching and administrative staff by providing compensation and resources in line with the needs of these high-performing teachers, staff and administrators.
Since leaving the military, he has also earned a bachelor’s degree and Master’s of Business Administration from Belmont University in Nashville. Patton also works to develop new drugs for serious conditions like PTSD and cancer.