The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce SuccessPAC has endorsed two candidates – Lee Limbird and Alan Coverstone – in Bellevue’s crowded school board race.

“We felt that they both deserved to be heard,” said Phil Trella, chair of the SuccessPAC, in an interview this afternoon. “I wish we had had five choices in every district.”

This year, all candidates endorsed by the SuccessPAC will receive $5,000, in addition to the not inconsequential level of public visibility that accompanies SuccessPAC picks. The candidate review process started with interviews of all nine current school board members, followed by candidate questionnaires and interviews, Trella said.

Established by the Chamber in 1998 to help identify and elect “highly qualified” people to the Board of Education, SuccessPAC has a strong track record – almost all members of the current board have been endorsed by the PAC.

Qualifications sought by the PAC include the willingness and ability to work with diverse groups, to “empower” the director of schools, to effectively manage the district’s finances and to push for district accountability. Candidates were also asked to hold a strong commitment to public education and achievement for all students.

“It was a very harmonious, congenial process,” Trella said. “As always, we had a difficult decision. All of the candidates we interviewed were passionate about improving public education.”

For District 7, the SuccessPAC endorsed Cordenus Eddings, who is running against longtime incumbent Ed Kindall. Kindall has been on the board for 23 years, a factor that played a role in the PAC’s decision, Trella said.

Other endorsements made by the PAC were incumbent Mark North for Madison’s District 3, and Sharon Gentry for North Nashville’s District 1. Gentry is the wife of Howard Gentry, former mayoral candidate and current CEO of the Chamber’s Public Benefit Foundation. Trella said the relationship had nothing to do with the SuccessPAC’s decision.

“Her husband had nothing to do with this, and if you look at her qualifications, you’ll see [they] stand on [their] own,” Trella said. “The SuccessPAC Board was particularly impressed with Sharon Gentry’s focus on the use of achievement data, her commitment to measuring the effectiveness of district programs and her passion for children.”

The PAC did not make an endorsement in East Nashville’s District 5, as incumbent Gracie Porter is running unopposed, according to the PAC.

This year’s SuccessPAC board members are Sue Atkinson, David Bohan, Jack Bovender Jr., Andrew W. Byrd, Tom Cigarran, Sonnye Dixon, Ted Helm, Marc Hill, Samuel Howard, Orrin Ingram, Sarah Knestrick, Robert S. Patterson, Tom Sherrard, Donna Thomas and Trella.

No incumbents were endorsed by the PAC in 2006, the last election year. Jo Ann Brannon was the only candidate elected that year who was not endorsed by SuccessPAC.

General school board elections will take place Aug. 7.