Hamilton County School Board Narrows Down Superintendent Search to Four, Begins Interviews

HAMILTON COUNTY (WDEF) – School board members gathered Monday night in a special session to hear the findings from a firm they hired to help find the next superintendent. The firm is called Buffkin Baker. The firm shared their process of interviewing the candidates with the board.

“Do they have the big picture experience? Do they have the communication ability? Do they have some semblance of the leadership experience that will be necessary in a district the size of Hamilton County?” says Ken Carrick with Buffkin Baker.

The search began with a pool of nine candidates. Last month, it was narrowed to five. And Monday night, they hoped to name a final three but settled on four candidates the firm suggested to interview in person. “So we really have to learn on the expertise of our search firm and what they did during their process. Now it turns over to us and we need to see the field. We have a great internal candidate. And we need to put him up against the field to see what’s out there,” says school board chair Tucker McClendon.

The board took a survey, ranking the remaining four candidates in a point-based system. Dr. Justin Robertson came in first an has been the front runner candidate for awhile. Dr. Jim McIntyre is second. Dr. Christopher Bernier is third and Dr. Jermaine Dawson comes in fourth.

They will each be brought to Chattanooga for the school board to interview. The school board hopes to have a decision by December 9th.

“I think we need someone that is a clear communicator to our families that has the leadership capabilities to lead a district of this size and also knows the physical side of it too. We have a 440 million dollar budget and it’s a complex job and takes a great leader to do it,” says McClendon.