Hamilton County School Board votes to start separation agreement with Superintendent Rick Smith

Chattanooga, TN (WDEF) – Despite plenty of objections, Hamilton County school board members voted six to three in favor of Superintendent Rick Smith’s request during a board of education meeting.

Thursday night board members held a public meeting to discuss how to start the process of relieving Superintendent Smith from his position, after he requested a separation agreement from his contract.

"Mr. Smith I appreciate your remarks, but I can’t vote for it. I can’t do it. It’s wrong," said board member, David Testerman. Tensions ran high, as a few board members voiced their objections to Smith’s decision. But it’s still unclear exactly when the separation agreement will be reached between the board of education and Smith.

"This is not something the board has forced me to do, or even asked me to do. This is something that I feel is important to do," said Smith, "We’re gonna get to a place where we start to heal from this, and we’ll get better for it."
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Hamilton County, TN (WDEF) – Hamilton County Schools’ Board of Education voted to start a separation agreement with Superintendent Rick Smith.

Many community members have been pushing for him to quit or be terminated in light of the Ooltewah High School rape investigations.

Here’s a statement from Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger about it.

"Today is a difficult day for education in Hamilton County. As the main tool for the success of our youth, education will remain at the forefront our responsibilities. We are acknowledging our problems and we intend to fix them. However, improvement is a unified action that cannot be done without the help of everyone in Hamilton County. There is no more important issue, whether you are a parent, a business leader or an elected official, than the education of our young people. Today we need to unite, to put aside our differences and work together for our common goal, which is the success of our children. I commend Rick Smith for his commitment and dedication to the students of Hamilton County for more than three decades. After the separation agreement is finalized, the school board will be tasked with their most important decision for this community; appointing a new superintendent. I strongly encourage our school board to thoughtfully consider this decision, as their choice will impact the future of Hamilton County’s education for a generation of students to come."