School Board Still Undecided on Superintendent

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Hamilton County school board members are still split on who should be their next superintendent.

After voting to use a search firm to help find the right person for the job, the board could now consider the school system’s interim leader.

 “This is a time when Hamilton County education can focus on new leadership and new opportunities to impact instruction,” said Dan Liner, Hamilton County Education Association.

Liner works with teachers. He says they want their next superintendent to be a good communicator.

“Teachers, especially want someone who’s transparent, especially with regard to evaluations,” Liner said. “It’s very important that teachers understand what is expected of them at the beginning of the school year, and teachers are allowed to meet those expectations.”

But school board members are torn on who that person should be.

After voting to spend $60,000 on search firm Coleman, Lew + Associates, the board could now consider Interim Superintendent Dr. Kirk Kelly for the job.

“$60,000 for the search firm with my constituents was hard to swallow,” said board member David Testerman. “And may I say, it took three votes to get to that point, and two months of deliberation, and I think it shows that we all feel very uncomfortable about what’s taking place with the search.”

Testerman and other board members tell News 12 they’ve already seen some positive changes in the school district since Kelly took over.

“He has done something that hasn’t been done in this county in a long time, and that’s for superintendent of schools and his key staff people to visit each school in this county. He’s done it twice,” Testerman said.

Other board members say they want to stick with the search firm.

“I just thought we needed an outsider, somebody to come in with a fresh set of eyes to look at things,” said board member Rhonda Thurman.

Thurman says the firm should be worth the money.

“I don’t like paying anyone that much, but like I said, in order to get more people to apply for the job, we’re going to have to get somebody to go out and entice people to come in and apply for the job,” she said.

Thurman says school leaders haven’t signed the contract with the search firm yet.

She doesn’t know if or when it’ll happen. That, of course, depends on the vote at their November 17 meeting.