The County School Board has begun the process of hiring a new superintendent after the abrupt departure of Supt. Bryan Johnson.
The board on Thursday night authorized board attorney Scott Bennett to draw up a request for proposals among firms that could help so that county school staff would not need to be tied up with the process. He said one option might be the Tennessee School Board Association staff at a charge of perhaps $6,000.
The RFP will seek two proposals:
- Conducting a comprehensive superintendent search
- Handle vetting of internal candidates
A vote on the RFP will be at a special meeting on Monday afternoon.
Several board members said they want to focus on a local candidate.
Attorney Bennett said the board could do so, but that would be different than a "true search."
Board member Rhonda Thurman said, "Why do we think that somebody from outside would come in and care more about our kids?"
Ms. Thurman, who earlier announced her support for chief operating officer Justin Robertson for superintendent, said, "We seem to think that for every state line we cross they get smarter."
She said of the most recent out of town leader, "What kind of superintendent would leave at the start of school? What kind of person would do that?"
However, board member Jenny Hill spoke in favor of a broader search that would involve focus groups and other community involvement. She said Dr. Johnson accomplished great things for the district during his four years and she asked under a prior local superintendent "how well did that go?"
Ms. Thurman said she "will not allow Rick Smith to be thrown under the bus." She said he did many good things as the school leader, while his administration was marred by an out of town incident beyond his control, she said.
Ms. Thurman said when the board went out into the community for input "about the only people who came to the meetings were staff who had to be there."
Brand new board member James Brent Walker said he wanted to first look internally, and if that did not work out "we could put it out for the world."
Joe Smith said local organizations in Chattanooga tend to launch national searches. He said, "What does that say about us - that we don't train our leaders well."
He added, "I'm all about home grown."
Tucker McClendon recommended starting with a local search and then expanding it further if no in house person measures up.
Another board member, Karitsa Mosley Jones, said she was okay with looking locally.
The board approved a contract with interim superintendent Dr. Nakia Towns.