Dr. Amy Lonas
Rhea County has a retired United States Army Major as its new director of schools replacing Jessie Messimer for the 2025-2026.
On an 8 to 1 vote, the Rhea County Board of Education voted to hire Dr. Amy Lonas, a retired Army Major who was the dean of Faculty and Administration and later went on to the provost position at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fl.
Dr. Lonas started out at Frazier School in Mrs. Reba Fitzgerald’s class. She went on to UT Chattanooga for her bachelor's in science degree and then on to UT Knoxville for her master's and finally did her doctorate at Vanderbilt University.
The Board held interviews with all four candidates for the position each individually in special called meeting before holding a special-called meeting to make the final choice. The board is in the process of drawing up a contract with her and is awaiting their legal department’s approval of it.
Mr. Messimer was hired into the position in 2021 after the passing of longtime Rhea County Director of Schools Jerry Levengood earlier in the year. Mr. Messimer is a product of the Rhea County School system. He graduated from Rhea County High School in 1984. He went on to the University of Tennessee where he also played on the Vols football team as a linebacker. He also has a master’s degree in education and administration from Tennessee Tech. He has worked in the school system for 35 years. He had been the principal of the Rhea County High School. In 2020 he was moved from the position as principal to the central office by Mr. Levengood. He started out as a science teacher. When asked about his future, Mr. Messimer said he did not have any definite plans at this point.
There are approximately 3,821 students in the system. Besides the high school, the system has four elementary schools, two middle schools and four preschools. The county students have scored well on the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System conducted by the State Board of Education - evidence that students made growth as expected in most subjects.