Audio clip
David Kelley
Audio clip
Troy Weathers and Christy Critchfield
CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Lengthy interviews with the finalists for Bradley County director of schools will begin March 31 and continue the first two days in April.
Five candidates have been chosen by a selection committee, and no others were added Thursday evening by county school board members.
But board members had high praise for the list of applicants to replace Bob Taylor, who is retiring at the end of June. Board members observed that all 13 original applicants had impressive resumes and that three of the five finalists here also are finalists in other Tennessee school districts seeking new directors.
Dr. Richard Baker was asked by fellow board members to draw names from a coffee mug to determine the order of the interviews. In order, they are Johnny McDaniel, Bradley Central High School principal; Danny Coggin, Walker Valley High School principal; Amie Lambert, a middle school principal in Jefferson County, Tenn.; George Smalley, a Whitfield County, Ga., school official and Terri Murray, Bradley County schools federal projects director.
The interviews will begin at 4 p.m. each day and will be open to the public, Chairman David Kelley said.
Mr. Kelley asked board members to e-mail additional questions for candidates to him by Monday.
“The reason I want to screen them first is to make sure we don’t have questions that would be illegal to ask or inappropriate,” he said.
Board member Troy Weathers said having candidates that other school systems have also picked for their finalists is confirmation of good quality.
“That says they are very good candidates. Other people picked up on that and are interested in them too,” he said.
Board member Christy Critchfield said she and member Terry McGuire learned during a Knoxville meeting that nine Tennessee school systems presently are looking for new directors.
“At the meeting they were amazed at how many local applicants we had,” she said.
That made the choices harder, she said, because she works with the applicants and knows their high caliber.
Randall Higgins covers news in Cleveland, Tenn., for the Times Free Press. He started work with the Chattanooga Times in 1977 and joined the staff of the Chattanooga Times Free Press when the Free Press and Times merged in 1999. Randall has covered Southeast Tennessee, Northwest Georgia and Alabama. He now covers Cleveland and Bradley County and the neighboring region. Randall is a Cleveland native. He has bachelor’s degree from Tennessee Technological University. His awards ...
