CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Bradley County commissioners were asked Tuesday to show support for state legislation that would, if passed in Nashville, give local governments the option of elected school superintendents.
For now, all superintendents in Tennessee are appointed by school boards.
But local commissioners were almost evenly divided, with seven voting to tell state legislators they support the bill, six voting no and two absent. It takes eight votes for the Bradley County Commission to approve a resolution.
“All this does is bring it to a local level,” said Commissioner Jeff Yarber, urging support.
Yarber said while Bradley County has had great success with its school superintendents, that might not be the case elsewhere. Supporting the state bill, he said, is not a criticism of Bradley’s current school superintendent.