Schools Superintendent Jim Scales is the only employee directly hired by the Hamilton County Board of Education, and his performance has become a hot campaign topic for those hoping to snag a spot on the board.
Most of the 16 candidates running for the five school board seats have opinions on Scales and his leadership, and very few of them are positive.
“People feel we’re not getting what we should for the money we’ve been spending,” said District 9 candidate Timothy Stephenson. “It seems like the board has lost perspective.”
After the election Thursday, Scales will face a board with at least three new members, possibly four. Even board member Everett Fairchild, the only incumbent who faces opposition in the race, has spoken publicly of his disapproval of Scales.
With at least one current member, Rhonda Thurman, already critical of his performance, Scales could be looking at a new, hostile majority on the nine-member board.
However, Scales said he thinks he’s had his priorities in place and has made decisions that have moved the school system forward.
“I work for the board, and once the board gets in place, they will have to make that decision,” he said.
Both District 9 candidate Mike Evatt and District 8 candidate David Testerman worked under Scales in the Hamilton County school system for a few months before retiring. Both said the superintendent hasn’t done a very good job.
“(Scales has) disappointed a bunch of folks,” Evatt said recently, speaking to reporters and editors at the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Board member Chester Bankston, who is trading in his board seat for a run for a Hamilton County Commission seat, also expressed his displeasure with Scales’ performance.
“(The new school board) should address it before Scales’ contract runs out,” he said. “He’s not worked well with me at all.”
Scales came to Hamilton County in 2006 and served two years of a four-year contract before the board voted 5-4 in 2008 to grant him a new four-year contract. He now has served two years of that contract, which expires in 2012. His base salary is about $200,000.
Board member Jeffrey Wilson, who first suggested renewing Scales’ contract two years ago, said he thinks it’s unfortunate that Scales’ leadership has played such a big role in the campaign. Wilson is running unopposed for his District 5 seat.
“At some point in time in the next two years the board will have to make some kind of decision anyway,” he said. “I hope new members who come on board are open in terms of their evaluation of the superintendent.”
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