Five new school board members and two returning members were sworn in Thursday morning at the Hamilton County government’s inaugural ceremony, which took place at the Chattanooga Convention Center.
The board members, along with other newly elected officials, took their oath of office one by one, with some joined by family members on stage.
Superintendent Justin Robertson introduced each board member.
“I’m excited,” Robertson said in an interview following the ceremony. “Anytime you have change, we’ve got to figure out how we work together and how we do what’s right for kids. But every interaction I’ve had, I’m really excited about the direction that this board wants to go and look forward to working with them.”
Hamilton County students also had a part in the ceremony. The Chattanooga Center for the Creative Arts choir performed the opening music and led the audience in the national anthem.
The Red Bank High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps performed the posting of colors.
Jill Black, D-Lookout Mountain, will be the first board member to represent the newly established District 11.
“I want to set a precedent of service to my community,” Black said in an interview. “That’s why I decided to run. I want to make sure that all of District 11 in all of its diversity and all 11 schools are well represented — and, of course, all of the children in Hamilton County.”
District 11 includes Alton Park, East Lake, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Lookout Valley and St. Elmo communities.
Similarly, Faye Robinson, R-Ooltewah, will be the first to represent District 10, which was also recently created.
“I want a heavy emphasis on early education,” Robinson said in an interview. “And I want life skills taught, particularly in high school.”
District 10 consists of Apison, Ooltewah, Silverdale, Collegedale, Summit, Ooltewah, Georgetown and Savannah Bay.
Gary Kuehn, R-Ooltewah, who represents District 9, said he also hopes to focus on early education by redirecting unused Tennessee Education Lottery funds to establish more pre-K programs. The program uses lottery proceeds to benefit Tennessee students attending college across the state. The dollars may also be used for pre-K and after-school programs.
“There needs to be more access to pre-K, which will then increase the chances of students reading by third grade, fourth grade, hitting the goal that we have there,” Kuehn said in an interview.
District 9 includes the Birchwood, Hunter, Harrison, Harrison Bay, Wolftever and Meadowview communities.
Former Chattanooga City Councilman Larry Grohn, R-East Ridge, now represents District 8.
“I think literacy is our most important challenge,” Grohn said in an interview. “And the diversity of our students. When we talk about the huge increase in the Hispanic community, they come from a lot of different places. … And no matter what their status, they need to be educated. And the way to education for them is to ensure that they are literate so that they can read and write and communicate in the dominant language of our nation because that is going to be the key to success and opportunity.”
District 8 consists of Brainerd Hills, Concord and East Ridge.
Ben Connor, D-Chattanooga, takes the helm of District 6.
“The three things that I campaigned on are student safety, making sure that we address the crumbling buildings and making sure that we address keeping our teachers compensated in a manner that they can thrive in our community,” Connor said in an interview. “I’m excited to get started.”
Connor represents Lupton City, North Shore, Red Bank, North Chattanooga, Riverview and Stuart Heights.
Karitsa Mosley Jones, D-Chattanooga, will remain in District 5. Joe Smith, R-Hixson, will remain in District 3.
With the election of Mayor Weston Wamp, there may be more changes ahead for Hamilton County Schools.
Wamp appointed former Hamilton County school board Chairman Tucker McClendon as deputy mayor of education and workforce development. The position is brand new.
“It’s about making sure that Mayor Wamp’s platform, his vision, gets accomplished,” McClendon said in an interview. “Anything from school facilities to vocational education, to getting more parents involved in their kids’ education; a wide scope of things and just furthering his vision and getting to work.”
McClendon added that the Wamp administration’s first line of business will be to create a school facilities task force that will be charged with carrying out changes suggested in the Master Facilities Report. The report, compiled in 2020, estimated nearly $1 billion in repair needs.
The new school board members have already been onboarded and will attend additional state training in the upcoming months, Robertson said.
The new board will meet for the first time on Sept. 15.
Contact Carmen Nesbitt at cnesbitt@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @carmen_nesbitt.