CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Bradley County School Board member Terry McGuire died Sunday afternoon.
McGuire, 63, who had struggled a long time with illness, was vice chairman of the school board.
County Schools Director Johnny McDaniel said Monday that McGuire, “genuinely cared about people, and his desire was to be a peacemaker. With a calm spirit, he sought for a common ground to bring people together for the benefit of this community.”
McGuire played a key role in helping obtain funding for the most recent construction projects of the school system and served on the Architect and Search committees. He also served on the board’s Negotiation Committee, Family Engagement Committee, Continuous Improvement Committee and was chairman of the Ethics Committee.
Elected in September 2004, McGuire resigned in February 2006. He was reappointed to the board in May 2007 upon the death of board member Crawford Conway.
McGuire’s passing leaves a two-year vacancy on the county school board from the 5th District.
County Mayor D. Gary Davis said Monday that the County Commission will appoint a successor. The usual procedure is for the two county commissioners from the district to nominate someone to fill the vacancy, then the full commission votes.
Davis said that, with county general elections coming Thursday, the commission likely will wait several weeks to make the appointment.
Three of the county school board’s seven seats – for the 2nd, 4th and 6th districts – are on the general election ballot this week.
“He was a veteran who served our country and our community with a servant’s heart,” McDaniel said. “As a graduate of Bradley Central High School, Terry had a great desire to advance education in this community for the benefit of the children of Bradley County and the future of this community.”
In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to be made to the Terry McGuire Fund of the Bradley/Cleveland Public Education Foundation, according to a county government statement.
Donations can be made at the Public Education website, www.bcpef.org or mailed to P.O. Box 4354, Cleveland, Tenn. Donations should be marked for the Terry McGuire Fund.