NEW BOARD MEMBERSMike Evatt: 33 years working with facilities for Chattanooga City Schools and Hamilton County SchoolsJoe Galloway: 35 years as teacher, coach, administrator at Lookout Valley Middle-High SchoolDavid Testerman: 30 years as a teacher and principal for the school systemEverett Fairchild: 37 years as a teacher and principal
The three new faces on the Hamilton County Board of Education are no strangers to the local school system.
And while Mike Evatt, Joe Galloway and David Testerman each campaigned on his more than 30 years of experience working and teaching for Hamilton County Schools, some critics fear the former longtime employees will keep the board mired in the past.
The fourth winner in last week’s election, Everett Fairchild, also is a former school system principal, so four of nine school board members once worked for the school district.
Caleb Long, who lost to Evatt in the District 9 race, said he still is interested in school board politics and hopes the new members will be open to new ideas.
“While I support wholeheartedly Mr. Evatt as District 9’s elected representative, I would stick to the stance that new blood is needed,” he said.
Board Vice Chairwoman Linda Mosley said the new members need to be aware of a tendency to only do things the way they’ve always been done and hoped they all would keep open minds.
“My hope is that it won’t be an issue,” she said. “I hope that they wouldn’t let any past experiences, good or bad, influence or color the decisions that have to be made.”
Mosley added that, while the three new members have worked for the school system for many years, serving on the board is different.
“Being on the board and working in the system itself are two totally different agendas. They’ll have perspective about how the operations work, but we don’t get involved in the day-to-day operations, necessarily,” she said.
Galloway spent 35 years teaching, coaching and administrating at Lookout Valley Middle-High School and replaces outgoing board member Janice Boydston in District 6. He said he believes his experience in the system was key to his being elected.
“New ideas aren’t always the best,” he said. “Old ideas are passed over that may be successful. … It is an advantage to know what schools are successful, which schools have struggled.”
Fairchild, who now will serve his fourth term on the school board, said his 37 years of experience in the former city and county systems, as well as the combined Hamilton County Schools, has proven beneficial.
“You’ll know what sort of an effect (a school board decision) will have out in the schools, the operations of a school,” he said.
Continue reading by following these links to related stories: