CLEVELAND, Tenn. – City resident get an opportunity Thursday to pass along ideas on what should be included in the search for a new school director.
The City School Board is holding a 6 p.m. public forum Thursday at Cleveland Middle School.
It is one of the key steps the board is taking to start its search for a successor to Dr. Rick Denning, who retires in June 2011 after 17 years with the city school system.
“We want as many people to participate as possible,” board Chairwoman Peggy Pesterfield said during Monday’s board meeting.
Earlier Thursday the board will meet more than 50 community leaders during a lunch session.
On other issues Monday, the board discussed another meeting coming next week with the Cleveland City Council. The impact on schools of expected growth, salaries and cramped administrative space are possible topics for that Oct. 12 meeting.
Architect Brian Templeton of Upland Design Group said work on Cleveland High School’s science wing is on schedule with more than $186,000 in a contingency fund.
Templeton said an April 2011 completion date is expected.
Sherry Crye, work force development director for the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce, told the board she has been meeting with Hamilton County Schools on what to expect from the dual German industrial developments by Volkswagen and Wacker Chemical. Those future plants plus Whirlpool’s announcement for a new million-square-foot plant here means “we are experiencing growth unlike other parts of the country,” Crye said.
Also Monday, the board watched a performance by the award-winning Cleveland Middle School dance team, the presentation of an award to Denning from Junior Achievement and postponed a vote on support of a Tennessee School Boards Association resolution asking the state Legislature to remove its freeze on the creation of special school districts.
Contact Randall Higgins at rhiggins@timesfreepress.com or 423-314-1029.