There was little agreement about how to move forward with the search for the district's next superintendent during Thursday night's Hamilton County Board of Education meeting.
The school board struggled to discuss specifics about which search firm to hire or even what characteristics they want in the next leader of the 43,000-student district.
When discussion finally focused on the search firms, which the board interviewed in September, some board members refused to say which firms they preferred or provide any thoughts.
And when it came time to decide how to vote on a superintendent search firm next week, the board was also in disagreement. Some proposed that each board member rank the three firms and let the highest weighted score win, but others said they would vote for just one firm.
"We're acting like children," said school board Chairman Steve Highlander.
During Thursday night's discussion, certain board members' priorities surfaced, though clear factions among board members were never established.
School board members Kathy Lennon, Joe Galloway and David Testerman voiced confidence in the work of Interim Superintendent Kirk Kelly and his central office staff.
"The direction the district is going right now is full force," said Lennon.
But school board member Greg Martin said he thinks the district needs a "change agent" as its next leader.
"I think we have some challenges before us," he said.
Highlander said he had been Googling superintendent qualifications.
Karitsa Mosley Jones said she hopes the next superintendent can work to turn around the district's low-performing schools, saying this is a top priority for her.
Tiffanie Robinson shared similar sentiments, saying she wants the next superintendent to be someone who has experience turning around a large organization.
Testerman said he is not as concerned with the next superintendent's experience as he is with his or her vision and ability to share that vision with the community.
"Everything is not broke," Testerman repeated during the meeting.
Thurman told board members to keep their expectations for the next superintendent realistic, saying, "The last perfect guy [Jesus] we hung on a cross."
The next superintendent needs to be someone who can critically look at the budget and see where things can be done differently, Thurman said.
The school board last month interviewed organizations that could conduct the search: the non-profit Tennessee School Boards Association and firms McPherson & Jacobson LLC and Coleman Lew and Associates Inc.
When it came to discussing these firms, Testerman and Galloway both agreed any of the firms will do a fine job. But Thurman, Robinson and Lennon said they were not planning to vote for the Tennessee School Boards Association, which out of the three firms interviewed was the most inexperienced in national searches.
School board member Joe Wingate, Martin, Mosley Jones and Highlander did not definitively say which firms they were leaning towards.
"I have an opinion about who can do it and who can't, but I'll just leave it at that," Wingate said.
Mosley Jones said research on Google caused her to be hesitant about choosing McPherson & Jacobson LLC.
Lennon added it's important to have a community advisory council to help with the superintendent search. Thurman said councils like this have only caused problems in the past.
Testerman added that educators, central office staff and Kelly should all have a say in the district's next leader.
The board delayed voting on a search firm last month, with Lennon, Robinson, Wingate and Mosley saying they wanted more time to make a decision, and Highlander being the fifth vote in favor of waiting. Several board members suggested at the time that the board should have a strategic plan in place before selecting a search firm, but no planning meetings have taken place.
The board will meet again Tuesday night at 5 p.m. to continue discussion about search firms and superintendent qualifications, and is scheduled to vote on a search firm Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Also during the meeting, Kelly announced the district has hired a new communications director, saying Amy Katcher from WDEF News12 will begin in the position Monday.
Thurman also said in coming meetings she wants the board to discuss the summer schedule for the district's administrative staff, saying she thinks they should start working five days a week in the summer. For years, administrative staff members have only worked four days a week during summer months, and Thurman said this has caused problems.
Contact staff writer Kendi A. Rainwater at 423-757-6592 or krainwater@timesfreepress.com. Follow on Twitter @kendi_and.