School board discusses superintendent search, new busing contracts and East Ridge facilities

Hamilton County Board of Education members study information packets during their meeting in September.
Hamilton County Board of Education members study information packets during their meeting in September.

Discussion bounced between the superintendent search, busing contracts and the East Ridge High School athletic facilities during the Hamilton County school board's work session Thursday night.

The board first met with the superintendent search firm Coleman Lew and Associates, which had spent the day meeting privately with different education stakeholders.

Kenneth Carrick Jr., president and managing director of Coleman, said listening to those interested parties will help the firm develop a candidate profile, but ultimately the hiring decision is up to the board.

"In my 31 years I've done this, I've never hired anybody for my candidates," he said.

Carrick hopes to have a list of five to 10 candidates for the board by the end of March, but warned many variables exist in a superintendent search.

School board member Karitsa Mosley Jones said candidates are likely to google the district, and asked if the turnover of superintendents and the series of lawsuits it faces will deter candidates.

"How ideal does this job look?" she asked.

Carrick said the job comes with some challenges from a perception standpoint, and some candidates are attracted to that atmosphere, while others may be deterred. He added that the community does have a lot to offer.

The board also will have to work to sell the job to candidates during the interview process, Carrick said.

"Candidates are evaluating you just as much as you're evaluating them," he added.

One of the private meetings Coleman had Thursday was with Hamilton County Schools Interim Superintendent Kirk Kelly, who has said he plans to apply for the permanent position.

In a meeting with reporters earlier in the day, Carrick said it's common for interim chiefs to apply for permanent positions. He said any of the district's internal or interim candidates will be interviewed by the firm, but automatically will make the final list of names presented to the board.

"We will give the board our candid opinion about how [the internal candidates] stack up against the external candidates, but as an outside party we don't think we should make the decision up or down on an internal candidate," Carrick said.

When the topic turned to busing during the work session, school board member Tiffanie Robinson proposed the board vote next week to send out a request for proposals for a two-year bus contract, with the chance of an additional two-year renewal. By March the board should decide on a new bus contract or renew its contract with Durham School Services for one year, as the current contract is set to expire this summer.

The board is likely to vote in favor of sending out the proposals request next week, but it's unlikely that many bus companies will bid on the short contract. Supplying the district with about 200 buses requires an investment of more than $20 million, and not many companies in the nation are big enough to take on the job.

But Robinson and several board members voiced support for examining every option and seeing who applies.

Robinson also wants the board to vote to extend the district's 49 independent bus drivers' contracts by four years. Those drivers own their own buses, and many board members want to expand the number of routes those drivers run. Bus drivers now can operate only one bus each in the district, and the board is poised to increase that, allowing drivers to own and operate up to three buses and routes within the district.

The board is expected to continue discussions about the cost and logistics of increasing the number of independent bus drivers and their compensation at next week's meeting.

School board member David Testerman told the board he also wants members to vote in favor of transferring the East Ridge High School athletic facilities to the municipality. If the school board votes in favor of giving the property to East Ridge, the Hamilton County Commission would have to approve the deal.

Testerman and the school board's attorney, Scott Bennett, met with East Ridge officials Thursday and said details of the contract have been ironed out to protect the interests of both groups.

"[The contract] protects the interest of the school board now and in the future. It doesn't take away our control of the school buildings one iota," Testerman said.

The city of East Ridge met with the board in October and said if it is given the deed to the nearly 12 acres, it will provide needed repairs to the athletic fields and maintain them, while giving the school priority use.

School board member Joe Smith thinks the board needs to go ahead and take a vote on the issues next week.

"This isn't something that needs to be kicked down the road again," he said. "Let's make a decision."

School board members Rhonda Thurman and Joe Wingate weren't opposed to transferring the property, but wanted to be sure not to set a dangerous precedent.

"Once you do [give the properties to East Ridge] you can't go back, you can't put the lid back on the thing," Wingate said.

Robinson asked Bennett if East Ridge is still considering breaking away from the school district, and he answered that he's not a part of those conversations.

Bennett said the proposed contract prevents East Ridge from using the land for a new school, saying it requires the property to remain an athletic facility.

East Ridge is expected to publicly discuss the idea of separating from Hamilton County Schools in coming weeks. Signal Mountain and Red Bank are in the process of seating committees to investigate the feasibility of breaking away from the county-wide school district.

Contact staff writer Kendi A. Rainwater at krainwater@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @kendi_and.

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