Staff Photo by Matt Hamilton / Hamilton County Schools deputy superintendent Dr. Nakia Towns speaks to the media as Chattanooga mayor Andy Berke looks on at the Avondale Youth and Family Development Center on Thursday Sept. 24, 2020.Nakia Towns, deputy superintendent for Hamilton County Schools, is one of five finalists for the superintendent position at Polk County Schools in Florida.
Last week, she and other candidates toured the county, took questions in a live Q&A and interviewed for the position, according to The Ledger.
Towns told the Times Free Press by telephone that it would be bittersweet to leave Hamilton County, but that she has close family friends in the area and feels the role suits her skills.
"If I am selected to go to Polk County, I think what I will most look forward to is the ability to connect with my 16-year-old godson and my very close friend and her husband, who were like a brother and sister to me, and I will look forward to serving the community of Polk," Towns said. "It is a very diverse county with over 100,000 students in the school district, nearly 150 schools, and the communities there are just really a complex fascinating area that has some rural communities - which is close to my rural roots from South Georgia - and so I'll just look forward to getting to know and serve the children and families of Polk County."
If chosen, Towns would enter contract negotiations and start July 1. Otherwise, Towns said she is committed to her role at Hamilton County Schools.
"The superintendency is a big job, and I absolutely want to be able to serve as many children and families as I can, and I feel very grateful for the preparation that working with Dr. [Bryan] Johnson and Hamilton County school board, I think, has provided me to hopefully one day take on a superintendency role in another community," Towns said. "But unless and until that happens, I definitely am committed to the work that we're doing here and our Future Ready 2023 strategic plan."
Last year, Towns was one of two finalists for superintendent in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System in Louisiana. She was also in the running to become superintendent of Hamilton County Schools in 2017 before Johnson was chosen for the role. Under Johnson's leadership, she served as chief of staff before taking on more duties as deputy superintendent in August.
Jeanette Omarkhail, president of the Hamilton County Education Association, is one of Towns' references. She said Towns works well with the organization and listens to educator concerns.
"I've seen her leadership in action, that she is a supporter of educators in making sure that their voice is heard, that she works well with us, and I've seen that with our collaborative conferencing," Omarkhail said. "I was also in the inaugural group of the Leadership Hamilton County Schools program that she helped get started, and saw her initiatives in making sure the community is aware of what is happening in the schools with community leaders so they can become more a part in it."
The Polk County School Board will vote to select its new superintendent at its meeting Tuesday night.
Contact Anika Chaturvedi at achaturvedi@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592.