Smith County Board of Education sets timeline and qualifications for director-of-schools search
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Summary
Board members agreed on a recruitment timeline and application handling: a proposed posting in mid‑November with an application deadline in late December, attorney-led application intake, discussion of minimum qualifications and advertising costs, and plans for a special meeting to finalize qualifications.
The Smith County Board of Education reviewed and advanced a proposed timeline and candidate qualifications for its director-of-schools search, discussing posting, application handling and interview logistics.
The presiding speaker said the board should post the position “on our Smith County BOE website” and recommended notifying the Tennessee School Board Association and local newspapers; the draft timeline shown in the meeting notes set a posting near Nov. 20, 2025 and an application deadline of Dec. 23, 2025. “I posted the deadline for 12/23/2025,” the presiding speaker said.
Board members emphasized that applications should be routed to the school board attorney’s office for secure custody and review rather than to the central office. The board discussed prior local criteria used in earlier searches — including at least a master’s degree and roughly five years of administrative experience — and referenced board policy 5.8, which the meeting flagged as addressing qualifications and duties of the director of schools.
Members also discussed advertising and recruitment reach. A speaker cited Tennessee School Board Association (TSBA) advertising fees and described a range of figures discussed during the meeting, with TSBA costs mentioned as roughly $3,000 to $15,000 depending on the package. One participant suggested first using the district website and local papers before broad statewide advertising.
On schedule and onboarding, members discussed holding first-round candidate interviews in February and a second round by mid‑March, noting the practical need for a new director to shadow the incumbent before the next school year. To finalize qualifications quickly, speakers proposed a special meeting the week after Thanksgiving; one date discussed was Dec. 2 at 5:30 p.m. The board also agreed to move its regular December meeting to Tuesday, Dec. 9, to accommodate the hiring timeline.
Next steps: the board will post the position as advised, direct applications to the attorney’s office for review, finalize qualifications at a special meeting, and proceed with interviews as scheduled.