Smith County board sets timeline to hire next director of schools, schedules Dec. 9 special meeting
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Summary
The Smith County Board of Education approved a proposed timeline to recruit a new director of schools, including posting the position around Nov. 20, 2025, a 12/23/2025 application deadline, first‑round interviews in February and a possible hire by April; the board scheduled a special meeting for Dec. 9 to approve the posting.
Unidentified Speaker 1, a board member presiding at the Smith County Board of Education meeting, presented a proposed, negotiable timeline for the district—s director-of-schools search and asked the board to begin the posting process immediately.
"If we can get this started here within the next couple of days, start seeking applications, and I posted the deadline for 12/23/2025," Unidentified Speaker 1 said, reading a draft schedule the board had circulated.
The timeline the board discussed calls for posting the position on or about Nov. 20, 2025; accepting applications through Dec. 23, 2025; conducting first-round interviews in February 2026 and a second round in mid‑March 2026. Board members emphasized the incoming director should be available to shadow the incumbent and participate in budget work beginning in April.
Board members debated minimum qualifications to include in the announcement. One member said the previous search packet required "at least a master's in administration" and five years of school-administration experience along with W-2 documentation; another board member noted state minimums can be lower, citing examples from other systems.
Unidentified Speaker 2 asked about advertising costs and whether the board would use the Tennessee School Board Association (TSBA) to place the announcement. The presiding speaker reported TSBA advertising estimates the board had received ranged from about $3,000 at the low end to $15,000 at the high end, but said posting on the district website and local newspapers could be tried first.
The board voted to move its next regular meeting up a week, setting a special meeting for Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, with the sole agenda item listed as approval of the director-of-schools posting. Unidentified Speaker 1 said the board could also call a special meeting right after Thanksgiving if members preferred; ultimately the Dec. 9 date was chosen by unanimous roll-call vote.
Next steps: the board directed staff to prepare the application packet and have the board attorney review submission procedures so applications are sent to the attorney's office, not the central office. The board also agreed to circulate the prior hiring packet as a baseline that members may edit before final approval at the special meeting.