Smith County School Board sets $130,000 minimum salary, OKs three-year contract and names six interviewees for director role

The Smith County School Board on Monday set a $130,000 minimum annual salary for the next director of schools, approved a three-year contract term and selected six candidates to interview on Feb. 28 at 9 a.m.

Board members said they would negotiate benefits later and would not use secret ballots when choosing interviewees. "So right now, guys, vote up to 6 people that you would like to give a grant an interview to," said Speaker 2, the presiding board member, explaining the process for tallying and publicly reading votes.

Why it matters: The actions set the baseline compensation and contract length that will guide negotiations with finalists and narrow the candidate pool ahead of interviews. By tabling the benefits discussion until finalists are identified, the board limited immediate decisions to salary minimum and contract term.

What the board did: Speaker 2 proposed a $130,000 minimum annual salary for the director role and put the motion to a vote. The board carried the motion by roll call; the presiding member announced an affirmative tally of six votes. "So that's where the bar minimum will start at a $130,000 for the annual compensation," Speaker 2 said after the vote.

On contract length, the board debated terms and then approved a three-year contract. "I'm thinking a 3 year deal, probably nothing less than a 2 year deal," Speaker 2 said during the discussion, adding that termination grounds would be written into the contract. The motion for a three-year term passed by voice vote.

Selection and interview logistics: Following instructions from staff, the board used signed tally sheets (no secret ballots) to nominate up to six applicants for interviews. Staff read each board member’s checked names into the record; the board confirmed six candidates to invite: John Ash; Elizabeth Lackey; Mike Lottle (transcript shows variants for this name); Jimmy Maynard; Bobby Story; and Tim Towns.

Speaker 3, a staff member who read the tallies, said the interviews will begin at 9 a.m. on Feb. 28 at the central office and recommended drawing numbers for interview order and spacing 20–40 minutes per candidate. The board discussed options to limit candidates’ waiting time, possibly assigning specific time slots, and whether the interviews should be recorded or delayed for later public broadcast.

On benefits: The board agreed to table discussion of the benefits package until later in the hiring process and to have the chair and vice chair negotiate the final package, then return it to the board for ratification.

Next steps: Staff will notify the six selected candidates and those who did not make the interview list; board members were asked to submit suggested interview questions to Robin by Wednesday. The board also said it may hold a second-round of interviews in April if needed.

Meeting notes and context: The board discussed moving its regular monthly meeting from the third Tuesday to the third Monday and decided to place that item on the next agenda for a formal vote to take effect in April if approved. The meeting adjourned after the board completed the motions related to the director search.

Quotes captured from the meeting were attributed to the meeting participants using their transcript labels (Speaker 2 for the presiding board member and Speaker 3 for staff who read tallies).