Smith County director candidates emphasize academics, CTE, budget discipline and community visibility

Several candidates for Smith County schools’ director laid out similar priorities during public interviews: raising academic outcomes, expanding career-technical education (CTE) and dual-enrollment opportunities, pursuing grants and other revenue, and maintaining an accessible, visible superintendent.

One candidate described a background that moved from extension work into K–12 administration and said relationships and clear communication would be central to his leadership. He described the Tennessee funding formula and bonus/TISA-related outcomes, listed career-technical education as a district strength, and said a three-year focus should be on steady academic improvement and fiscal management.

A candidate with central-office preschool experience said she would concentrate on strengthening K–12 math and literacy foundations, increasing ACT and Algebra I readiness, and retaining staff through competitive pay and professional development. She warned that some early-childhood programs are grant-funded and could disappear if grants lapse.

A longtime local principal who is also a candidate emphasized evaluating staffing, reducing inefficiencies (including transportation costs), pursuing grant opportunities and external partnerships for CTE, and respecting teachers as professionals. He said difficult staffing decisions may be unavoidable in a budget shortfall but should be handled with attention to student impact.

Another internal candidate highlighted data-driven decision-making, streamlining hiring and central-office structures, and using stipends to better control extracurricular costs; he said preserving the district’s current strengths while seeking improvement would be a priority.

On curriculum and community values, several candidates said they would follow state curriculum standards and encourage parent and board involvement in curriculum-review processes. When asked about concerns that outside organizations or higher education institutions promote content at odds with community values, candidates commonly answered that they would act within the law and the board’s policies while advocating for local expectations.

All candidates said the director should be visible in schools and community events, and several cited building partnerships with the county mayor, commission and local businesses to support both funding and student-workforce alignment.

The board did not make a selection during the session; it rescheduled final interviews for March 16 and will consider finalists March 17.