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Resident objects to director hiring process; board schedules special meeting to discuss candidate
Summary
A Tullahoma resident told the school board he opposes hiring a new director without "full and open competition." The board said it will introduce its selected candidate at a special meeting Feb. 24 and invited public questions submitted online for that session.
Jim Burns, who identified himself as a Tullahoma resident, used the public-comment slot at the Feb. 10 Tullahoma City Schools Board meeting to say he opposed "the hiring of a new director of schools without full and open competition." Burns said he and his family are longtime district residents and expressed concern about the process the board is following.
The presiding officer responded that while the city charter may say something different, the school system follows board policy and that the board speaks only to actionable items on the published agenda. The chair told Burns the board had scheduled a special-called meeting for Tuesday, Feb. 24, at East Middle School in the Little Theater at 5:00 p.m. to introduce and discuss the board's candidate for director of schools, Dr. April Norris. The board said questions may be submitted online and that three to five will be chosen by the board to ask of the candidate.
Maureen Burke, another member of the public who spoke afterward, said she read the board policy differently and asked that the board allow members of the public to present questions for the superintendent candidate. The presiding officer reiterated that the special-called Feb. 24 meeting was the appropriate venue for those questions and that the board would accept questions via the district's online submission process.
The board did not take a formal vote on hiring at the Feb. 10 meeting; it announced the Feb. 24 special meeting specifically for candidate introduction and discussion. The transcript does not record a final decision or any vote on hiring during the Feb. 10 meeting.
Next step: the board will hold the special-called meeting Feb. 24 to introduce and question the candidate; the transcript indicates three to five public questions will be chosen from online submissions for that event.
