Photo Credit: Hamilton County Schools / YouTube
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
During a special-called session on October 28th, the Hamilton County School Board met to narrow the field of applicants for HCS Superintendent of Schools.
District 8 School Board Member and Chairman Tucker McClendon stated that last Friday, October 22nd, was the priority deadline for applicants and nine individuals applied.
The applicants were as follows:
– Dr. Christopher Bernard – Chief of Staff of Clark County Schools, Nevada
– Dr. Dion Betts – Superintendent Of Chambersburg Area School District, Pennsylvania
– Dr. Jeremiah Dawson – Chief Academic Officer, Birmingham City Schools, Alabama
– Dr. Jerry Gibson – Superintendent of Schools, Galveston Independent School District, Texas
– Dr. James McIntyre – Director of the Center for Educational Leadership, Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Tennessee Knoxville
– Dr. John Tucker – Superintendent of Camden County Schools, Georgia
– Dr. Justin Robinson – Interim Deputy Superintendent of Hamilton County Schools, Tennessee
– Dr. Krish Mohip – Deputy Chief Education Officer, Illinois State Board of Education
– Dr. Natalie McClarty – Former Director of Curriculum Instruction and Assessment, Stanford Public Schools, Connecticut
McClendon said that Hamilton County School Board Members, “have scored each applicant on a scale of one to five with a total of 45 points possible.”
The top five candidates as voted on by the School Board are as follows:
– Dr. Justin Robinson
– Dr. Natalie McClarty
– Dr. James McIntyre
– Dr. Christopher Bernard
– Dr. John Tucker
McClendon stated that the top five candidates listed above will be interviewed by Ken Carrick of Buffin/Baker, the same search firm that aided with the previous Superintendent search which led to the hiring of Dr. Bryan Johnson.
The Board will be sent a short recording of each interview after which the Board will move forward.
Regarding a timeframe, McClendon stated that on November 8th, the Board will receive a report on the candidates from Carrick, at which time the Board will have a meeting or specially-called Session to narrow the pool from five to three candidates.
From November 15th through December 7th, the top three candidates will visit Hamilton County for a day and a half.
McClendon said that, “As of now, we are planning on voting on our next Superintendent at our December 9th School Board meeting.”
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District 3 School Board Member Joe Smith asked how much the firm would be paid for their services with the interviewing, etc. for each of the five candidates.
McClendon replied, “It’s $2,000 per candidate so with five, it would be ten grand.”
The search firm has already been paid $2,000 for their services up to this point.
McClendon said he believes their services so far included meetings of School Board members with Carrick and the reviewing of applications as they came in.
Smith asked for clarification whether there would be any more money going to the search firm after the bill for $10,000.
McClendon stated that the only remaining costs would be associated with the travel expenses of the candidates that visit Hamilton County.
McClendon stated that the resumes of the final candidates will be posted to the School Board website for the public to review at some point this week.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Directory for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
