Photo Credit: Hamilton County Schools / YouTube
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
During a special-called session on November 8th, the Hamilton County School Board met to narrow the field of applicants for HCS Superintendent of Schools from the Top 5 to the Top 3.
However, after deliberations, they were left with the Top 4, which they will interview in-person prior to the final vote for the position.
Prior to the School Board members rating the candidates with the plan of dropping the two lowest rated individuals, school board members questioned Ken Carrick of Buffin/Baker, representative of the search firm that aided with the previous Superintendent search which led to the hiring of Dr. Bryan Johnson.
Carrick was responsible for interviewing potential candidates for the position of Hamilton County Superintendent of Schools.
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District 4 School Board Member and Vice-Chair Tiffanie Robinson asked Carrick, “Who of the five candidates has the most relevant experience to this size of a school district? Who has managed a budget close or equal to the size of our budget? Who has managed an employee pool close to the same size as our district? And, in your opinion, who has been in the shoes of the superintendent position we’re replacing?”
Carrick answered, “There’s only one candidate in this pool that has actually done the job. He did it in Knox County which is the 3rd largest (school district). Jim McIntyre is the one that has actually sat in that seat.”
Carrick was referring to Dr. James McIntyre, the current Director of the Center for Educational Leadership, Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Tennessee Knoxville.
Carrick, however, stated that others fit in the “first-round draft choice” that have good experience as well.
Carrick’s “first-round draft choices” also include:
– Dr. Justin Robertson – Interim Deputy Superintendent of Hamilton County Schools, Tennessee (who is also Carrick’s recommended choice for the position)
– Dr. John Tucker – Superintendent of Camden County Schools, Georgia
– Dr. Christopher Bernard – Chief of Staff of Clark County Schools, Nevada
Seeking clarification, District 2 School Board Member Marco Perez asked Carrick if he had done any research (or interviews with other people) about the candidates outside of the interviews with the candidates themselves. Carrick replied that work should as that was outside the scope of what he was hired to do.
Perez remarked that the school board members should probably do that prior to making any final decisions.
Robinson made a motion to interview all 5 candidates before they issue rankings but the motion failed.
Robinson then made a motion to interview 4 candidates prior to the ranking and the motion carried.
This meant that the top 4 would be selected via the ranking with the lowest ranking candidate left out of the in-person interviews by the School Board.
Dr. Natalie McClarty received the lowest score so she was removed from consideration.
The remaining top 4 will visit Hamilton County sometime before the end of the year to meet and undergo interviews with the Hamilton County School Board.
The top five candidates as voted on by the School Board were as follows:
– Dr. Justin Robinson – Interim Deputy Superintendent of Hamilton County Schools, Tennessee
– Dr. Natalie McClarty – Former Director of Curriculum Instruction and Assessment, Stanford Public Schools, Connecticut
– Dr. James McIntyre – Director of the Center for Educational Leadership, Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Tennessee Knoxville
– Dr. Christopher Bernard – Chief of Staff of Clark County Schools, Nevada
– Dr. John Tucker – Superintendent of Camden County Schools, Georgia
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
