School board defers naming a leader

The newly seated Knox County Board of Education is deferring the election of its board chair until October after members split between two candidates Wednesday night.

Meeting for the first time since three new members were elected on Aug. 4, the board voted 4-4 for Terry Hill and Mike McMillan as the new board chair. Board member Gloria Deathridge nominated Hill, while Tony Norman nominated McMillan.

The initial vote was 4-3 for McMillan, with Amber Rountree abstaining.
But the chair must receive a super-majority, or at least five votes. Rountree then changed her vote in support of Hill.

With the resulting tie, Rountree made a motion to defer the vote until the October meeting when all nine board members could vote. Patti Bounds was not present Wednesday.
The motion died for lack of a second, and the board members cast their votes again, with the same result.

Rountree reintroduced her motion after the second tie, and it was approved.

Lynne Fugate is serving as interim board chair until the October reorganization vote. The board will also choose a vice chair then.

The Knox County BOE next meets for a work session Monday, Oct. 3, and a regular voting session Wednesday, Oct. 5.