Parents express desire for community based schools at public meeting

Dozens of parents and community members, primarily from the Hardin Valley community, met with Knox County Schools administrators Tuesday for another informational meeting about possible middle school redistricting due to the new Hardin Valley and Gibbs middle schools.

The main message from parents attending the meeting was a desire to keep community together in the same school. More than one parent said they purchased their current home because they wanted their kids to go to Hardin Valley schools.

Previous: KCS: New middle schools will change school enrollment zoning

Asked whether the district would reevaluate other school zones after the middle school redistricting process is complete, Interim Superintendent Buzz Thomas said it's possible the district would look at other schools zones in the future.

"We don't have a specific plan to open up high school and elementary school zones right now, but we may need to do that," he said.

Thomas told attendees the district needs to have the new schools' administrators in place at least a year before the schools open, if not sooner.

"We have talked about trying to appoint the principal this spring," Thomas said.

Previous: Middle School rezoning meeting discusses new Gibbs Middle

There are two more rezoning meetings scheduled for Jan. 24 at Holston Middle School and Jan. 31 at Vine Middle School. The primary focus of those meetings will be the new Gibbs Middle School.

The district has said a second round of meetings will be held this spring to present a rezoning proposal.

People can also email questions and concerns about rezoning to rezoning@knoxschools.org.

Two dozen apply to be the next Knox County Schools Superintendent

In a last minute rush Knox County Board of Education members were hoping for, the number of applicants for Knox County Schools Superintendent jumped to 24 just before the end-of-day deadline.

On Friday morning, there had only been 11 applicants.

The deadline to apply closed at 4 p.m. Friday. There are 24 official applicants, with one additional application that wasn't completed.

There are two internal candidates and at least one other local candidate, according to KCS spokesperson Carly Harrington.

"I sensed a little bit of panic earlier in the week," said Patti Bounds, Chair of the BOE.

More: List: Knox County Schools Superintendent candidates

On Monday, member Amber Rountree, who is also overseeing the three-person superintendent search committee, said she hoped more people applied by the end of the week.

“I would like to see some more folks and I have heard there are more folks planning to apply, and they just haven’t gotten their material together,” she said.

The committee responsible for the search is made up of Rountree, Tony Norman and Susan Horn.

Friday morning, Norman told 10News he was hopeful there would be more than 11 applicants.
"I especially hope we'll get a few internal candidates," said Norman.

The names of the two internal candidates were not immediately available.

There is at least one local applicant. Dale Lynch, who currently serves as Hamblen County Schools Superintendent, applied Friday morning.

"I had heard he was going to apply and I'm glad he did," said Bounds.

Receiving 24 applicants for this position is a 'win' for the board, who went about the recruiting process differently than they had in the past.

"I'm excited about the process. This is a little bit different than it's normally done. Many school systems in our area use outside search firms," said Bounds.

Outside search firms can cost up to $80,000. Knox County Schools used one in 2008, when Dr. Jim McIntyre was selected.

Bounds said not using an outside search firm will give them more control over the candidates.

Norman agrees.

"Sometimes those search firms also have some preferred candidates, so they'll eliminate people on their side before we even get to see them," said Norman.

On the morning of Jan. 17,  the three-member search committee is scheduled to look at who has applied. Rountree says the goal is to identify perhaps five solid candidates from among all who have applied and go from there.

Norman says the people in his top five will be applicants who have "a heart for the classroom" and "significant administrative experience and experience with large school districts."

Bounds agrees with Norman's desire to have a superintendent with classroom experience. She also hopes their new chief will have many of the leadership qualities Interim Superintendent Buzz Thomas has.

"He is very much a servant leader. He understands the role of the board and of the superintendent," said Bounds.

For now, the superintendent search is closed. However, Bounds says it could reopen at any time if the current applicants are not up to standards.

Bounds said the hope is to have a new superintendent in place by summer, but are willing to sacrifice that timeline for the right person.

"More importantly is getting the right person. The last two left without completing their contracts and I don't want to see that happen again," said Bounds.

Nine apply to be Knox County Schools superintendent; deadline is Friday

With a Friday deadline looming, Knox County school board members say they’d like to see more candidates apply to be the next superintendent.

As of Monday, nine people have put their names in to lead the district of some 59,500 students and 8,000 employees.

Board members briefly discussed at a workshop Monday night details of the application process.

Member Amber Rountree is overseeing the search on a mini-committee that consists of her, Tony Norman and Susan Horn. Rountree says she’s not ready yet to end the process right now.

“I would like to see some more folks and I have heard there are more folks planning to apply, and they just haven’t gotten their material together,” she said.

On the morning of Jan. 17, the three-member search committee is scheduled to look at who has applied. Rountree says the goal is to identify perhaps five solid candidates from among all who have applied and go from there.

Applicants so far include people who have overseen smaller districts and some charter schools.

“I like how the process is going so far and I’m not discouraged at all,” Norman told 10News. “Some are a little bit (discouraged) in the slow response, a little bit of a slow response. But I think we’ll have several right here at the end.”

Board members aim to offer somewhere between $200,000 and $240,000 a year for the position. Norman said it’s possible the market might demand more for such a leadership position, but he also thinks someone making an annual salary of $240,000 would be very comfortable in East Tennessee.

Board member Lynne Fugate on Monday night expressed concerns whether $240,000 would be adequate to draw the kind of candidate they’re looking for.

It’s possible the search committee could come back to the board with a recommendation that the search process continue.

“While we do have a timeline, the board is most focused on finding the best leader for Knox County Schools," Rountree said. "So, if we do have to take some additional time to do so, we’re willing to do that. We don’t want to rush into a decision. We want the very best person to lead our district to make our schools the best in the South.”

Buzz Thomas of the Great Schools Partnership has agreed to serve as interim leader until this summer. Superintendent Jim McIntyre left the system last summer after about eight years.

Five apply for KCS superintendent

Five educators throughout the country have submitted applications to oversee the Knox County Schools system with only two weeks remaining to apply.

The applicants include educational consultants, former teachers and a superintendent of the year.
The deadline to apply is Jan. 13. The superintendent search committee, which includes school board members Amber Rountree, Tony Norman and Susan Horn, then meets Jan. 17.

"I think we should probably start seeing more apps come in now that the holidays are over,” said Rountree who is the chairwoman of the committee.

School members opted not to seek a recruiter to help fill the position, much like they did more than eight years ago when officials hired Jim McIntyre, a then-finance director in the Boston school system.

Instead, KCS began advertising the job Dec. 8 on its website and placed advertisements in national and regional publications.

As it stands, the school board has set an annual salary between $200,000 and $240,000.
McIntyre, who earned $228,000 stepped down in July. He took a job with the University of Tennessee.

The board picked Buzz Thomas, the leader of the Great Schools Partnership, to stand in until a replacement was named.

Thomas is not expected to apply for the job on a full-time basis and has publicly expressed an interest to go back to the Partnership by this summer.

Here’s a snapshot of the applicants who have submitted resumes as of Jan. 2:

• Catherine Beck: Assistant superintendent of the 3,500-student Summit County School District in Colorado.
• Cedrick Gray: A former ‘superintendent of the year” by the National Association of Superintendents, Gray stepped down as leader of the Jackson Public Schools, a 28-000-student system in Mississippi. He previously worked as the director of schools in Fayette County in West Tennessee but left in 2012 after questions about financial discrepancies in school spending arose.
• Andrei Ghelman: Secondary coordinator for the 47,000 student, 59 schools Collier County Public Schools in Naples, Fla. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Florida Gulf Coast University. He previously worked as a teacher and principal for Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland.
• Thomas Graves: An educational consultant since 2010, he also served as the assistant superintendent of Washington County Schools in Abingdon, Va. From 2006 to 2010.
• Tonya Harris: Superintendent of the St. Louis charter school Preclarus Mastery Academy. The school, which for years had a high student absentee rate, has seen some improvements. Harris previously worked as an assistant principal in for District of Columbia Public Schools.

Education: Looking back at 2016

2016 held some major stories in education, from an upset in the statewide standardized test, to a change in leadership for Knox County Schools.

They year began with a surprise announcement: that Knox County Schools superintendent Jim McIntyre would be stepping down.

RELATED: KCS Superintendent McIntyre to step down

"I would love to continue to do the job that I love doing," McIntyre said at a media conference. "However, the current political environment has become increasingly dysfunctional, at times overtly antagonistic and seemingly untenable."

The search immediately began for his interim replacement, and the Board of Education tapped Buzz Thomas, president of the non-profit Great Schools Partnership.

"They want to create the best school system in the South," Thomas said of board member, in an interview with WBIR 10News.

RELATED: Buzz Thomas takes over as interim superintendent of Knox County Schools

He took over in June, and board members are in the process of finding a permanent superintendent.
School board elections in September brought three new faces to the table, leading to a shift toward a more public approach to input on teacher evaluations and student testing, plus the creation of a Teacher Advisory Committee.

In February, the state's much-hailed online standardized testing platform failed, and the backup pencil-and-paper form the of test wasn't delivered in time.

"Ultimately, you have to make a call about whether this is going to be a good experience for students or not," state education commissioner Candice McQueen told a reporter at the time.

"Everybody's making the joke about, 'Tennessee Ready's not ready,'" concerned Knox County parent Leslie Kurtz said, in reaction.

RELATED: Parents, teachers frustrated by TNReady online failure

In April, Tennessee canceled its contract with the testing company Measurement, Inc. and began an emergency search process for a new company.

RELATED: McIntyre: 'Time to pull plug' on assessment contractor

It named Minnesota-based Questar Assessment to take over the state's TNReady test for the current school year.

"Questar's been around for about 40 years, and we literally have hundreds of successful assessments under our belt," Questar VP of State Solutions Marty Mineck told 10News.

RELATED: Teachers talk with TN's new standardized testing vendor

Throughout the year, Knox County district leaders have been fostering conversations about cultural competency and racial disparities in both discipline and academic outcomes - and how to make improvements.

As awareness of bullying, hazing and cyber-bullying continues to grow, many East Tennessee schools are working to combat that. Roane County Schools has programs in the majority of its buildings, to teach kids about kindness and the harmful impact of bullying.

RELATED: School district prevents bullying by promoting kindness

Throughout 2016, we saw the hearts and love of teachers, students, parents and administrators shine through, from the Beaumont Magnet Academy community pulling together to win a $100,000 grant for a new arts-inspired playground, to a Blount County schoolteacher who fostered and then adopted three former students.

RELATED: Beaumont Magnet Academy wins $100,000 grant

RELATED: Blount County family thankful for 14 children

All around, those involved in education in East Tennessee showed the Volunteer spirit in the classroom and community - and ready to be carried into 2017.

BOE's focus on finding new Knox Co. Schools leader, testing data

The Knox County Board of Education tonight and Wednesday will continue discussions that touch on the search for a new superintendent and whether state testing data should help determine teacher evaluations and student grades for the current year.

The board also has some “housecleaning” and policy matters that officials will address during tonight’s work session, but the two “key items” focus on testing and the school system’s next leader, BOE Chairwoman Patti Bounds told WBIR 10News on Monday morning.

Bounds said the board will talk about whether it wants to put together a search committee and – if members do want a committee – then who should serve on it. The county law department has recommended three members, but Bounds said the board doesn’t necessarily have to stick to that number.

Buzz Thomas, who oversees the Great Schools Partnership, is currently serving as interim superintendent.

However, the GSP wants him back by next summer, so Bounds said the school board wants to get it done by then.

“I don’t think there are any members of this board who will not do their due diligence to get the best person, but we know we’re on a very tight schedule,” Bounds said.

The board also will talk about a proposed resolution sponsored by Amber Rountree that comes in the wake of the state’s recent announcement that it has signed a contract with Questar to oversee Tennessee’s annual student assessments.

Rountree wants the state to grant a waiver so that the tests don’t count against teacher evaluations and student grades for the current year.

The state in the past year or so has struggled to roll out new tests for students and she wants to make sure the kinks are worked out of the new tests.

Her resolution also notes that “there are documented errors on the part of Questar” to administer similar tests in New York and Mississippi, and that Knox County teachers wouldn’t be involved in writing test items for the current year.

Thomas has called the resolution “ill-advised” and “at the very least . . . premature.”

“(The) proposed resolution does not sound like a school district that is aspiring to be the best in the South or even in the state,” Thomas wrote to board members in a Sept. 23 email. “It sounds like we are making excuses. We need a good standardized test each year to tell us how we are doing compared to others across the state and the nation. We will achieve greatness not by shying away from this accountability but by welcoming it.”

The county’s Teacher Advisory Committee met earlier this month to talk about the issue.

“A great majority of those reported that in surveying their schools the teachers were in favor of Amber’s resolution . . .  (and) that their schools and teachers were in favor of it by a pretty significant number,” Bounds said.

An advisory committee member will give board members a presentation prior to the official start of tonight’s meeting.

The board meets tonight at 5 at the Andrew Johnson Building. The board’s voting meeting is set for 5 p.m. Wednesday at the City County Building.

$100K Haslam donations: Just how Knox County schools are putting it to use

At Bearden High School, educators are looking to build a new future for the students through engineering, specifically robotics.

The move comes roughly a year after members of the philanthropic Haslam family and Pilot Flying J gave the Knox County school system $10 million. The bulk of the money – $8.7 million – was set aside to provide synthetic turf fields and some running tracks at the county’s 13 high schools.

But, lost in the headlines was another $100,000 donation for each of the system’s 13 traditional high schools to use for academics.

“When the money came along, I was just like, ‘This is unbelievable – this gift just fell in our lap – hey, here’s the chance to do something,’” said Bearden High School principal John Bartlett. “That’s one-time money to start up a program that’s going to help a lot of students.”

As it stands, school leaders submitted proposals to the Haslam family earlier this year, detailing how they would use the money.

The school system is now putting together a report that should be complete some time in December.

“There's a lot of flexibility that's been given to our school leaders,” interim Knox County Schools Superintendent Buzz Thomas added. “That's the way we're trying to run the school district: we're trying to make decisions as close to the action as possible, and that's the way the Haslam family did this gift."

A majority of the money so far has gone to technology, according to a WBIR 10News analysis of the expenditures.

Schools so far have purchased or plan to purchase new computers, laptops, tablets, interactive whiteboards, cameras and calculators.

They’ve also bought office and lab furniture, dry erase tables and materials to help improve test scores.

Some of the money will pay for instructional coaches and tutors and some will support career readiness programs through field trips, job shadowing and student internships.

"We're on a track over the next 3 years to have one-on-one technology in each school and each student's hands,” Thomas said. "This gift gave a lot of schools the opportunity to kind of surge ahead."

The money also enables schools to continue to update what they have.

“When we opened our doors in 2008, all of our technology was new,” Hardin Valley Academy principal Sallee Reynolds said in a letter to the Haslam family in February, adding that the school plans to spend its money almost entirely on new computers and laptops. “Eight years later, many of our teachers are still using the original laptops that have been serviced several times.”

Rest of story, with details for each school, RIGHT HERE.

Roughly 100 turn out to discuss Knox County Schools' next superintendent

Interim Superintendent Buzz Thomas

Bearden Middle School's small auditorium hosted big ideas about the future of Knox County Tuesday night.

Roughly 100 people turned out as parents, students and teachers shared their thoughts on the search for the next Knox County Schools superintendent.

“I would like to see at least 5 years of actual classroom experience,” one parent said.
"Someone has got to stand up for our children, who are not just test scores,” said another.

A similar meeting was held last week.

The meetings meeting were meant to give the community a voice in the selection process.
Based on community input, Buzz Thomas, the interim superintendent, says there are two important traits they're looking for.

"Knox County residents want somebody with teaching experience, I think that's very important to them, of course somebody with management experience not only with people but with money,” he said.

Thomas said the attendance at Tuesday's meeting is a strong indicator of how much this hire matters to people.

“We won't be able to have the best school district in the South if we don't have a great leader,” said Thomas.

Knox County parent Kim Kredich wants to make sure special needs students are treated with equality.

"We need a superintendent who's going to be engaged in solving these issues,” said Kredich.

The next step comes Oct. 21 as school board members meet for a two-day retreat to iron out a plan to hire a new superintendent. The ideas gathered Tuesday were recorded and will be reviewed at that retreat.

"We will have a little bit of information from what the community would like us to consider as we have our discussions, so it's very helpful,” explained school board member Gloria Deathridge.

If you missed the public input meetings you can send your thoughts to the Knox County School Board here.

KCS hears input on superintendent search in first of two forums

Thursday night marked the first of two public forums for community members to share their opinions on Knox County Schools' search for a new superintendent.

The meetings come after former superintendent Jim McIntyre announced his resignation in January and stepped down in June.

Buzz Thomas, of Great Schools Partnership, then took over as interim superintendent.

Some three dozen people gathered Thursday in Central High School's auditorium, where Thomas, a number of Knox County Board of Education members and other district leaders heard from community stakeholders, who included parents and educators.

David McCroskey attended the meeting. He's the grandparent and guardian of three Knox County Schools students. He said while he didn't dislike the former superintendent, he felt McIntyre was overly focused on the financial side of the job.

“I personally feel that we need someone who is an educator and is willing to sit down and talk to people and understand the needs of our children, as opposed to worrying about the financial side of it," he said.

Kathleen Robinson, a former KCS teacher and parent, hopes teachers and parents have a large say in who becomes the next superintendent.

“I feel like the last search, we really didn’t have that opportunity. I was a classroom teacher at that time and I feel like teachers really didn’t have a say," she said.

She hopes the next superintendent will focus on empowering both students and teachers.

“I would like a superintendent who has my child’s best interest at heart," she said.
“We have a lot of disenfranchised teachers, I feel, due to the fact that they don’t feel trusted.”

Board member Terry Hill attended the forum as well. She was disappointed with the turnout but impressed with those who did attend.

“I thought it was a wonderful forum we had tonight. I wish we would’ve had a few more people. But the folks that were there had really concrete suggestions, were very thought out, very purposeful," she said.

Prior to the meeting, WBIR 10News spoke with a number of district leaders on the importance of these public input sessions.

"It's an important job we have to do, so I think the more feedback we have, the better," new BOE member Susan Horn told 10News.

She said she heard from a lot of parents and educators while campaigning for her seat.

"People are looking for a great leader, who has a huge, great vision for our schools, who can communicate with people and who has classroom experience and administrative experience," Horn said.

Board members voted earlier this month to defer appointing a chairperson until next month. That's an important decision, as the chair will appoint members to the superintendent search committee.

Rest of story HERE.

Harrington to oversee schools' PR

Knox County interim Superintendent Buzz Thomas has hired former KNS business reporter Carly Harrington to serve as the school system's new director of communications and public affairs.

She replaces Melissa Tindell, who recently stepped down. Carly starts Sept. 1 and will earn $90,000. (If I'm not mistaken Melissa pulled in around $95K to $98K.)

To put that in perspective, the county's communication director earns $76,000 - after six years on the job.

And a teacher makes around $40,000.

In a letter, to school board members, Thomas says Harrington was recommended by Mike Cohen (himself), Amy Nolan (Knoxville Chamber) and David Keim (ORNL).

I actually worked with Carly for awhile over at the Sentinel. She's a good pick. 

In addition, Thomas announced that Sara McElfresh will serve as the school system's new open records coordinator.

"Sara's job will be to promptly and accurately respond to all requests for public records," Thomas wrote to board members in an email sent last Thursday. "As you know, this has been a challenge for us."

Heh. He's not kidding about that one.

KCS media relations policy change?

Well this is interesting:

Knox County Schools interim Superintendent Buzz Thomas is recommending the following paragraph to the BOE’s media relations policy:

The school system has a responsibility to provide information to the public, including members of the media, as appropriate. Therefore, the principal of each school shall be responsible for developing a public relations and outreach program for his or her school and shall promote programs which both involve and engage parents and the community in the life of the school and the success of students.

Glad to see the individual school given some autonomy on how to promote themselves. It's about time.

BOE to approve interim contract Wed.

Buzz Thomas

The Knox County Board of Education on Wednesday is expected to agree to a one-year contract with interim Superintendent Buzz Thomas, paying him $195,000 annually.

Thomas will replace Jim McIntyre, who oversaw Knox County Schools for eight years.

McIntyre agreed in January to step down in July due to the “political environment.” In exchange, the school board agreed to pay him his salary - $227,000 – for a year.

Thomas, the current president of the Great Schools Partnership, will technically assume responsibility of KCS on June 15, and McIntyre will provide “support, mentorship and counsel” to him until July 8 – McIntyre’s last day on the job.

The 3-page contract notes that if the school board has not hired a permanent director within a year, “the terms of this agreement are subject to renegotiation.”

Thomas, according to the contract, has agreed not to submit his name as a candidate for the permanent position.

The board unanimously picked Thomas in early April to become the interim superintendent.

Thomas says he will do more than keep seat warm as interim superintendent

Buzz Thomas

Soon-to-be interim KCS Superintendent Buzz Thomas says he will be more than just a placeholder when he takes over the Knox County school system beginning in July.

In fact, Thomas said, he’s “not afraid” to make changes that could lead to “trimming some bureaucracy (and) investing more in classrooms.”

“I always think there are improvements that can be made and we’ll try to do that,” Thomas told WBIR 10News. “I said the other day, we’re not going to circle the airport for the next six to 12 months. We’re going to continue the journey. We’ve been on an upward projector, but not upward enough. So, we need to improve at a faster pace . . .  .”

Thomas will begin serving as interim superintendent July 9. Current Superintendent Jim McIntyre announced in January that he would step down this summer.

Thomas, who is currently the president of the non-profit Great Schools Partnership, is the guest on Sunday’s “Inside Tennessee,” WBIR’s political and public affairs program, which airs at 9:30 a.m.

During Sunday’s discussion, Thomas touches on a wide range of topics, including plans to boost teacher morale, a renewed focus on student reading levels, whether the next superintendent should have teaching experience and if he’s interested in the job on a permanent basis.

“I think we’ve gotten into two camps for lack of a better term,” he said. “We’ve got the pro-teacher camp and then you’ve got the pro-student achievement camp and they’re over there looking at test scores and if kids are making better (grades) on the ACT. Here’s the truth: All of us want both things.
Is there anybody who doesn’t want kids to achieve and learn so that they have a successful future? And is there anybody who doesn’t want our teachers to be happy? We want teacher morale to be high.”

Thomas added: “You want kids to learn and teachers to enjoy coming to work every day. And I think we can do that but we’ve got to get past the personality and the politics and refocus on the work”

Thomas talks interim school plans

Buzz Thomas

A week after the Knox County School Board elected Buzz Thomas to be the district's interim superintendent, he's sharing plans for his new role, and what he expects for his current post.

The board unanimously chose Thomas after Superintendent Jim McIntyre announced in January he would soon step down.

“I’m certainly eager about the work, enthusiastic about that, and honored to be asked to step forward in this kind of transition period to help move our district forward," Thomas said.

He is currently the president of Great Schools Partnership, which is a non-profit that started in 2005.

It acts as a support group for the district, funding after-school programs and helping students and teachers achieve more in the classroom.

As interim superintendent, he hopes to boost teacher morale and renew a focus on student reading level.

“Only 47 percent of our third graders are proficient readers. That’s unacceptable," he said. "Half of our graduating seniors last year made below a 21 on the ACT, which is the minimum benchmark for college and career readiness. How are we going to address that problem?”

He said his term will likely last no more than a year.

“I like the job I have. I’m excited about the new challenges and the opportunity, but I also look forward to being the president of Great Schools Partnership again," he said.

“I don’t have a lot of K through 12 teaching experience," Thomas continued. "I was a college professor for a while, I taught law at Georgetown University and that’s great, but that’s very different from teaching a room of first graders that are required by law to be there.”

Great Schools Partnership Treasurer, and Knoxville Chamber President, Mike Edwards said he expects Thomas to thrive in his new role.

“An interim period can be very disruptive for any organization, and particularly a school district," Edwards said. "I think that his will be not interruptive. I think he will be able to lead with great grace and wisdom, and we’ll be just fine.”

He said the experience Thomas gains working for Knox County Schools will not only benefit students and teachers in that realm, but also come back to help the nonprofit organization.

“While his leadership will be clearly missed, I don’t think we’ll miss a beat in the schools where we’re doing projects,” Edwards said. “When he returns, he will be even much better prepared to lead the Great Schools.”

Great Schools Partnership will soon meet to choose its interim president to replace Thomas, as he starts his new post around June.

Thomas new interim superintendent

As expected, the Knox County school board unanimously voted to approve the hiring of Buzz Thomas to serve as interim schools superintendent.

The board met Wednesday afternoon in a regular session at the City County Building downtown.

On Monday in a board workshop, board member Terry Hill nominated Thomas, head of the Great Schools Partnership, to serve in the temporary position.

“I am honored to be chosen by the Board of Education for this incredibly important position," said Thomas in a release. "I know how dedicated each board member is to the well-being of our children and the success of our schools."

Board member Amber Rountree supports Thomas, but wants the search for a permanent replacement to start with someone with teaching experience.

"Having been in a school and working in a teaching role and an administrative role helps you build positive relationships with staff and it helps you make the best decision for kids," said Rountree.

Buzz Thomas recommended for interim Knox Co. superintendent position

Buzz Thomas

Buzz Thomas, the head of the Great Schools Partnership, was nominated Monday night to serve as interim superintendent of Knox County Schools.

Board of Education member Terry Hill presented Thomas' name during a Knox County school board workshop.

About a half-dozen men had been identified as candidates, ranging from Thomas to several current schools administrators.

By agreement, board members are to formally vote Wednesday on Thomas' nomination.

Hill said she thought there was no better supporter of the school system than Thomas. She said he thought he could step away from his job to be the interim leader.

"Buzz is already a part of the leadership team for Knox County Schools so he has an in-depth knowledge of our system, even though he hasn't been an employee," Hill added.

Board members Gloria Deathridge, Lynne Fugate and board chair Doug Harris said they plan to support the nomination.

"He's got a great resume," Harris said. "He's got a lot of experience. He knows our school system and knows a lot of the players involved."

Hill reviewed nominated candidates in preparation for Monday's meeting.


Superintendent Jim McIntyre is leaving the school system in July.

Besides Thomas, other men who were nominated included Bob Thomas, a Knox County Schools assistant superintendent; Rodney Russell, director of human capital strategy at KCS; and Danny Trent, KCS secondary supervisor.

As part of the selection process, Hill interviewed candidates.

By agreement, Harris would have until April 17 to negotiate a contract with Thomas.

By policy, the person chosen for the interim role is not expected to be a candidate for permanent superintendent.  The search for a long-term leader could take up to a year and is expected to begin in September, after new school members are elected and seated.

Board members have said they want an interim leader who cares about children and who is familiar with the school system’s budget, schools and staff.

Last month, McIntyre proposed a general purpose budget of $453.5 million, an increase of $15.5 million or nearly 4 percent from the current fiscal year. The board will vote on the budget in April.

The system is composed of 90 schools and a 7,500 person workforce that includes about 5,000 teachers.

The Knox County BOE hired McIntyre in the spring of 2008, after a year-long process that included whittling down a list of 40 candidates to a handful of finalists.