The school board took a step toward the selection a new Director of Schools Thursday night.
At the regular monthly meeting of the board, members voted to post a notice on the school system's website announcing that applications were being sought for the position. A link to the application was posted on May 15 at http://www.dekalbschools.net/.
Chairman W.J. (Dub) Evins, III said the application will basically be the same form as the one used during the last search nine years ago with a few changes. "We had a workshop prior to this meeting and we all agreed on the format. The best way to explain this is to say that we are going to start tomorrow (May 15), and at least start with posting it on our website and have a time line of May 15 to June 15, which would be 31 days. In the interim, we will have to do some things ourselves to structure the contract, and some more detailed issues, but before we do that at least we can get started with posting on the website for anyone interested in applying, and details will be on that website. We looked at the application that we did nine years ago. We added some more details to that, and anyone wanting to see that can get on our website. It's pretty detailed," Evins said.
The five-page form can be found at http://images.pcmac.org/Uploads/DekalbCountySD/DekalbCountySD/Divisions/DocumentsCategories/Documents/2015_05_15%20Director%20Application.pdf, and demands that the following requirements be met to qualify for the job.
• A professional educator's license with Superintendent (Director of Schools) endorsement or a Tennessee Professional Administrator's license.
• A master's degree in education with a preference for a doctorate degree
• Three years of successful experience in school administration
• Such other qualifications as the Board deems desirable
• Must live in or agree to move to DeKalb County within 90 days of hire
• Professional Resume including Transcripts
• Formal letter of interest
Description of Position:
The management responsibilities of the Director of Schools shall extend to all activities of the district, to all phases of the educational program, to all aspects of the financial operations, to all parts of the physical plant, and to the conduct of such other duties as may be assigned by the Board.
Contact person:
Jamie Vickers, Secretary, for information regarding the application process and for a complete description of the qualifications and duties of this position. Applications will be accepted beginning May 15-June 15.
The board also voted to hire a Chattanooga lawyer who specializes in school law. Attorney Scott Bennett will be available to advise the board when needed at an hourly rate.
"It won't be a monthly retainer, it will just be a per hour retainer." Said Evins. "If there is something of less consequence during the year we can hire someone locally. We're not obligated in any way to use this gentleman. He is with a law firm in Chattanooga who specializes in school law. He serves as legal counsel for Hamilton County, Coffee County, and several other counties. We can talk with him through emails or over the phone for advice. There are two attorneys in the law firm who specialize in school law and their rate is $170 per hour. We still have attorney Randall Bennett, who is no relation, of the Tennessee School Boards Association, and we can still get his free advice and counsel. He (Randall Bennett) doesn't do new contracts for a director, so we would have to get someone to do that. Scott Bennett specializes in that."
