School Board Eyes Davis as Potential Interim

The Jefferson County School Board met for their regular voting meeting on Thursday, October 26, 2017 at the Patriot Academy. Though there were several items of general housekeeping on the agenda, it was an item that was not initially on the agenda that was the highlight of the meeting. After a successful motion to suspend the rules, the group addressed the possibility of placing a interim Director of Schools that could take the place of Edmonds before his retirement at the end of the calendar year. While several of the board members expressed their concern that the move was questionable because the item had not been advertised and there was no way to gauge potential interest from current employees in the position, a motion was brought by Board Member Solomon to hire the current Director of Secondary Education and Assessment, Dominique Davis, as the interim.

Though Davis acknowledged that she was willing to serve, School Board Member Fair expressed concern that Davis should have time to consider an offer before publicly asked to consider the temporary transfer. School Board Members Potts and Bradley questioned the particulars of any transfer, including compensation, longevity, and the legality of two people holding the Director position at the same time, since Edmonds is not slated to leave until the end of the calendar year. School Board Member Jarnigan stated that his concern was that Edmonds’ declining health would keep him from leading the Department of Education, noting that Edmonds was unable to attend Thursday’s meeting due to illness. Ultimately, the motion to hire Davis as interim was withdrawn and School Board Chairman Vines was charged with speaking with potential candidates for the position and working out a compensation package, as well as the legalities of any such change in position.

In other action, the school board in a split vote determined that they will seek the services of Wayne Quales in the Director search. Quales has been a part of three previous Directors searches in Jefferson County and was responsible for bringing Dr. Charles Edmonds as a candidate during the last search nearly eight years ago. The board will address both the Director search and the placing of an interim at their next meeting on Thursday, November 9, 2017, prior to the Night of the Patriots performance, in the media center of Jefferson County High School.