The Greene County Board of Education will be asked today to approve procedures for conducting the search for a new director of schools.

Dr. Joe Parkins, the current director of Greene County Schools, has announced he will be retiring next June 30 at the end of his current contract.

On Wednesday morning, county school board members reached consensus during a workshop on how they plan to conduct the search.

During a discussion that lasted more than an hour, the school board agreed to follow existing procedures that outline qualifications for the director schools and specify how recruitment and selection of a new director are to be conducted.

Board Chairman David Johnson said the policies will be followed "to a T."

He also pledged that the search process will be "transparent."

The recruitment and selection policy notes that prior to conducting a search, the board shall develop a job description, a timeline, a process for accepting and reviewing applications and selection procedures.

The recruitment and selection policy notes that the board may invite members of the community, including school system employees, to participate in the process of selecting the director of schools.

The resumes of candidates interviewed by the board "shall be" made available to the public at the school system's central office, according to the policy.

In addition, the selection policy notes that the interview process for four finalists shall include meetings with staff and community groups and an interview by the entire school board in open session.

The selection policy also notes that the board will attempt to select a new director of schools by "unanimous vote," with a "two-thirds majority" vote required to appoint a director. A two-thirds vote of the county school board requires five of the seven members to vote in favor.

The recruitment and selection policy also indicates that the board may employ a consultant "to advise and assist the board in the search and selection process."

Chairman Johnson, who led the board during the workshop, polled board members as to whether they wished to again use the services of the Tennessee School Boards Association in conducting a search for a new director.

All the board members indicated that they were opposed to using the TSBA to assist with the search.

The TSBA had assisted the Greene County Board of Education in its failed 2007 search for a new director.

The 2007 search failed when three of the finalists dropped out of consideration late in the process. The board then turned to Dr. Parkins, who had announced plans, in December 2006, to retire effective June 30, 2007.

Chairman Johnson told the board on Wednesday that it could retain a consultant to assist it in searching for a new director.

He noted that he had invited Dr. Ted Beach, a retired educator who worked for the Tennessee Department of Education for many years, to attend the workshop. Johnson noted that Beach was willing to assist the board in its director search.

But he also noted that the board was free to interview other consultants if it chose to do so.

During discussion, board member Richard Morrison, said he had worked with Dr. Beach for many years and recommended him highly. If there was one word that could be associated with Dr. Beach, Morrison said, it is "integrity."

After some discussion, the board reached consensus on hiring Dr. Beach to assist it with the search. During a search committee meeting that followed the workshop, Johnson said Dr. Beach would charge no more than $3,500 for his services.

The TSBA had charged the Greene County School System more than $7,000 for its assistance with the 2007 search for a director, Johnson said.

Johnson said Beach will accept and score resumes submitted by candidates for the director's position.

He said Beach will work under the direction of a committee of board members.

Kathy Crawford, the board's vice chairman, and board members Kathy Austin and Rex Hopson agreed to serve on the search committee.

They agreed to meet with Dr. Beach at 3 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2, to begin the process.

Board Chairman Johnson said Dr. Beach will work at the committee's direction and that the committee will select eight semi-finalists from which the board as a whole will choose four finalists to be interviewed.

The board policy that outlines the qualifications and duties of the director of schools notes that the director must have a professional educator's license and at least a master's degree in education, with a preference for those holding a doctorate.

The director also must have five years of "successful experience in school administration" and "such other qualifications as the board deems desirable."

During discussion, board member Debra Knight said she felt the new director should be able to communicate effectively with teachers, other school employees and the public.

Shortly after the meeting began, Morrison suggested that the board choose an "interim" director who would be offered only a one-year contract.

"The most important decision we make is to hire the director," Morrison said.

He noted that two board members who had taken part in the abortive 2007 search for a new director of schools had subsequently been defeated for re-election.

Morrison pointed out that the remaining five board members who had taken part in the failed 2007 director search come up for re-election next August, only about a month after a new director will begin work.

Noting that he does not plan to seek re-election, Morrison said that as many as five new board members could take office next Sept. 1 immediately after the August 2010 county elections.

A director hired by the existing school board could find himself, or herself, working with an almost entirely new board come next September, Morrison said.

"I don't think it's fair to the person appointed or to the new board," Morrison said.

"I would propose that we appoint an interim director for a period of one year."

Morrison said there were several good "local" candidates for the position of interim director. He mentioned Assistant Director of Schools Judy Phillips, Dr. Paul Fox, Wayland Seaton and Dr. Jerald Miller as possible interim director candidates.

Morrison urged the board not to "handcuff" the new school board (which will take office Sept. 1, 2010) "with someone that we like" and to, instead, appoint an interim director and allow the new school board to either extend the interim director's contract or conduct another search.

But Kathy Crawford, the board's current vice chairman, urged the board to accept it's responsibility to appoint a new director.

"We were elected by the people to do what's best for school children in Greene County. It's time to do our job," she said.

Crawford said that if new board members are elected next year, they will not be initially as well informed about the county school system and the director search process as are the current board members.

"We can work together and get through this," she said. "I think we need to stand up and do it."

Chairman Johnson said he feels all board members want to have what's best for Greene County students, but that sometimes a new direction is needed.

Board member Kathy Austin said she felt the board members would be "shirking their duty" if they didn't pursue hiring a new director for a full term.

"If we can't get this done with 42 years of experience on the board, we need to go home," she said.

Austin said she wants the next director of schools to be the best person who can move the county school system forward.

"This decision sets the tone for the entire school system," she said. "We're moving forward and I want to continue moving forward. We've got policies in place and that if we follow the rules it (hiring a new director) will get done."

Board member Hopson said everyone to whom he had spoken about the director search had favored hiring someone from Greene County to be the new director of schools. "That's probably the way I will be voting," he said.

Board member Claude Weems, Jr., said he wanted "to get the best person for Greene County" as the new director.

Weems said that while there was "merit" to Morrison's suggestion of appointing an interim director, he also felt it was the current board's responsibility to hire a new director.

He noted that he would likely support a qualified candidate from Greene County over one from outside the county.