.jpg)
Wlaf1450Interviews set for Good Friday, April 3, 10am, at Campbell County High School
By Charlotte Underwood
JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF)- The Campbell County Board of Education approved details and a timeline for the director of school’s interview process at a Special Called meeting Monday afternoon.
The interviews are set for Good Friday, April 3, beginning at 10 am at the Campbell County High School. Applicants will be interviewed in alphabetical order and will be allotted two hours per applicant. Lunch will be provided at noon.
The board also approved using the suggested 30 questions as recommended by the Tennessee School Board Association (TSBA), along with one to two additional questions per board member, providing they fall within recommended human resources guidelines.
At the start of Monday’s meeting, Board chairman Jeffrey Miller asked board members how they wanted to handle the interviews, providing three options.
“We need to get these details finalized tonight to get moving forward. I did some research and I know several of you were on here before and have been through this process,” Miller said.
Option one is to utilize the sample interview questions provided by TSBA.
Option 2 is for the board to ask its own set of questions.
“TSBA gave guidelines on what you can and can’t ask,” Miller said.
Board member Jamie Wheeler said she had looked through the suggested questions from TSBA and that she felt they were lacking in the test score and student achievement questions but otherwise looked good.
Board member Brandon Johnson said he wanted to speak about the applicants in general.
Johnson brought up the fact that at the last BOE meeting, the board approved on a 6-4 for Nancy Lay, the interim director, to be a finalist to become the next director of schools. Previously, it was decided that the interim director would not be eligible to be in the running to become the permeant director. Finalists recommended by TSBA included Lori Adkins-Clemons, Elementary Supervisor, Campbell County Schools, Jacksboro, and Charlotte McCoy, Special Education Supervisor, Campbell County Schools, Jacksboro, are the other finalists.
“So, obviously we had some action the other night that has been very obviously somewhat controversial throughout the community. My goal is to try to find a compromise where we can reunite the community and restore trust in this process,” Johnson said.
He suggested the board vote to have Interim Director of Schools Nancy Lay apply as the 16th applicant for the job and have TSBA determine her qualifications for the director’s position.
“My thought process is Ms. Lay would not have met the preferred qualifications this board set had she not had the experience to serve as director of schools as the interim…let’s let TSBA do what we paid them to do, which is give us a final application of up to three candidates; I think the community would react much more favorably on and be more fair to the applicants that chose not to apply for interim director of schools and still give Ms. Lay a seat at the table and a chance to compete like she wants to do and many board members want her to do. Is that something this board would be willing to do?” Johnson asked, saying again that he felt it would restore the community’s trust in the process.
Board member Sharon Ridenour said she agreed and that would be fair.
Miller said that for that to happen, the action that the board took on Tuesday allowing Lay to be a candidate would have to be rescinded.
He asked if Johnson was going to make this motion, however Johnson said he could not due to Robert’s Rules of Order since he was on the “failing side of last Tuesday’s vote.”
“Either yourself, Ms. Creekmore, Ms. Wheeler, Ms. Fields or Mr. Cummins would have to make the motion,” Johnson said, adding that he felt it was a “step in the right direction on trying to reach a compromise where every candidate had a true fair chance.”
No one made a motion, and the meeting moved forward with discussion on interview guidelines.
Johnson made a motion that each board member be allotted the exact amount of time to ask whatever questions they see fit of each applicant.
The motion died for lack of a second.
The board approved 7-1 to use the sample interview and questions provided by TSBA and 1-2 questions of their own choosing per each board member. This was suggested by board member Brent Lester.
Johnson was the only no vote.
Lester suggested doing it at CCHS as it has been done in the past and the board voted to hold interviews on Good Friday, April 3, starting at 10 am. A lunch will be provided at noon and then the other two candidates will be interviewed afterwards. They will be interviewed alphabetically. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-03/17/2026-6AM)