Unexpected twist in director of schools search leads to tense BOE meeting

Interim director added to candidate list of now three finalists

By Charlotte Underwood

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF)- At Tuesday’s Campbell County Board of Education meeting, in a 6 to 4 vote, board of education members voted to add interim director of schools Nancy Lay to the list of three finalists for the director of schools.

Originally 15 candidates applied and were narrowed down to two by Tennessee School Board Association (TSBA) representatives tasked with vetting the multitude of candidates through completing credential reviews, verifying application materials, and conducting reference checks. Finalists recommended by TSBA included Lori Adkins-Clemons, Elementary Supervisor, Campbell County Schools, Jacksboro, and Charlotte McCoy, Special Education Supervisor, Campbell County Schools, Jacksboro.

Interim Director of Schools Nancy Lay was added to the candidate list late in the meeting after it was brought up by BOE member Crystal Creekmore to add Lay, who had previously been restricted from applying for the position under the terms she was hired as interim director. BOE member Ryne Cummins made the motion, with Creekmore seconding it. Board of Education members were split on this decision, with Brandon Johnson, Sharon Ridenour, Brent Lester and Randy Heatherly voting no to adding Lay to the list, while Creekmore, Ryne Cummins, Ronnie Lasley, Jamie Wheeler, Lisa Fields and board chairman Jeffrey Miller voted yes to allow Lay as a candidate.

Creekmore said she felt that when the board searched for an interim director, they “had made a grave mistake by not allowing Lay to apply.”

“We don’t have three applicants as it is, and I think we should allow her to be joined in the interview process. Her leadership the past few months have far exceeded my expectations, so I would like to extend the opportunity to her if she wants,” Creekmore said.

BOE member Brandon Johnson was strongly opposed to this, saying he felt it was unfair to the other candidates that would have applied for interim and that “the rules of the game had been changed at the ninth inning.”

“If I had wanted to be unfair to Ms. Nancy and the candidates, I would make the motion to skip the interview process right now and name her director, and I do have the right to do that don’t I, Mr. Cantrell,” Creekmore clarified with the BOE attorney.

Board Attorney Dail Cantrell said that was so.

Creekmore continued, saying she felt the board had made a mistake by not allowing the interim to apply and that she would like to correct that mistake by allowing her to interview.

Board Chairman Jeffrey Miller asked Lay if that was something she would be interested in and she said yes, “if I can.”

Johnson said that he agreed that Ms. Lay had done a phenomenal job over the past few months. “You have been an extraordinary teacher, principal and director of schools sincerely from the bottom of my heart, I thank you, but any opinion this board makes, as Ms. Creekmore just said from her own mouth, will be skewed because we have seen you in this role. Likewise if every candidate had an opportunity to be interim, would they do a worse job, possibly, would they do a better job, possibly, but this board, yet again, has a habit and an impression in the community of we say one thing and we do another and we set the qualifications when we hired you as interim director that you would not, and we made it very clear and unanimously decided that the interim director would not have an opportunity to be director of schools and I am vehemently against that. Not because of anything personal against you, you have done a phenomenal job and I can’t tell you how much we appreciate you, but it was not fair of the other candidates that may have been interested in serving as interim director of schools … we are going against everything we said up front,” Johnson said.

BOE member Ryne Cummins made the motion to add Nancy Lay to the candidates to be interviewed, this was seconded by Creekmore.

Johnson asked if this would open the board up to a lawsuit, because the board said an interim would not be considered for the position.

Cantrell said the “short answer would probably be yes” but his “legal opinion was no.”

He said his assumption was that TSBA would bring three candidates to the table.

“The other thing I would factor in was you guys had a very fluid situation with your director stepping down midterm. That drove you to a decision to do this. I think that sure it opens you up to a lawsuit, but as your attorney, I would say my concern would be minimal,” Cantrell said, adding that he could not “honestly counsel the board not to do it.”

Cummins said he felt it would be “unfair to Ms. Lay to exclude her.”

Jonson said that “Ms. Lay knew when she took the position, she would not be able to apply” and that if she wanted to apply for director of schools, she should not have applied to be interim.

“We told the community, very clearly, here are the rules, and now we are changing it because it is convenient and that sounds like back door politics, and I will not be in favor of that,” Johnson said.

Cummins said he understood that, but he also understood that TSBA did not provide three candidates and he stuck by his motion to make Ms. Lay the third candidate.

Ridenour said she agreed with Johnson and that she felt it was not fair. Lester and Heatherly agreed.

Cantrell said the board was on a timeline and that a director had to be in place within 60 days of the election cycle.

After the motion passed 6 to 4 to add Lay as the third candidate, Johnson asked if the board did not have to make a motion to change the previous rule that had restricted Lay from applying as a candidate initially.

Cantrell said yes, the appropriate vote would have been to rescind the restriction, vote on it, then vote on the motion to add Lay as a candidate.

The motion was then made to rescind the action that prevented Lay from applying. This also passed 6 to 4.

At the close of the meeting, during board comments, Johnson said that he was disappointed in the decision made by the board. He also told Ms. Lay that now that she had been included as an applicant that she had “his word that he would consider on the same field as everyone else, but that he was still in protest of the process.”

Ridenour said that the only reason she felt Ms. Lay should not be able to apply was because of the rule the board set to begin with that the interim would not be able to apply.

“I feel like we are lying to the public,” Ridenour said.

Cummins said he was glad that Ms. Lay was going to be interviewed and that he looked forward to interviewing her and the other candidates.

The interview process was moved until after spring break and will now take place Monday, March 23. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-03/11/2026-6AM)