Board wants to talk to Summerville after he introduces bill to allow elected directors

Dickson County School Board Chairman Tim Potter says there “may be a disconnect” between the board and state Sen. Jim Summerville of Dickson after the legislator introduced a bill to allow voters to decide whether the director of schools should be elected. In December, the school board passed a resolution opposing the idea of returning to an elected director of schools and sent that message to Dickson County’s legislators. When the Tennessee General Assembly convened earlier this month, Summerville introduced a bill that would allow counties to hold a referendum on whether to return to a popularly elected director of schools or continue to have elected schools board hire a director. Dickson County’s superintendent of schools was appointed by the county commission until voters passed a referendum to elect the superintendent in 1984. The state made all directors appointed positions in the Education Improvement Act of 1992. “He heard us good, didn’t he?” board member Phil Buckner said of Summerville’s proposal. Potter pointed out that there is no larger constituency than teachers and the parents of public school children. Summerville’s bill, which does not yet have a House sponsor, would require the local governing body such as the county commission to approve the change by a two-thirds majority, then it would be presented to the voters for approval. The bill also proposes to change some of the director’s responsibilities, such as hiring and firing teachers, to the school board. Potter asked that Summerville, a Republican midway through his first four-year term, be invited to a future school board meeting to address several education-related issues.