Sen. Summerville says bill to allow elected superintendents ‘not going anywhere’

State Sen. Jim Summerville says he introduced a bill to allow the election of school superintendents at the request of citizens in one of the counties of the 25^th District, but he doesn’t expect it will find any traction in the General Assembly. “It’s not going anywhere,” Summerville said Monday on WDKN’s Power Lunch program. At January’s Dickson County School Board meeting, Chairman Tim Potter had wondered if there is a “disconnect” between constituents and the senator after he introduced the bill despite a resolution passed by the school board opposing the return to an elected superintendent. But Summerville said Monday the bill was requested by officials in a different county where he said the citizens have some issues with the school board and the current contracted director. He did not identify the county. The senator said he personally believes the current system of boards hiring a director of schools is working. Summerville’s bill would require a municipality or county governing body to approve the change by at least a two-thirds majority, then the issue would be presented to the voters in a referendum. It would require that candidates have a bachelor’s degree and changes some system operation responsibilities from the director to the board. It also provides a mechanism for the system to return to an appointed director. The bill currently has no House sponsor and has been referred to the Senate’s Education Committee. While Summerville says that bill was at the request of constituents and he doesn’t expect it to pass, he also has introduced a bill that would require members of elected school boards to have at least two years of post-secondary education. Jacksboro Republican Dennis Powers is the House sponsor and the bill has been referred to Education Committees in both chambers. Summerville said Monday that he believes school board members should have some level of advanced education with basic understandings of budgeting, education requirements and other aspects of school system operation. The bill would allow current elected board members who do not meet the requirement to complete their terms.