LSSD selects Hutto for director
Mar. 17—The Lebanon Special School District Board of Education concluded its director search by selecting one individual, Coles Ferry Elementary School Principal Brian Hutto.
Pending a contract negotiation, Hutto will become the new director of schools.
Hutto called the opportunity to lead LSSD "thrilling" and said that he was thankful for the support and encouragement that he has received since the announcement.
"Leaving CFE is bittersweet as we have created a family over the past 10 years," Hutto said. "I am eternally grateful for the experience. I'll miss the amazing staff, our families and especially the students. Thankfully, it isn't a goodbye, and I look forward to investing in all of our wonderful schools."
The vote was split during Monday evening's regular-scheduled meeting, forcing the school-board chairman, Steve Jones, to break the tie. Hutto will replace outgoing director of schools, Scott Benson, who is stepping down after 10 years at the helm. His final day is June 30.
The decision wraps up a month-long search that initially began with a split board over the best method for selecting a new director. School board member Joel Thacker had previously advocated turning the search spotlight outward to include external candidates.
Meanwhile, Jones and school board member Mark Tomlinson had supported finding Benson's replacement from among individuals already employed by the school district. Both had expressed more confidence with an internal hire because, as Jones put it, "you know what you are getting."
Thacker's desire to search outward was defeated by a 2-1 vote in February, limiting the search to in-house candidates who completed letters of interest. On Monday, Thacker pointed out that that letter of interest was all the candidates had filled out and that they had not even actually completed a formal application for the position.
"Its harder to go get a job at McDonald's," Thacker said.
Hutto was selected over Walter J. Baird Middle School Principal Traci Sparkman and its assistant principal, Bobby Brown.
Jones pointed to Hutto's 10 years of experience as the Coles Ferry Elementary principal in his support of Hutto to be the new director of schools.
Thacker's objection to Hutto's appointment reflected his takeaways from the interviews he conducted with all three candidates. According to Thacker, he'd received calls from teachers at Coles Ferry Elementary who had indicated that Hutto lacked the ability to confront difficult and challenging situations, adding that he didn't believe the Coles Ferry administrator was "ready to take this step yet."
Conversely, Thacker said that he was "confident" in Sparkman's qualifications based on a positive approach toward learning and development. He also mentioned that he was "wowed," by Brown, and that he had more than "20 calls from individuals whose lives Bobby had changed."
As for his vote, school board member Mark Tomlinson described the decision as one of the toughest he has had to make in a long time.
"It has not been an easy decision," Tomlinson said. "After conducting my interviews, I didn't feel like I had to have a paper in front of me to make my decision ... I'm a very good judge of character. I don't need someone calling me to know about a candidate."
During the February meeting, the school board expressed interest in a training period of sorts for the incoming director to shadow Benson before he officially steps down at the end of the year. Benson voiced support for this idea saying that he thought it would be beneficial both to the new director as well as the school district as a whole.
