Rutherford school board to vote on new leadership as Sharp steps aside

Editor's note: This story was updated on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 2 to include a social media announcement late Friday night by Rutherford County Board of Education Chairman Tammy Sharp.

Rutherford County Board of Education chairman Tammy Sharp announced late Friday in a Facebook post that she "will not be seeking another term as chairman" — the leadership position that, as of Friday morning, she vowed to retain.

Earlier in the week of Aug. 28, two of the five board members who supported Tammy Sharp to be chairman in a 5-2 vote the year before voiced interest in new leadership to preside over meetings and work with the administration on preparing meeting agendas. Sharp would have needed four votes to remain as chairman, but the two wanting a change after backing Sharp last year are Frances Rosales and Claire Maxwell.

"Change is good, and new leadership is not a reprimand against the past," Rosales said earlier in the week. "It’s just about moving forward." Rosales who won her seat in 2022.

"I think it should be a one year thing," said Maxwell, who won her seat in 2020 "If you are going to be on the board and serve out your entire term, you should have the opportunity to be chair or vice chair."

The board will decide who will serve as chair at a 5:30 p.m. Tuesday meeting at the district's administration office, 2240 Southpark Drive, Murfreesboro.

Sharp's Friday announcement: 'It is with a heavy heart and great respect'

As of Friday morning, Sharp expressed her intention to keep the leadership position at the school board's vote on Tuesday. She described the loss of support from Rosales and Maxwell as being "self serving because they want the chair themselves."

Then late Friday evening, Sharp shared on social media that a recent diagnosis "requires my full attention and focus on my health and treatment."

"Serving as the Chairman of the Rutherford County School Board has been a privilege and an honor. I am grateful for the opportunity to work alongside dedicated educators, administrators, and board members who share my passion for providing quality education to our students," Sharp posted.

"It is with a heavy heart and great respect for my Rutherford County School family that I am announcing that I have received a recent diagnosis of breast cancer."

Leading the board: Majority of school board chooses Tammy Sharp to be chairwoman

Sharp touts her leadership

Sharp and her fellow elected board members oversee Schools Director James "Jimmy" Sullivan, and vote on budgets, contracts, campus zoning and policies. Sullivan manages a district with over 6,100 budgeted employees serving about 52,000 students attending 50 schools in fast-growing Rutherford.

"I think Dr. Sullivan and I have made a great leadership team, and we've had lot of successes this year," said Sharp, who touted the district earning a top Level 5 score from the Tennessee Department of Education for demonstrating academic growth on all standardized tests. "I would like to continue that. Why change something that is not broken."

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The incumbent chairman also touts leading a board that was able to do the following:

• keep JazzFest going for school bands by relocating the event to the Fountains at Gateway development

• win $156.3 million in funding approval from the Rutherford County Commission to expand and renovate Riverdale, Smyrna and Oakland high schools.

School district leadership: School board votes 5-2 to hire James "Jimmy" Sullivan as next Rutherford County Schools director

Former chairman Coy Young also wants change in leadership

Sharp also had the backing a year ago to serve as chairman from vice chairman Caleb Tidwell and Katie Darby. All three joined Rosales in winning their seats as Republican nominees August 2022.

Fellow board members Shelia Bratton and Coy Young opposed Sharp serving as chairman and wanted the leadership position for Bratton, who had previously been the vice chairman.

Earlier in the week, Young said he'd like a new chairman.

"I think it’s good to rotate people in and out of that position," said Young, who served as chairman for one year in 2020-21 and as the vice chairman for two years before becoming chairman. "I don’t think it’s good to have someone in that position long term. We all bring different things to the table. I think it's good to give everybody the opportunity to perform at that level."

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Vice chairman Tidwell supports Sharp remaining as chairman

Sharp has the backing from Tidwell to remain as chairman while working with Director Sullivan in leading the district.

"I feel like having these two working together to steer the ship helped us to develop a strong strategic plan," Tidwell said. "I felt like we had a conservative and efficient budgeting process resulting in a balanced budget, increased transparency and a focus on long-term results."

Sharp, Tidwell said, has been very supportive of Sullivan in returning focus back to results in the classroom with the Level 5 academic recognition from the state and promoting a positive staff culture.

In addition to supporting Sharp to remain as chairman, Tidwell said he's willing to accept the vice chairman role again but will not stand in the way of another board member wanting to serve in this position. The vice chairman fills in to preside over board meetings when the chairman is absent.

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Board members question Sharp leadership on charter school approval

Sharp's leadership included a 5-2 decision in April that approved the application of the American Classical Academy charter school that can operate with tax dollars independent of the board.

Sharp upset board members, however, when she didn't permit a hearing on the charter school from both a staff-led committee that recommended denial and the applicant.

"That was wrong," said Rosales, who wanted a more transparent hearing. Rosales had planned to ask the applicant questions about addressing the staff-led committee's concerns before joining Sharp, Maxwell, Tidwell and Darby in approving the charter school.

The vote without a hearing from the staff-led committee and the applicant also upset the two board members who opposed the charter school: Bratton and Young.

"I find this very nefarious," Bratton said during the April meeting prior to the vote on the charter school.

Charter School issue: ACA charter school application wins approval by Rutherford County school board

Sharp said she chose against having a hearing because the board and public had written reports available on the district's website from the staff-led committee and the charter school application.

"I knew what the votes were," Sharp said. "I didn’t want to put the central office staff through that."

The school board later responded by unanimously agreeing to a new policy to require hearings from staff-led committees and charter school applicants before voting on charter school proposals, confirmed Sharp, adding that she was fine with what the majority of the board wanted going forward.

Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. Follow his tweets on the X social media platform @ScottBroden. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.

Meeting time and location

The Rutherford County Board of Education will choose a chairman and vice chairman to serve in one-year terms during a 5:30 p.m. Tuesday meeting at the district's administration office, 2240 Southpark Drive, Murfreesboro.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Rutherford school board to vote on new leadership as Sharp steps aside