School board votes 5-2 to hire James Sullivan as next Rutherford County Schools director

Correction: The Rutherford County Board of Education will be meeting at 8 a.m. Friday to vote on a contract for the next director. A  previous post had incorrect time. 

James "Jimmy" Sullivan will be the next Rutherford County Schools director to replace Bill Spurlock, district officials decided Monday.

Sullivan, who's the district's assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, will be negotiating for a contract in a board-approved range from $200,000 to $225,000. The board will meet at 8 a.m. Friday to vote on a contract that is expected to be in the three-year range.

Sullivan will start as director July 1 about five weeks before the next school year begins. The job includes managing the fast-growing district's 6,000 employees serving what's expected to be over 50,000 students next year at 50 schools.

"I'm humbled and honored by this opportunity," Sullivan said. "When we are looking forward to the future, I think one of the biggest things we need to look at is continuing to develop that culture of excellence and really that culture of trust and transparency."

Sullivan said hiring people in leadership positions and teachers will be a high priority.

"If we don't have high quality teachers in the classroom, then it doesn't matter what instruction we have," Sullivan said. "That has to be the number one thing."

The board voted 5-2 in support of Sullivan. Tammy Sharp and Claire Maxwell opposed.

Prior to the vote, the board members wrote down names on paper ballots. Sullivan had five paper ballot votes, and Andrea Anthony, assistant superintendent of human resources and support services, had two votes from Sharp and Maxwell.

Sullivan, Anthony and Central Magnet Principal John Ash were the finalists for the job.

"All three of us have leadership opportunities that we continue to offer this district and will offer this district," Sullivan said.

Board members after the meeting said they were impressed by all three finalists. Each of the three finalists took turns interviewing with board members Thursday.

Although school board members praised Spurlock for academic success of students since he became director in 2018, they were critical of his communications in their evaluation of his performance.

Spurlock agreed to vacate his position a year early by June 30.

The board also decided to provide Spurlock with his annual salary of $166,633 for another year, as well as benefits that push the total cost to $205,464, according to Rutherford County Finance Department records.

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Sullivan's grasp of education data impresses board members

Sullivan impressed board members with his interview presentation through analyzing data about the needs and performance of schools. He provided each school official with a notebook about the data during his interview.

"To me, he brought another element to the table," board member Coy Young said. "I really think he's going to take us to the next level."

Fellow board member Tim Holden said Sullivan demonstrated great communication skills in providing informative, precise and direct answers to the board members' questions.

"I think he'll be a very good fit," Holden said.

Board chairwoman Tiffany Johnson said she voted for Sullivan after she studied her notes and videos from the interviews.

"It was a hard decision," said Johnson, adding she also was impressed with Sullivan's focus on data. "I felt like he answered the questions very well. I'm excited to see what Dr. Sullivan does as director."

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Anthony could have been district's first female director

Sharp said she voted for Anthony to be the next director after getting many emails expressing support for Anthony to be promoted.

"We got three good candidates," Sharp said. "We're happy with Dr. Sullivan. Nobody is upset about it. We're going forward. We're getting ready. We're going to be known as the best district in the state of Tennessee."

Maxwell said Sullivan will do a good job. She voted for Anthony because of successful service as a district administrator, former principal at Page High School in Williamson County, and former assistant principal and math teacher at Rutherford County's Riverdale High.

"We're very lucky to have her," said Maxwell, who's one of four females serving on the board. "She would have been the first woman to be director."

Reach Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottBroden.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: James Sullivan voted as new Rutherford County Schools director