Dr. Lee Carter is New TSBA President

HUNTINGDON (August 19) — Dr. Lee Carter is now the president of the Tennessee School Board Association (TSBA). Dr. Carter announced his new role to the Huntingdon Special School District (HSSD) Board of Education during its August meeting.

Dr. Carter, who chairs the HSSD Board of Education, served as the vice president of TSBA in 2025 and was elected to become president-elect for the 2026 year. However, when the acting president had to step down from his role after losing his local school board seat on August 6, Dr. Carter stepped into the presidential role five months prematurely.

What was supposed to be a year-long term as 2027 TSBA president is now a year and a half long term for Dr. Carter.

As president, Dr. Carter is, essentially, the face of school boards across the state of Tennessee. He is in charge of running the former president's two remaining state school board meetings this year in addition to three state school board meetings next year. He is also responsible for sharing TSBA board meetings and engaging with lobbyists who deal with legislation involving schools. 

On Dr. Carter's role as TSBA president, HSSD Director of Schools Dr. Jonathan Kee said, "It's great for a small school system like us to have our board chair serving in that capacity… to be willing to do it and represent our community."

Dr. Carter joined the HSSD Board of Education in 2000 and became the board's chairman in 2004. If re-elected as chairman this year, Dr. Carter said he would be most excited to sign his granddaughter's diploma at graduation. In his time as chairman, he has also been able to sign both of his daughters' high school diplomas.

Also during Wednesday's meeting, the Huntingdon school board approved Huntingdon High School's next graduation date of Saturday, May 15, 2027, at 6 p.m. at Paul Ward Stadium. In the case of inclement weather, graduation will move to Sunday, May 16. 

Dr. Carter and fellow board member Shawna Smith will attend graduation to represent the school board.

Dr. Kee requested for the board to approve the addition of another educational assistant position at Huntingdon Primary School. While the school might not need to add the position just yet, Dr. Kee wanted the board's support if he were to hire someone to fill the position. The board voted its approval of Dr. Kee's request.

In a sweeping vote, the board also approved the SAVE Act Compliance Package, Cardiac Emergency Response Plan and an extended contract program presented during Wednesday's meeting.

The board acknowledged the August 6 re-election of Board Secretary Morgan Butler and Vice Chairman Brittany Foster, who waived their option to be sworn in during the meeting.

Huntingdon High School's school board representatives Lila Reed and Katherine Meggs spoke about Friday afternoon's pep rally ahead of the Huntingdon-McKenzie football game and about various fall sports kicking off. They also spoke about the addition of occasional "breaks" in their school schedule. High school students now receive a short break in their schedule as a reward for high attendance throughout the week. 

Dr. Kee gave school board members an update on student enrollment. As of Wednesday, HSSD had 1,312 students. Of those students, 124 live outside of the district — approximately a 44-student increase from last year's open enrollment total.

Huntingdon Primary School has 411 students attending kindergarten through third grade.

Huntingdon Middle School has 513 students.

Huntingdon High School has 388 students. 

The Huntingdon Special School District Board of Education's next meeting is Wednesday, September 16 at 5 p.m.