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McKenzie School Board Discusses Superintendent Search

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McKENZIE (January 3) — The process begins to interview and hire a new director of schools for the McKenzie Special School District. Lynn Watkins, 59, director of schools at McKenzie, is retiring June 30, 2022 after 14 years of service as director of schools.
 
In a workshop session on Monday, January 3, the Board of Education informally decided to begin advertising for Watkins’ replacement on January 23 through the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA)and the two west Tennessee school associations. 
 
LaShonda Williams, chairman of the board, said TSBA has three levels of service to assist with the search. The least is $1,500 in which the organization distributes and advertises the job requirements throughout the state to member schools. The second level at $7,500 provides a review of the applicants and responds to any inquiries. The third level offers more review and interviews at $15,000.  The Board informally chose the least expensive, choosing to conduct most of the resume review and interviews in McKenzie.
 
Misty Aird, board member, said the involvement of TSBA indicates the local school system is serious about the search and adds a sense of professionalism to the process.
 
The board is slightly modifying the job requirements from the job description from the last TSBA search 14 years ago. The result was the hiring of Watkins, a McKenzie native and McKenzie Middle School principal.
 
When the candidates are narrowed to the finalist, each is expected to make visits to the community, schools, and visit with teachers and administrators. The day would end with an interview with the board. 
 
Spiros Roditis, board member, suggested a points system to evaluate each candidate.
 
Williams said she has some templates for candidate evaluations from other school systems.
 
The board agreed to meet February 1 at 5 p.m. for another workshop at the Board of Education building on Bell Avenue.