September 3, 2020
By JAMES EVANS
Rutherford County Schools
When the Rutherford County Board of Education convenes its meeting this evening, it is believed to be a historic occasion marking the first time the Board has been made up of a majority of female members.
Thursday’s meeting is the first since the county elections in August, which saw the re-election of incumbents Lisa Moore and Coy Young and the election of Shelia Bratton and Claire Maxwell, who succeed former members Jeff Jordan and Terry Hodge, respectively.
Bratton and Maxwell join fellow female board members Moore, Tiffany Johnson and Tammy Sharp. That tallies five female members on a seven-member School Board, made up of fellow members Young and current chairman Jim Estes.
“I think women always bring a different perspective,” Bratton said. “It’s not that it's better, just a different perspective. And I think it's going to be very interesting to see if the women will have a different outlook on some of the things. We might not but we could.”
Maxwell agreed.
“We’ve had a majority of men, let’s try a majority of women,” she said, “because I think we women do bring a unique perspective to the Board.”
“I always like to see a lot of different representation on the board,” Young said. “I like to, you know, have a cross functional team up here trying to have everybody’s interest at heart and trying to make the best decisions.”
While it is interesting to have a majority of female members on the Board, Moore said she doesn’t think it is necessary.
“I certainly do think it's unique, but I think what's important at the end of the day is what all of these individual board members — our new ones and our old ones, female or male — bring to the table or bring to the party, so to speak.”
Diversity of backgrounds on the board — a combination of educators and non-educators — is vital to the School Board’s ability to operate successful schools, Moore added.
NEW & RETURNING BOARD MEMBERS
Shelia Bratton is a lifelong educator elected to represent Zone 6.
She taught at Central Middle School for 20 years before moving to the district’s Central Office, where she served as the middle level coordinator in the Curriculum & Instruction Department for 15 years.
She “retired” in 2011, although she was hired back by the system immediately to serve as a part-time teacher evaluator for a year.
She then worked for Bedford County Schools and taught at MTSU as an adjunct professor. She also served until recently as a job-embedded mentor at MTSU and now works as a facilitator and trainer for instructional coaches in Bedford County.
“I was born in Rutherford County, I was educated in Rutherford County and my entire career was in Rutherford County and I wanted to give back,” Bratton said of her reason for running for School Board. “I kind of count this as my finale. This is the last big thing that I think I can do to contribute to education in Rutherford County.”
Claire Maxwell worked from home as a mom for 23 years raising her children.
She took an education assistant position at Riverdale in August 2015 because her two youngest sons were entering their senior year. In the role, she worked hands-on with special needs students.
“Not only were my sons going to be seniors and I knew I was go to be an empty-nester soon, I felt this need to give back,” Maxwell said.
In 2013, Maxwell’s son, Mitchell, died.
“He was gone and he was my oldest son,” said Maxwell, further explaining why she pursued the opportunity at Riverdale. “It leaves a mark that will never heal. I decided I can cry for the rest of my days or I can channel it into some positive energy.”
Maxwell describes herself as the type of person who sees a need and then jumps in to help, which is what led her to pursue a position on the school board.
“Just as strongly as I felt like God was leading me to come to Riverdale, I felt like I started seeing some things — some cracks — and I thought, ‘That’s not right. We can do better there.’”
As a Board member, Maxwell wants to champion older schools and facilities that she says haven’t received enough attention because of the growth and new schools.
“I wanted to make sure all the schools got the attention they needed,” Maxwell said. “That’s why I thought, ‘You know what, I can do this.’ I can be a voice for the older schools, the schools that maybe aren’t on the tip of everyone’s tongues because they aren’t that bright, shiny and new.”
After previously serving one and half terms, Lisa Moore begins her seventh year as the School Board member serving Zone 3.
Moore sought re-election because she doesn’t feel that her work is done yet, she said.
“I'm in a position now where I understand what is needed and I just still have that desire to continue to serve,” Moore explained. “I feel like my work is not done. I want to continue trying to make Rutherford County Schools the best that we can be and with everything that is going on right now and as challenging as the times are, I would like to think my expertise and the years that I served are going to come in handy moving forward in the future.”
As for specific goals, Moore said she hopes to assist the new Board members acclimate and also plans to complete her Level V Boardsmanship designation through the Tennessee School Boards Association. The TSBA provides training and professional development for school board members in Tennessee to help them become more effective, and Level V certification is the highest designation they offer.
With re-election, Coy Young is beginning his third four-year term representing Zone 2.
He chose to continue on the Board because he wanted to ensure there was a good amount of experienced members serving. His top priority for the new term is to get students back into school safely as quickly as possible, he said, and also continue working to eliminate the need for portable classrooms.
“We've got a lot of students and a lot of moving pieces, and it's just a challenge keeping up with everything,” Young said. “What you want to do is what's best for the child, but you’ve also got everything coming at you from all different angles. You know as far as growth and the decisions you have to make.”
He added: “It’s a challenge, but it's rewarding all at the same time. I like to be involved in something that requires problem-solving. That's where my skills lie.”
CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR SELECTION
Each September, the Board selects a chair and vice chair from among its ranks.
For the past two years, Jim Estes has served as chair and Coy Young has served as vice chair.
So during the Sept. 3 meeting, the Board will decide those positions for the next year. The meeting begins at 5 p.m.
UPDATE: The Board selected Coy Young as the chair for the next year and Tiffany Johnson as the vice chair.
All meetings of the School Board are open to the public, televised on Comcast Channel 19 and livestreamed on the RCTV YouTube Channel.