NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Four finalists have been announced to replace Dr. Jesse Register as the next Director of Nashville Public Schools.
In a meeting held Monday, the Metro School Board was presented four candidates for consideration. Consultants were hired to conduct the search.
Dr. John Covington was the former Superintendent of Detroit Public Schools and is most recently working at a consulting firm that he started. Covignton resigned from his position last year to care for his ill mother.
Dr. Angela Huff is a Metro Schools graduate and has been serving as the Chief of Staff to the Superintendent at Cobb County Schools in Georgia. She was described as being the second in command in the district, stepping into the Superintendent's role when they are not around.
Dr. Barry Shepherd just retired from Cabarrus County Schools in North Carolina. WBTV in Charlotte reported Shepherd retired to take on a larger role with a drum and bugle corp out of Nashville that his daughter had been involved with.
The list also included Dr. Mike Looney, the current director of Williamson County Schools.
The new director will be chosen to replace Dr. Jesse Register, who recently retired. Register notified the board about his intentions last fall.
Around 50 people initially applied for the position.
School board members had a hard time agreeing on everything from the hiring process to the quality of finalists.
"It concerns me that we have two candidates that come from very small districts and we have one that's been dismissed by their board. It seems like we have one viable candidate so I'm disappointed," said board member Jill Speering.
The board did agree to conduct interviews with all four candidates later in the week.
The community will meet them during forums scheduled from July 13-15. The school board will take a final vote on July 23.
Last week, the board named Chief Financial Officer Chris Henson as the new interim Director of Schools.
The new director probably won’t be in Nashville by the start of the school year.
