At tomorrows Knox County Commission meeting, the Commissioners are expected to fill the vacancy of Second District School Board Member Indya Kincannon. Kincannon resigned earlier this month to move with her husband and daughters for one year to Slovenia.
Tomorrow’s selection is an interim selection. This is only for a position until someone is the certified winner of the November 4, 2014 Special Election. Early Voting from October 15-30, 2014. Only registered voters in Knox County Board of Education Second District will be eligible to vote in the Special Election.
The Eight Candidates in alphabetical order are,
1. Juanita Cannon
2. Charlotte Dorsey
3. John N. Fugate, II
4. Laura Kildare
5. Elizabeth Lane
6. Diana Ray
7. Jennifer Searle
8. Rick Staples
Cannon a retired Educator, Administrator of Knoxville City and County Schools. She has extensive history of community involvement.
Dorsey, a former District 7 Knox County School Board Candidate. However, her home was redistricted from District 7 to District 2 a few years ago. She has lived in the Fountain City area for 40 years, has been an Educator and Administrator with Knox County Schools. She retired in 2003, at that time she was Principal of Bearden Elementary School.
Fugate, a Farmer, teacher, coach and Vice President and Bank Manager of Commercial Bank. He has been with Commercial Bank since 1982. He has been Co-owner of New Tazewell Livestock Market, owner of a Massey Ferguson Tractor Dealership. The board really needs a sound rational business person approach and from a gender perspective, really needs a man. Fugate is a Grandfather of current Knox County School age children. As a personal disclosure, one of Fugate’s son and daughter in law has been a long time friend of my wife and I. We haven’t been in touch with them as our own families have grown. But the Fugate’s are all GOOD people.
Kildare has been a classroom teacher in Knox County and is a Doctoral Candidate at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She worked at Whittle Springs Middle in 2004-2006, Halls Middle School in 2006-2007 and Richard Yoakley Alternative Center in 2007-2009. Whittle Springs and Yoakley are schools in the Second District.
Lane is a student at Pellissippi State Community College. She received a BS in Management from Pepperdine University in 1989
Ray is a recent Community Development Manager with the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians since June 2011. She left that position in February 2013. She worked with the Girl Scout Council since July 2009 in a previous position of Membership Manager.
Searle has been a school volunteer in three different Knox County Schools since 2003. She has served as a member of the Knox County Schools Clothing Center since 2010.
Staples is an employee with the Knox County Sheriffs Office. He works in the Programs Rehabilitation Department. In that position he has worked with programs of adult education assisting inmates in obtaining their GED’s. He has been a candidate for District 4 Knoxville City Council, he lost by only 190 votes. He currently serves on two PlanET committees.
I would think that Fugate and Staples are strong contenders for the position with Cannon being a strong consideration. How the 10 other Commissioners react to the choice of Second District County Commissioner Amy Broyles recommendation will be interesting to observe.
How the Commission’s choice affect the board dynamics in continuing the County Mayors assault on the Knox County Superintendent will be an observation moving forward.
