Skip to content

Director of Schools Candidates Interact With Public During ‘Meet-and-Greet’

Betsi Foster

Chris Lensing

Jeff Cupples

Lee Lawrence

BY DAVID FISHER
david@magicvalleypublishing.com

The four candidates vying for the position of Director of Weakley County Schools were interviewed on Monday, March 27, at the Board of Education Conference Room.
The search for a new director of schools is made necessary due to the upcoming retirement of director Randy Frazier in June.
Later that evening a “meet-and-greet” was held at Dresden Middle School gymnasium, in order for members of the community to meet the candidates and answer any questions they might have.
The four applicants seeking the director of schools job are: Gleason Principal Lee Lawrence, Greenfield Principal Jeff Cupples, Assistant Director of Schools Betsi Foster, and East Coloma-Nelson School District Superintendent Chris Lensing, from Rock Falls, Illinois.
Mr. Wayne Qualls, who the board hired as a consultant to assisting them in conducting the search for a new director in accordance with the law and Tennessee School Board regulations, was instrumental in the success of the interviews.
Following the interviews, the candidates all agreed the process went well and were conducted in a professional and thoughtful manner.
The candidates discussed different ways to improve educating students enrolled in Weakley County Schools. Some of these talking points were:
· Emphasizing how important and vital community schools are;
· Coordinating with businesses to determine what students need to learn in order to find a career and be employable in today’s workforce;
· Determining how to better use resources to accommodate students’ educational needs; and
· Addressing the challenge of competing with school districts that offer higher teacher pay in order to keep educators already on staff, and hiring new teachers.
The Weakley County School Board scheduled a special session for Wednesday, March 29, at the Board of Education, to approve the voting process for the new director. At that time, they may be prepared to select the new director of Weakley County Schools. (See results in next week’s Dresden Enterprise.)

Leave a Comment