Two Members of the Cannon County Board of Education have submitted letters of resignation to Chairman Javin Fann and Director of Cannon County Schools William F. Curtis. Resigning are District 2 School Board Member Travis Turney and District 5 School Board Member Brian Elrod.
2nd District School Board Member Travis Turney was elected to the Cannon County Board of Education inAugust 2018 and was in the middle of his first term. He stated in his notice of resignation to Chairman Fann and Director Curtis,
“Gentlemen,
Please accept this letter as notice of my formal resignation from the position as District 2 school board member, effective immediately, August 14, 2020.
I will provide a signed copy of this letter to Director Curtis in the coming days.
Thank you, Travis Turney”
5th District School Board Member Brian Elrod was also elected to the Cannon County Board of Education inAugust 2018 and was in the middle of his term. He recently moved out of District 5. Mr. Elrod stated in his notice of resignation to Chairman Fann and Director Curtis, “Good morning Mr. Curtis,
I wanted to formally announce my resignation from the District 5 school board seat. I have moved from this district and no longer feel I am the proper representative for this district. B.Elrod.”
Director of Cannon County Schools, Mr. William F. Curtis, stated, “
We sincerely appreciate the service of Mr. Travis Turney of District 2 and Mr. Brian Elrod of District 5. Cannon County Schools are appreciative of their efforts to improve our school system to achieve our MISSION – to ‘Prepare All Students for Their Future’ through our VISION – ‘E3 – Engaged in Excellence Every Day!’ They helped to develop both Mission and Vision and their passion for students and educators is to be commended. We are saddened by their departure, but are understanding of their reasons to move forward with their own journeys in life. We wish them both ‘All Our Very Best’ on behalf of all our Cannon County Schools’ Students, Educators, and Staffs.”
Director Curtis has informed other School Board Members, County Commission Chairman Greg Mitchell, County Executive Brent Bush, and Administrator of Elections Matt Teply today (August 14th, 2020) of the resignations of these two School Board Members. According to Administrator of Elections Teply, the following process will take place regarding the election of members to fulfill the remaining two years of the terms for the District 2 seat and District 5 seat on the Cannon County Board of Education; Interested candidates should come by the Election Commission Office, 301 W Main Street – Room #244, Woodbury, TN 37190, Bring a copy of their High School Diploma, and pick up a petition. The petition must be signed by 25 Registered Voters in the respective District. The petition must be returned by NOON on September 9th, 2020 to be eligible for their names to be placed on the Special Election Ballot for theNovember 3rd, 2020 Election. New elected members will take office after the election is certified and swearing in takes place.
Meanwhile, Cannon County Commission Chairman Greg Mitchell has placed these vacancies of the Cannon County Board of Education District 2 position and District 5 position, on the Agenda for the next meeting of the Cannon County Commission on Thursday, September 3rd, 2020 – 5:30 PM at the Cannon County Courthouse. Individuals interested in filling these interim School Board Member positions must live in District 2 or District 5 and discuss their interest with their County Commissioner. The full Cannon County Commission will vote for each position and those individuals approved will serve until the Special Election is held on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020 and the election is certified and new members sworn in.
Tennessee Code Annotated Title 49 – Education, Chapter 2 – Local Administration Part 2 – Boards of Education§ 49-2-202 – Members and meetings states:
(a) (1) Members of the board shall be residents and voters of the county in which they are elected and shall be citizens of recognized integrity, intelligence and ability to administer the duties of the office.
(2) No member of the county legislative body nor any other county official shall be eligible for election as a member of the county board of education.
(3) (i) Each member of the board of education who has a relative employed by the board shall declare such relationship prior to voting on any matter of business that shall have an effect upon the employment of the relative. In making the declaration, such board member shall certify that the vote that is about to be cast on the pending matter is in the best interest of the school system. Such matters shall include, but shall not be limited to, the school system annual budget, tenure considerations and personnel policies. The director of schools shall give notice to the board each time there is intent to employ a relative of a school board member. The director of schools of a county school system shall also give notice to the county school board each time there is intent to employ a relative of an elected county official. The director of schools of a city school system shall also give notice to the city school board each time there is intent to employ a relative of an elected city official. In giving such notice, the director of schools shall certify that the prospective employee is duly qualified by training and licensure to occupy the position.
(ii) As used in this subdivision (a)(3), unless the context otherwise requires, “relative” means a spouse, parent, parent-in-law, child, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, or any person who resides in the same household as any of the officials referenced in subdivision (a)(3)(i).
(iii) This subdivision (a)(3) shall not be construed to prohibit two (2) or more relatives from working for the LEA. If two (2) or more employees who are relatives are within the same direct line of supervision, or become within the same direct line of supervision by marriage or promotion, then the director of schools shall attempt to resolve this issue by transfer of one (1) of the employees. If the director finds that transfer is not feasible or is not in the best interest of students, then an alternate evaluation plan shall be devised for one (1) of the employees.
(4) No person shall be eligible to serve on the board unless the person is a bona fide resident of the county and has a practical education; provided, that beginning on October 1, 1990, except in counties having a population of: Click here to view image. according to the 1980 federal census or any subsequent federal census, no person shall qualify as a candidate for a position on a county board of education until the person has filed with the county election commission proof that the candidate graduated from high school or received a GED[(R)], evidenced by a diploma or other documentation satisfactory to the commission. Any person serving on a school board as ofOctober 1, 1990, shall be allowed to continue to serve and to seek reelection or reappointment to one (1) additional term even though the person may not have graduated from high school or received a GED[(R)].
(5) If any member ceases to reside in the county, the office of the member shall become vacant.
(6) All board members shall be properly trained during their service on the board of education. The minimum requirements for this training shall be established by the state board of education and shall include an annual session for all board members.
(b) All members of the local board of education shall take oath to discharge faithfully the duties of the office.
(c) It is the duty of the board of education to:
(1) Hold regular meetings at least quarterly for the purpose of transacting public school business; provided, that the chair may call special meetings whenever in the chair’s judgment the interest of the public schools requires it, or when requested to do so by a majority of the board. The chair or the chair’s designee shall give reasonable notice of the time and location of all meetings to the president of the local education association or the president’s designee; and
(2) Elect one (1) of its members as chair annually.
(d) The compensation of members of the county board shall be fixed by the county legislative body for their services when attending regular and special meetings and discharging the duties imposed by this title; provided, that the county trustee shall pay no voucher issued to members unless the voucher has been approved by the county mayor; and provided, further, that no member of any board shall receive less than four dollars ($4.00) per day for the member’s services.
(e) (1) When a vacancy occurs, the unexpired term shall be filled at the next regular meeting of the county legislative body or at a special meeting of the county legislative body.
(2) Vacancies shall be declared to exist, on account of death, resignation or removal from the county.
(3) A temporary absence of a county board member to serve in the military shall not constitute a vacancy in office and such absence shall not be subject to the requirements of § 8-48-205(5).
(f) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the board of education for each LEA that operates one (1) or more high schools may annually select, prior to commencement of the new school year, no less than four (4) high school students to serve as advisory, nonvoting members of the board. One half (1/2) of the students so selected shall be enrolled in the college preparatory track and one half (1/2) of the students so selected shall be enrolled in the technology track. The students shall serve without compensation but may, at the discretion of the board, be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred while engaged in board business.
(g) A majority of all of the members constituting the board, and not merely a majority of the quorum, shall be required to transact all business coming before the board in regular or special meetings.