Danville superintendent working on staffing plan after demotion overturned
Published 6:35 am Friday, July 27, 2018
Danville Schools’ new superintendent expects to have a staffing plan in place th at reincorporates former Director of Pupil Personnel Ed McKinney as an administrator before the next school board meeting.
Superintendent Tammy Shelton said Thursday the school board does not have to approve the staffing plan she comes up with, “but depending on the plan I develop, they may need to consider budget shifts (or) changes.”
McKinney, who is also Danville High School’s basketball coach, was demoted by former Superintendent Keith Look on May 8. But the school board voted unanimously to overturn that demotion on Wednesday.
“I have enormous respect for our board and all their decisions,” Shelton said Thursday. “I will be evaluating the district staffing plan over the next few days.”
The exact position McKinney held no longer exists in the district. Look — whose contract was not renewed by the board, leading to the hiring of Shelton — reorganized the district staffing after McKinney’s demotion.
On a list of certified and classified job assignments for the current school year given to the board by Look on May 21, there is no director of pupil personnel, but there is a “Director of Student Support,” Ron Ballard.
On a new organizational chart released last week by Shelton, Ballard is listed as the “Director of Support Services (DPP).”
Board members said Wednesday their role in the matter ended once they decided to overturn the demotion; now, it’s up to Shelton to assign McKinney job duties.
Shelton has been working in the Danville district for less than a month but has 25 years of experience in education, including working as the senior executive director of content and assessment design for the Tennessee Department of Education. She said Thursday she has previous experience handling an employee demotion, but hasn’t previously dealt with a demotion being overturned.
The Danville Board of Education traditionally holds its regular meetings at 6 p.m. on the third Monday of every month. The first day of school for students is Wednesday, Aug. 15.
