The Coffee County Board of Education on March 31 accepted two finalists recommended by the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) for the district director search, voted to add two internal candidates to the interview roster and decided not to live-stream the public interviews.

The board acted after a TSBA presentation by Dr. Grissom, who told members TSBA’s screening committee reviewed 16 applicants and recommended Scott Hargrove and Dr. Amy Launas as the two finalists to be interviewed. “Our job that you all hired us to do was to assist you all with your superintendent search ... Our job was to select the finalist that best met the criteria that the board adopted,” Dr. Grissom said.

The nut of the decision: the board approved TSBA’s two recommended finalists for interview and, by amendment, added two local administrators, Dr. Cornelius and Dr. Crabtree, to the interview pool. The board also set interviews for the week of April 21 and agreed to complete four candidate interviews during that week so the board could aim to have a director in place by June 1.

TSBA provided a binder of applicant materials and a recommended interview schedule. The association suggested a full-day format for each candidate: morning meetings with principals and central office staff, midday meetings with business and community leaders, afternoon sessions with faculty and staff, and an evening public interview in which only board members ask questions. TSBA advised using the same set of interview questions for all candidates and provided sample questions tied to the board’s selection criteria.

TSBA told the board it conducts official background checks only on finalists; the presenter said TSBA had completed background checks on the two recommended finalists and that references and additional checks can be made if the board elects to add other candidates for screening. The presenter also said TSBA contacts references beyond those listed by candidates.

A procedural amendment proposed from the floor put Dr. Cornelius and Dr. Crabtree—both identified in the meeting as local-system administrators—on equal footing with the TSBA finalists for scheduling interviews. The amended motion to accept the two TSBA-recommended finalists “as amended” to include the two internal candidates passed on a roll-call vote of eight ayes, zero noes.

During discussion about public access, a board member moved that the interviews not be broadcast live on YouTube; that motion passed unanimously 8–0. The board resolved that interviews would be recorded and that video could be posted after the interview process, while the public may also attend in person. The board discussed timing and logistics, including providing the interview questions to candidates in advance and holding a planned April 15 meeting to finalize the set of interview questions the full board will use.

Board members emphasized that only the board may ask questions during the evening interview session and that stakeholder sessions earlier in the day give faculty, staff, and community leaders an opportunity to ask questions. TSBA also provided pages of equal-opportunity interview guidelines and reminded the board of questions that cannot be asked during interviews.

Votes at a glance
- Motion (as amended) to accept the two TSBA-recommended candidates for interview (Scott Hargrove; Dr. Amy Launas) and to add Dr. Cornelius and Dr. Crabtree to the interview list: passed, 8–0 (ayes recorded during roll call). The motion was described in the meeting as “accept the 2 candidates that TSBA has recommended for interview, as amended.”
- Motion not to livestream the candidate interviews on YouTube (record and post later): passed, 8–0.

The board closed the special-call meeting after confirming logistics for interview dates and return meetings to finalize questions and scheduling.

Sources: TSBA presentation to the Coffee County Board of Education on March 31, 2025; board roll-call votes recorded in the meeting transcript.