The rise and fall of Rick Smith: What’s next for Hamilton County?

UPDATE June 15, 2017: Dr. Bryan Johnson, 34, will be the new superintendent of Hamilton County Schools. He has most recently served in the Montgomery County School System in Clarksville, TN.

UPDATE: SATURDAY JANUARY 23: Several former Ooltewah Middle students and teachers say Superintendent Rick Smith, while serving as the county’s Middle Schools Director in the late 1990s, aided in a “cover-up” after allegations of molestation surfaced against an Ooltewah coach. Read more here.

Original story from January 22:

I first met Rick Smith about twenty years ago, when he was handed a very prestigious assignment.  After having been a teacher, coach and principal , then-Superintendent Don Loftis hand-picked him to be principal of a brand new school: Loftis Middle School.  You don’t draw a name out of a hat to lead the school that bears your name.  I figured Smith must be an up-and-comer, and sure enough he was soon promoted to the central office.  From there, he moved upward a few times until he was second in command to Superintendent Jim Scales.

That’s when life got interesting.  In the spring of 2011, Scales was chased out of office by dissatisfied School Board members, and headed to his home state of Texas with a contract buyout of $282,111.  (Remember that for later).  In the previous fifteen years, Chattanooga and Hamilton County had sent several “supers” packing: Harry Reynolds, Jesse Register and Scales all left before the door could, well you know.  All were out-of-towners.  None had good relationships with the politicians who control the purse-strings.  The School Board selected Smith to replace Scales.  Among the reasons were a couple of big ones: in a budget cutting mood, Scales had indicated Smith’s position would be eliminated.  This did not please some Board members.  Plus, it was widely believed that being a “local,” Smith would have better luck squeezing tax money out of County Commissioners. It didn’t work out that way, but it seemed like a smart move in 2011.

Let’s fast-forward to the summer of 2015.  For Rick Smith, life was a Neil Diamond song: Good times never seemed so good.  His evaluation ratings from School Board members were higher than ever (4.02 out of a possible 5.00).  At the age of 62, his contract was extended through July 2019, with a healthy raise boosting his annual pay to $199,000 annually plus benefits. This deal would be his last, taking him into retirement.  He was surrounded by longtime friends in his central office, and would soon arrange promotions and raises for some of them too.

Even though he had tried (and failed) to engage the community in a series of district meetings, sharing his vision of a school system filled with elementary foreign language and arts teachers, Board members seemed convinced he should continue to lead Hamilton County Schools.

STORM CLOUDS BREWING

All the while, storm clouds were brewing.  Some influential business and foundation leaders were not impressed by Smith’s failed funding campaign. They felt he had “borrowed” some of their ideas, and his failure to inspire the public might have hurt the cause, they believed.  A week after he signed his new contract, the state rained on his parade.  The newest set of achievement test scores revealed Hamilton County students were headed in the wrong direction, placing below the state average in 9 out of 10 tested categories.  Quietly, Board members began asking, “Why didn’t we know about this last week?”  They later learned the Central Office did know about it “last week.”

Still, there was reason to be cautiously optimistic that Smith could reverse this faulty course and make his Board members look good.  He had hired some good principals, and unlike his predecessors, wasn’t moving them around each year.  Some shiny new schools had opened, another is under construction, and there has been talk of more on the way.

OOLTEWAH INCIDENT CHANGES EVERYTHING

Then came December 22, 2015.  A trio of Ooltewah High students committed an act that has changed lives, and has now ended careers.  Although we know more facts that we did a month ago, much of the story is yet to be told.  Smith’s ill-advised delays, puzzling personnel decisions and the appearance of a cover-up has effectively ended his tenure.  Two weeks ago, he was fighting to keep his job.  One week ago, when charges of failure to report child abuse were filed against three Ooltewah staffers, Smith was visibly shaken.  Friends say he was never the same.  His confidence (some say cockiness) was replaced by uncertainty.  By this week, the morale at central office was not unlike the waiting room at a hospital.  Smith had become the sick patient, with friends shaking their heads.  “We don’t think he’s going to make it,” was overheard in the hallways.

On the day he announced his proposal to “separate” from the superintendent’s position (a polite way to refer to a buyout request), he attended the Downtown Rotary Club meeting.  The guest speaker’s topic was education in Hamilton County.  The numbers, as you read earlier, aren’t pretty.  Smith asked no questions and made no comments.  It is believed that he was there to inform friends of his impending announcement.

Thursday night, he grimly told Board members and a live television audience that he felt it was in the best interests of the district to step aside.  Sources told me he is requesting a buyout in the neighborhood of $275,000, plus approximately $75,000 in benefits.  The social media response was immediate, and it wasn’t good.  Why pay someone to quit?  (See the Jim Scales paragraph above).  I’ve never been a fan of that either, but if you look at any school district, hospital, big business, or popular sports team (college or pro), you’ll see “it’s the cost of doing business.”  If you want to get rid of someone with a lucrative contract, you do so in the most cost-effective way possible.

In Smith’s case, the Board can either meet his request, allowing him to go quietly, or they can try to fire him with cause.  If he decides to fight that decision in court, and a judge rules in his favor, he would be entitled to his full contract amount (about $700,000 PLUS attorney fees).  This is why the Board voted 6-3 in favor of proceeding with negotiations for a buyout.  They’re hoping to move forward quickly, and not risk a long court fight and the potential for a larger payout.

In my perfect world, people would not get paid for a job they don’t finish.  That’s how it works for plumbers, contractors, and most everyone else.  It does not work this way for ballplayers, coaches, hospital CEO’s and school superintendents.  I doubt that will change anytime soon, and Rick Smith will likely get at least a large chunk of the money that Board members voted to give him last year.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR HAMILTON COUNTY?

So when Smith steps aside, what’s the fallout?  Get ready.  I predict many of his top aides, department heads and directors will follow him out the door.  Many, if not most, can retire with full benefits.  As is often the case, good school jobs are often available just across the Georgia state line.  The central office positions will have to be filled by someone, and several principals will likely move up.  Their jobs will be filled by assistant principals, whose jobs will be filled by teachers, which means new teachers must be hired.  This is one big set of dominoes, folks.

Of course, a new superintendent must be hired.  I would be very surprised if that person comes from the current central office staff (unless someone is promoted on an interim basis, depending on when Smith leaves).  The public has sent a clear message that the school system needs a do-over, and you can’t do that from within.  I would also be surprised if the next leader is from a distant locale.  We’ve been there, done that, and it never ends well.  I think you’ll see a new face from somewhere in Tennessee, maybe even this region.  That person will be younger, and will have a doctoral degree (Smith did not, much to the dismay of his critics).  Whoever it is, will provide the county with a fresh start, which is what the public seems to want.

I’ve never seen so much distrust and disillusionment aimed toward our public schools.  Whether it’s because of what Rick Smith did, or what he didn’t do, he eventually accepted his fate.  He could have stayed on the job, pridefully insisting on earning that big check, but he knew he was damaged goods.  It’s hard to get anything done when people are questioning your honesty and your competence.  He knew he could no longer be an effective leader of teachers and students.  It’s a sad ending to a long career, and I take no pleasure in his, or anyone’s downfall.

I hope you’ll join me in wishing for healing.  First, the healing of the young man who was so brutally attacked by his teammates.  Information has been hard to come by, but his family tells me he’s doing better and will soon resume his education.

And second, the healing of this community.  Hopefully the inflammatory opinion posts will cease, the name-calling will subside, and those who are guilty of violent acts and poor judgement will pay the price.  This needs to happen quickly.  We need to lift up our children and our schools, and if we remain divided, we will surely fail.