School board offers superintendent contract to Borchers

April 1, 2013 By 15 Comments
Bob and Carol Smallridge and Bruce Borchers

Before the school board offered him the Oak Ridge Schools superintendent job on Monday, Bruce Borchers, right, speaks to Carol Smallridge, left, and interim Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bob Smallridge, second from right. Also pictured is Borchers’ son Jack.

The Oak Ridge school board has offered the superintendent’s job to Bruce Borchers, who is now superintendent of the Rockwood School District in Eureka, Mo.

The position, which has a salary range of about $175,000, is still subject to contract negotiations.

Board members approved the offer in a 5-0 vote during a short special meeting on Monday at Riverside Grille in Oak Ridge.  [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Seven superintendent finalists, three to be interviewed Tuesday

March 20, 2013 By 1 Comment

An executive search firm has narrowed down the list of superintendent candidates to seven finalists, and the Oak Ridge school board plans to interview three of them Tuesday.

The three are:

  • Bruce Borchers, superintendent of the Rockwood School District in Eureka, Mo., which has 22,000 students;
  • Dale Lynch, superintendent of the Hamblen County Schools in Morristown, which has 10,300 students; and
  • Keith Rowland, superintendent of Shenandoah County Public Schools in Woodstock, Va., which has 6,250 students.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Letter: Fillauer dedicated to helping young people

October 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

To the Editor:

The first, second, and third priority for any school board member should be the welfare of children.

Over the past 27 years, I have witnessed first-hand the dedication of Keys Fillauer to young people as he has raised more than $600,000 for the Ronald McDonald House. In my capacity as executive director of the House, I have seen Keys’ drive, integrity, and commitment to causes he believes in.

Keys Fillauer has been an educator, coach, school board member, and most importantly, a tireless advocate for his community. But I have seen the man who never asks why. He only asks how.

I urge your support for a school board candidate I would be proud to have leading my children’s schools into the future.

Sue Beverly

Knox County

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Letters Tagged With: , , ,

School board punts on proposal to restrict disruptive cameras

September 25, 2012 By 1 Comment

Oak Ridge school board members sidestepped a potentially controversial policy change on Monday that would have given them the right to restrict cameras and video recorders that are used disruptively.

The five-member Oak Ridge Board of Education had been scheduled to consider a policy change that said it “reserves the right to restrict the use of cameras, camcorders, or other photographic equipment that interferes or disrupts a board meeting.”

That was a watered-down version of a policy change recommended by the Tennessee School Boards Association. The original version said “No one shall bring a camera, camcorder, or other photographic equipment to board meetings without the consent of the board.”

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Fillauer seeks re-election to Oak Ridge Board of Education

September 22, 2012 By 3 Comments
Keys Fillauer

Keys Fillauer

Retired teacher and coach Keys Fillauer has announced he is seeking re-election to the Oak Ridge Board of Education in November.

Fillauer has served on the Oak Ridge school board for 10 years, and he has been its chairman for three, a press release said. He was also appointed last year to serve a one-year term on the Tennessee School Boards Association board of directors.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Government Tagged With: , , ,

School board considers debt proposal rejected by Council

April 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It’s already been informally rejected by municipal officials, but the Oak Ridge school board will still consider a proposal that would allow them to keep more money collected from county sales taxes—and require the city to come up with extra cash to pay for the renovation of the high school.

The proposal, which the Oak Ridge Board of Education will consider tonight, would allow the schools to keep a portion of more than $700,000 in revenues generated by a 2006 increase in the Anderson County sales tax rate. Until recently, all the money had been used to help pay down the debt on the $66 million renovation of the Oak Ridge High School.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, Government Tagged With: , , , ,