Oak Ridge Today

One of three superintendent finalists tours Oak Ridge

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Roger Collins Visits Oak Ridge

Roger Collins, superintendent of Nelson County Public Schools in Lovingston, Va., and his wife Debora visited Oak Ridge on Friday. Collins is one of three finalists for Oak Ridge Schools superintendent.

Roger Collins, one of three finalists for Oak Ridge Schools superintendent, was in town Friday to meet with local leaders and school administrators and tour the city.

Collins is now the superintendent of Nelson County Schools in Lovingston, Va. That system has 2,000 students, and it’s close to Charlottesville and the University of Virginia, Collins said.

He said Nelson County and Oak Ridge both have quality school systems.

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Second top school administrator leaving Oak Ridge at end of year

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She was Oak Ridge preschool principal for 12 years and assistant interim superintendent for eight months, and now Marian Phillips has been offered a new job at the University of Tennessee.

She will start at UT on Jan. 7. She will be leaving Oak Ridge shortly after Superintendent Tom Bailey, who is retiring at the end of the year.

Phillips became assistant interim superintendent after Ken Green left in May.

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Former superintendent Smallridge could serve as interim school leader

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Former superintendent Bob Smallridge could temporarily lead the Oak Ridge school system starting in January.

On Wednesday, Oak Ridge Board of Education Chairman Keys Fillauer said he will recommend hiring Smallridge during a Jan. 7 meeting.

Tom Bailey, the current superintendent, is retiring at the end of the year, and the board hasn’t hired a replacement yet.

“We felt like we needed someone driving the ship,” Fillauer said of his proposal to recommend hiring Smallridge as interim superintendent until Bailey’s replacement is hired and starts working in Oak Ridge.

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Oak Ridge school superintendent search down to three finalists

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Two candidates have dropped out, and the five-month search for a new Oak Ridge schools superintendent is down to three finalists.

They are:

  • Dan Lawson, superintendent of Tullahoma City Schools in Tullahoma, Tenn.;
  • Neyland Clark, superintendent of South Harrison Community Schools in Corydon, Ind.; and
  • Roger Collins, superintendent of Nelson County Public Schools in Lovingston, Va.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education had scheduled interviews with five finalists. Those interviews, which lasted a total of eight to 10 hours, began Friday and continued Tuesday and Wednesday.

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Letter: School board campaign educational, financial default remains

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To the Editor:

I would like to personally thank each of you, the nearly 4,300 citizens that supported me in my campaign to change how our Board of Education deals with its major problems.

Many of you may have noticed that from the beginning of this campaign I elected to run a very unconventional political campaign that was intended to inform rather than just win votes. My campaign was designed to inform the general public about a little known financial default. A default that the BOE has not wanted to even admit exists and explains as a simple misunderstanding.

But this default is as real as the daily sunrise. In spite of that, it has received little public press and no open discussion by either the BOE or the current City Council members.

When I began this campaign, I understood full well the major difficulties that I faced in operating a political campaign based on informing the public. In August, less than 10 people knew a default had occurred. By Nov. 6, about 18 percent of the voters knew about the default. Political campaigns are rarely based on informing anyone or on any real facts. Even fewer campaigns are won based on real facts or principles.

Today, the same disagreement and financial problem exists following the election that was created by the BOE over a year ago. A problem that has resulted in a $766,470 reduction in the 2013 school budget, reducing the Oak Ridge city transfer from $14.6 million to $13.86 million.

This major 2013 reduction has yet to be dealt with by the BOE, and the school budget remains unbalanced. This reduction will also reduce all future city school transfer funds because it establishes a new base from which all future increases grow.

Now, the same people that created the problem and poor relationship must correct it. Members of the BOE have threatened both state and legal action to retain the previous budget, but none of these threats have yet taken place. Also, nothing has been done to improve the situation.

I wish both the BOE members and the school staff well in dealing with the reality of this unaddressed significant budget reduction and their self-created poor relationship. Should this situation remain uncorrected, both will impact staffing and program content in our fine school system.

Citizens, thank you again for your support and your committed concern to both our quality of life and everyone’s’ efforts to improve Oak Ridges’ competitiveness as we move to the future.

Leonard Abbatiello

Oak Ridge

Interviews for five superintendent candidates start Friday

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The list of applicants for Oak Ridge superintendent has been narrowed down to five, and the Oak Ridge Board of Education will start interviewing candidates on Friday.

The five finalists are:

  • Raymond Bandlow, who was most recently the superintendent of Fort Lee Public Schools in Fort Lee, N.J.;
  • Dan Lawson, superintendent of Tullahoma City Schools in Tullahoma, Tenn.;
  • Kenneth Sorrick, former superintendent of North Palos School District in Palos Hills, Ill.;
  • Neyland Clark, superintendent of South Harrison Community Schools in Corydon, Ind.; and
  • Roger Collins, superintendent of Nelson County Public Schools in Lovingston, Va.

Fillauer named to All Tennessee School Board

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Oak Ridge Board of Education Chairman Keys Fillauer has been recognized by the Tennessee School Board Association and named to the “All Tennessee School Board,” a press release said.

Members of the All Tennessee School Board were selected by a panel of judges from nominations throughout the state.

The nominee for the All Tennessee School Board who received the highest collective ranking by the panel of judges will be the recipient of the C. Hal Distinguished Service Award and serve as board chairman of the All Tennessee School Board, the press release said. That honor was scheduled to be announced by the Tennessee School Board Association at an annual conference held in Nashville on Monday, Nov. 5.

Qualifications for the All Tennessee School Board included achieving Level IV in the TSBA Boardsmanship program, quality of service, participation in board development activities, specific accomplishments of the local board of education during his term on the board, and leadership activities at the local, regional, or state level, the press release said.

During the past year, Fillauer has also received the “Service Above Self Award” from the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary, was inducted into the Anderson County Hall of Fame as the K-12 Educator of the Year, and received the Distinguished Service Award from the Technology Student Association.

Except for Smith, incumbents re-elected in Oak Ridge, state House

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John and Liz Ragan

Tennessee Rep. John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican, pictured at right, and Liz Ragan, his wife, celebrate the legislator’s re-election to the Tennessee House at the Buffalo Mountain Grille on Tuesday night.

It was a good night for incumbents in five local races in Oak Ridge and the Tennessee House and Senate. With one exception, they were all re-elected.

Chuck Hope and Charlie Hensley had hundreds of votes to spare as they easily won re-election to Oak Ridge City Council. Keys Fillauer and Angi Agle, the two incumbents on the Oak Ridge Board of Education, also coasted to victory.

Tennessee Rep. John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican, won a narrower victory over former Rep. Jim Hackworth, a Clinton Democrat. Ragan received 699 more votes than Hackworth, according to unofficial results. He finished ahead by 51.4 percent to 48.6 percent.

The one newcomer elected Tuesday was Trina Baughn. She will join Hope and Hensley to serve on Council.

Gone will be incumbent Ellen Smith, who was soundly defeated. Hope and Baughn each finished ahead of Smith by more than 2,000 votes, according to unofficial results in Anderson and Roane counties.

Baughn first campaigned for a City Council seat in an August special election, when she lost to Hope. Hope was appointed to Council last summer after former member Tom Hayes resigned.

Baughn and Hope both said the August special election helped prepare them for Tuesday’s municipal election.

Midtown Polling Station

Andrew McCulloch, right, signs in at the Midtown Community Center polling station on Tuesday. Also pictured are poll workers Margaret Terrell, left, and Jim Young.

The training paid off. Hope finished first Tuesday with 6,887 votes, and Baughn was second with 6,739, according to the unofficial results.

Baughn, a communications professional, credited hard work and the efforts of some 20 to 50 volunteers making phone calls and visiting voters.

“We knocked on doors, and we went to the voters,” said Baughn, who is perhaps best known for her newspaper columns and work challenging city and school system spending. “The supporters that I have are elated that I won.”

Top priorities for the new council member are controlling spending, lowering the property tax rate, and reducing the city’s debt.

Hope, owner of Chuck’s Car Care, was not available for comment late Tuesday night.

It was a disappointing night for Smith, who served one term on City Council. She collected 4,624 votes.

“The results are surprising, and I don’t understand them,” said Smith, a research staff member at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. “I was pretty roundly defeated.”

A fifth candidate, business executive and Oak Ridge planning commissioner Kelly Callison, finished fourth in the City Council race, with 5,450 votes.

Campaign Signs at Midtown Community Center

David Hughes, left, supports presidential candidate Gary Johnson and Sherry Bath supports Oak Ridge Board of Education candidate Keys Fillauer at Midtown Community Center on Tuesday.

In the school board race, Agle and Fillauer both trounced Leonard Abbatiello, a former Oak Ridge City Council member, by more than 2,000 votes.

“I’m thankful that the people of Oak Ridge put the priority on students because that was the focus of my campaign and the focus of Keys’ campaign,” said Agle, who was battling for a third term.

Like Baughn, Agle credited door-to-door campaigning for her win, as well as her daily work during early voting and the newspaper articles she’s written during the past few years.

Now, she said, the first priority of the school board is to select a new superintendent, possibly on Dec. 8. Tom Bailey, the current superintendent, is retiring at the end of the year.

Agle said she also wants to continue making improvements in school curricula and student performance.

It was the second time Ragan and Hackworth ran against each other in the state’s 33rd District, which includes most of Anderson County. Ragan beat Hackworth in the 2010 election.

Midtown Community Center

Jake Phillips supports Tennessee Rep. John Ragan at the Midtown Community Center polling station on Tuesday.

This year’s contest between the two men was one of a half-dozen key races in the Tennessee House of Representatives, and it was expected to help Republicans gain a supermajority.

“I knew it was a close race,” Ragan said in a Tuesday night celebration at Buffalo Mountain Grille in Oak Ridge. “It was a hard-fought race.”

Ragan, a retired Air Force pilot, said Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly have cut spending and taxes, and created a more job-friendly environment. Jobs and education will remain top priorities for him in the upcoming legislative session, Ragan said.

Another local incumbent who was re-elected was Oak Ridge City Judge Robert A. McNees III. He had no opposition.

Neither did Tennessee Sen. Ken Yager, who was re-elected in the 12th Senatorial District. Yager’s district includes Roane, Morgan, Rhea, Scott, Campbell, and Fentress counties.

In other elections, the vote on a liquor referendum to allow package stores to sell alcoholic beverages in Oliver Springs appeared to have been rejected, with 486 voting yes and 519 voting “no” in Anderson and Roane counties.

Three-quarters of Clinton voters agreed to move the city’s general elections from December of odd-numbered years to November of even-numbered years, when they will coincide with state and federal elections.

Republican Kent Calfee defeated Democrat Jack W. McNew by a 68.6 percent to 26.7 margin in Roane County for a chance to represent the 32nd District in the Tennessee House, according to unofficial Roane County results. The district includes Roane County and part of Loudon County.

Unofficial results showed Calfee, who beat the incumbent, Julia Hurley, in the August primary, had an even higher victory margin in Loudon County: 72.4 percent to 20.8.

Here are highlights of Tuesday’s unofficial results in Anderson and Roane counties:

 

Oak Ridge City Council

Hope—6,887

Baughn—6,739

Hensley—6,301

Callison—5,450

Smith—4,624

 

Oak Ridge Board of Education

Agle—7,738

Fillauer—7,495

Abbatiello—4,988

 

Tennessee House of Representatives, 33rd District:

Ragan, Oak Ridge Republican—12,825 (51.4 percent)

Hackworth, Clinton Democrat—12,126 (48.6 percent)

 

Oliver Springs liquor referendum (To allow retail package stores to sell alcoholic beverages in the city of Oliver Springs):

Yes—486

No—519

 

Clinton charter question (To move Clinton general elections from December of odd-numbered years to November of even-numbered years):

For—2,556 (75.7 percent)

Against—819 (24.3 percent)

 

Note: This story has been corrected to show new vote totals for Ragan and Hackworth.

Live election results posted, early totals available

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Midtown Community Center Voting

Rex Sanders, left, picks up his voting machine code before casting a ballot at the Midtown Community Center on Tuesday afternoon. Also pictured is poll worker Dave Anderson.

Note: This story was last updated at 9:37 p.m.

Voting results are being posted on the Anderson County Election Commission website.

The results below, which include early voting and absentee ballots, will be updated, and we’ll post the new numbers here as we can.

The following results include 26 of 28 precincts in Anderson County. We’ll add Roane County election results as we can. The early voting and absentee ballot results in Roane County don’t contradict the current Anderson County results in the Oak Ridge City Council or Board of Education elections, or the Oliver Springs liquor referendum.

 

Oak Ridge City Council (five seats):

Trina Baughn—5,842 (23 percent)

Kelly Callison—4,641 (18.3 percent)

L.C. “Charlie” Hensley—5,298 (20.9 percent)

Charles J. “Chuck” Hope Jr.—5,718 (22.5 percent)

Ellen Smith—3,909 (15.4 percent)

 

Oak Ridge Board of Education (two seats):

Leonard Abbatiello—4,287 (24.9 percent)

Angi Agle—6,603 (38.4 percent)

Keys Filauer—6,319 (36.7 percent)

 

Tennessee House of Representatives, 33rd District:

John Ragan, Oak Ridge Republican—12,810 (51.4 percent)

Jim Hackworth, Clinton Democrat—12,114 (48.6 percent)

 

Oliver Springs liquor referendum (To allow retail package stores to sell alcoholic beverages in the city of Oliver Springs):

Yes—360 (50.2 percent)

No—357 (49.8 percent)

 

Clinton charter question (To move Clinton general elections from December of odd-numbered years to November of even-numbered years):

For—2,556 (75.7 percent)

Against—819 (24.3 percent)

Letter: Future of school system in good hands with Fillauer

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To the Editor:

The Oak Ridge Schools are something we can be proud of as a community. We owe a great deal to those individuals who dedicate their time and expertise in keeping our educational system strong.

I have had the privilege of knowing Keys Fillauer for the past 25 years. Our son Billy, a 1999 graduate of Oak Ridge High School, remembers Keys as a “very energetic, enthusiastic, hands-on teacher who brought a lot to the table. He always encouraged students to be involved in the community.”

Through my affiliation with Oak Ridge Schools and the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, I have had the opportunity to work with many of his students who volunteered for programs and festivals. These students seemed to share a common bond—eager to contribute as well as to learn. How fortunate they are to have had a mentor who has time and again demonstrated his willingness to contribute his time and skills for worthwhile causes.

Specifically, I am grateful to him for being master of ceremonies for The Children’s Museum Gala and the International Festivals in past years. He continues to support the Ronald McDonald House, Boys Club, and the Oak Ridge Playhouse, to name just a few of his many accomplishments.

The future of our educational system, our children, and our community is in good hands with Keys Fillauer as a member of the Oak Ridge School Board.

Carroll Welch

Oak Ridge

Letter: Fillauer serves with distinction as School Board chair

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To the Editor:

Vote to re-elect Keys Fillauer to the Oak Ridge Board of Education. As a teacher, coach, and board member, he has worked for over 40 years to provide the children of Oak Ridge with a quality education.

I worked with Keys for many of these years, and I know what personal qualities, talents, and knowledge he brings to the board. He taught a hands-on civics class—showing his students how to be involved, responsible citizens of a community—and he practices what he taught, continuing to be active in serving his community at many levels and in numerous capacities. He also took a genuinely personal interest in his students and the quality of education they received. As a member of the Board of Education, this type of experience is vital to understanding the true needs for developing a quality school system.

Maintaining a school system that provides students at all levels and abilities with the highest quality of education is so important in keeping Oak Ridge a progressive city. As a board member, Keys is committed to working within the community to create such an outstanding school system.

Keys has served as a responsible and concerned member of the Board of Education and has served with distinction as chairman. Our community needs his service and skills for another term. I urge you to support him by voting for him and urging your friends and family to do likewise. Let’s work to assure that he is able to continue the work he has begun for the children of Oak Ridge!

Jane Grossbeck

Oak Ridge

Letter: Proud to vote for Fillauer

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To the Editor:

I want to take a moment and voice my support for Mr. Keys Fillauer, who is running for Oak Ridge School Board re-election. I have known Coach Fillauer since I was a seventh-grader at Robertsville Middle School in 1978. I have also been able to see him wear many different hats in the community throughout my life, such as teacher, coach, mentor, and school board member.

First, I knew Keys Fillauer as a teacher and a coach. He was extraordinary in both roles. He was always well prepared and knowledgeable whether on the court or in the classroom.

As a teacher and a coach, he led not just in words, but also by his actions. When I think back on those days, he taught me so many lessons on the court and off, but even more importantly, in the classroom.

To me, he was the best.

As a matter of fact, he influenced me on my career choice as a coach and teacher. He had a unique way to teach civics; he made it incredibly interesting and also got the material across to the students. He was consistently starting new programs to make the civics community a lifelong memory to his students. The lessons taught to me by Keys will be used the rest of my life.

When I returned to Oak Ridge to teach in the late 1980s, I was able to be mentored by Keys at Robertsville Middle School. He was very patient and thorough in sharing the tricks of his craft with me. He was once again always amazingly prepared, and Keys was a leader for the students, staff, and the entire school community.

After Keys retired, he turned to serving the Oak Ridge community on the school board. As an educator and a member of the Oak Ridge community, I know Keys is always prepared to do what is best for the schools and the community. He has worked diligently to learn about all of the changes going on in education today, of which there are many.

He has also attempted to get more out of education with fewer resources. Coach Fillauer is not one to shrink from these challenges, but instead flourish like he did on the court as a coach and in the classroom as a teacher. He is an amazing leader and is respected throughout the community.

My wife and I are proud to vote for Keys Fillauer for the Oak Ridge School Board.

David and Michelle Scott

Oak Ridge