New School Board Members Take Over; Jones Named President

In a move that signifies new leadership on the Brentwood Board of Education, Chris Jones and Katrina Harper were elected as board president and vice president during a meeting on Tuesday night.

They replace Keith Rabenberg—who served as president since 1997—and Regina Gahr, who both lost in 4-3 votes.

Board members were divided with their nominations. Newcomers Michelle Hassemer and Dan Williams joined Harper and Jones while Kathy Glowski sided with Regina Gahr and Keith Rabenberg.

Hassemer and Glowski were unanimously elected as secretary and treasurer, respectively.

The election of officers happened shortly after the were sworn into office by former board secretary Joe Hembree.

District Interview Policy

The new board remained split on whether hiring committees should be allowed to rank favorite candidates during the school district's interview process.

Hiring committees are comprised of faculty, parents and students who participate in parts of the interview process with different teacher and coach candidates. Members sign non-disclosure agreements and offer feedback to district administrators.

The process to hire was criticized by residents during a and was debated during a before the April 5 election.

Board members are divided on whether each committee person should be allowed to rank their favorite candidates. Committee members currently judge each candidate in specific areas rather than comparing each candidate side-by-side. Members share their thoughts in a comments section too.

Superintendent Dr. Charles Penberthy said the ranking of candidates could lead to committee members feeling disappointed if their favorite candidate isn't hired.

"It hurts more feelings and gets people more upset," Penberthy said.

But Hassemer repeatedly asked if it would harm the interview process to allow committee members to rank candidates.

"If we aren't going to rank, and we only want comments, what are those comments based on?" she asked.

Gahr said the current system allows for enough feedback.

"You're getting their input as far as the thought process. What difference does it make if they write one through 10?" she said.

After some debate, board members agreed to modify the hiring committee by making it smaller and adding a survey process to make sure committee members are happy with the process. The board opted not to add a ranking system.

Public Communication

The board also discussed ways to increase communication with parents and community members.

Board members asked Penberthy to update the district's website to include e-mail addresses for school board members and make it easier to find meeting agendas.

The district webmaster will attend next month's meeting to go over the changes with the school board.

Middle School Curriculum

Four new middle school classes were approved by the board:

• Finance (seventh grade)
• Global Connections — an elective where students stay updated on world events.
• Advanced Computer Literacy — an elective that builds upon what students learn in a sixth-grade class.
• Sixth-Grade Academy — a transition course for new middle-schoolers.

The new classes will be rolled into the next school year.