Ooltewah Q & A: Will Supt. Rick Smith get the $269,000 buyout he wants?

UPDATED Feb. 18, 2016, to reflect the contract buyout request from Supt. Rick Smith.  See new information, under the photo of Supt. Smith:

It’s been a while since I last wrote about the Ooltewah High School rape/assault investigation.  People are still asking questions, so I will answer them as best I can.

We haven’t heard much about the victim lately.  How’s he doing?    Physically, he’s doing very well.  He has returned to school, although not at Ooltewah, and not at a Hamilton County public school.  He has been cleared to play basketball again.

Gatlinburg Det. Rodney Burns

What did you think about the Gatlinburg detective’s testimony at Monday’s Juvenile Court hearing?   Detective Rodney Burns may have sabotaged his own case with various discrepancies, conflicting information, and eyebrow-raising comments.  It will be interesting to see whether all charges of aggravated rape and aggravated assault will stick when the three student/suspects appear before a Sevier County judge on March 15. Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston is requesting a TBI investigation of Burns’ “perjurious statements.” Now, we’re witnessing a whole new war of words between Burns’ attorney, and Pinkston.  This is just getting started, folks.

What will happen to the Ooltewah coaches and the school’s Athletic Director?   That remains to be seen.  While their post-incident actions to help the primary victim seem solid, other questions remain.  Why did they go to Gatlinburg without School Board approval? (That could be a legal nightmare.) Why were so few chaperones on the trip? If it is true that some of the students had reputations of past bad behavior, and that coaches were alerted to previous incidents, why were these students unsupervised? And, in light of recent reports that hazing and bullying had gone on at Ooltewah for years (or decades), how could they be oblivious to those reports?  If “everyone else” knew, how could the coaches be in the dark?  (Same goes for the principal, who said on the stand that he didn’t know of any past misbehavior involving Ooltewah athletes, even though he’s been there for more than a decade.)

I do wonder, however, if assistant coach Karl Williams should be held to the same standard as Athletic Director Jesse Nayadley and head coach Andre Montgomery. Williams is not an employee of HCDE, he is an unpaid volunteer with no supervisory powers.  From all accounts, he does this for the love of the game.  This next bit of information has no bearing on the Ooltewah case, but I feel compelled to note that Williams lost his wife and two daughters in a house fire in 2005.  I can’t help but have personal sympathy for what he has been through, and what he is going through now.  I think it’s worth asking if he had any power to make the ill-informed decisions that led to this terrible event.

Can you explain why charges for failure to report stopped with the coaches and athletic director and did not extend to the principal, ass’t superintendent, and superintendent? These officials were informed of the incident; it appears they continued the failure to report position.   As it was explained to me, the officials who were here in Hamilton County at the time were informed after the proper authorities had been notified, so they had no personal obligation to report.

What does this mean for the future of field trips in Hamilton County schools?  Board members have asked very few questions about them in recent years.  They will look at the details much more carefully, especially those that are hundreds of miles away, or out of the country.

Why in the world is the school board dragging their feet on letting Rick Smith go?  They should take a look at Cleveland, TN and not let Smith dictate how and when he leaves.  I think it is a shame and disgrace they won’t stand up and do the right thing.

It’s more complicated than the Cleveland situation, where Director Martin Ringstaff had clearly (and admittedly) violated the morality clause in his contract.  Smith is under contract through July 2019 at almost $200,000 a year, and if he wanted to take it to court, the School Board would have to prove he violated the terms of his contract to keep from paying him every penny.  He has made some mistakes, but it isn’t certain he has violated any clause in his contract.  Board members would prefer not to pay the remaining $721,000 he is owed under his contract.  He has offered to settle for about 35% of that ($269,000), and the Board will vote on that request on March 7.  My gut feeling:  if the decision had to be made today, I think a majority of Board members would agree to his demands.  However, I’m wrong quite often, and a lot can happen in 18 days.

However, even in the worst case scenario, he wouldn’t have to resort to panhandling. Smith is already entitled to a sizable pension, as well as a cash payout for unused vacation and sick days. Having served 34 years in Hamilton County schools, Smith is eligible for an estimated annual pension of $95,000, along with a lump sum payment of $234,260 in vacation pay, and $6,460 in sick leave pay.

Who will the next superintendent be?  I have no idea.  I doubt it will be anyone currently employed by Hamilton County, and I doubt it will be anyone from far, far away.  The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and the various groups supporting the Chattanooga 2.0 education initiative have made it clear they want to be at the table. Ultimately, it’s up to the nine School Board members to decide how much, if any input they will allow from “outsiders.”  Due to state law prohibiting a superintendent selection around the August general election, the choice will likely be made by mid-June, and if not by then, they’ll have to wait until September.  Despite all the wrangling of recent weeks, it’s an attractive, high-paying job.  Let the applications, and the arm-twisting begin.