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Charles Lawson’s contract set to expire June 2025

For the third time since July 2023, the Coffee County Schools Board of Education has declined to renew the contract of Director of Schools Dr. Charles Lawson. The vote came during the regular Board of Education meeting February 12.

Board members voted 3-6 against renewing Lawson’s contract, which is set to expire at the close of the 2024-2025 academic year. Those voting in favor of the contract renewal include Brent Parsley, Gary Nester and Larry Crabtree. Those voting against the contract renewal include Thomas Ballard, Freda K. Jones, Kathy Rose, Robert Gilley, Gary Cordell and Jennifer Peacock Hodge.

Rose said following the meeting she voted no with the intention of bringing a modified contract back for a vote, but she was told that was not possible.

Prior to voting, Board members heard a presentation by Coffee Teacher Advisory Council President Terry Harnden that expressed school district employees desire to see Lawson’s contract renewed.

“We also represent the community here too,” Harnden said. “We are fathers and mothers, we are brothers and sisters, and we are aunts and we are uncles and we are grandmas and we are grandpas and we have children and grandchildren in all of the facilities that the schools represent.”

Harnden said C-TAC designed an anonymous 10 question survey evaluating Lawson on nine standards that was distributed to every Coffee County School District employee.

About 120 district employees opted to complete the survey.

“As we look at this, it is an overall computation of saying how is he helping us,” Harnden said.

“How is it that he puts in what he puts in and in these areas what we see.”

Survey Standards and Results

Standard 1- Leadership and District Culture: N/A 0%, Outstanding 51.67%, Excellent 34.17, Good 11.67%,Needs improvement 2.50%, Unacceptable0%.

Standard 2 – Policy and Governance: N/A 0.83%, Outstanding 49.17%, Excellent 33.33%, Good 15%, Needs Improvement 1.67%, Unacceptable 0%.

Standard 3-Communications and Community Relations: N/A 0.83%, Outstanding 40%, excellent, 38.33, Good 17.50%, needs improvement, 3.33%, unacceptable 0%.

Standard 4- Organizational Management: N/A 0%, Outstanding 56.67%, Excellent 30%, Good 11.67%, Needs Improvement 1.67% Unacceptable 0%.

Standard 5-Cirriculum Planning Development: N/A 3.33%, Outstanding 38.33%, Excellent 40%, Good 15.83%, Needs Improvement 2.50%, Unacceptable 0%.

Standard 6- Instructional Leadership: N/A 2.50%, Outstanding 45%, Excellent 34.17%, Good 16.67%, Needs Improvement 0.83%, Unacceptable 0.83%.

Standard 7 Human Resources Management: N/A 1.67%, Outstanding 48.33%, Excellent 34.17%, Good 15%, Needs Improvement 0.83%, Unacceptable 0%.

Standard 8- Values and Ethics of Leadership: N/A 0.83%, Outstanding 52.50%, Excellent 30.83%, Good 15.83%, Needs Improvement 0%, Unacceptable 0%.

Standard 9- Employee Relations: N/A 4.17%, Outstanding 51.67%, Excellent 30.83%, Good 11.67%, Needs Improvement 1.67%, Unacceptable 0%.

“Once again, you realize as I do, the perception that some have,” Harnden said. “I, for one, don’t really believe in the negative part of that perception.”

Harnden said perhaps the reason only 120 employees out of the district’s roughly 800 opted to take the survey was because they did not believe it would make a difference when presented to the Board of Education. Another concern he reported hearing was that some employees were afraid to take the survey due to the concern of retaliation.

“My response to each of those and every time I heard things like that was, that is not going to happen, at least I don’t believe it to be so because we are all together unified with the understanding that we are going to do our very best to make sure that our educational system for every family and everybody in this community is the best that it possibly can and it can only work if we are unified together…,”he said.

Board member Thomas Ballard took issue with the data presented in the survey.

“One of the ways to look at data like this is how was the data distributed here and normally on a survey like this it would fall within a standard normal distribution…looking at this data we have everything shifted so far to the right that I have to say I am completely incredulous here,” Ballard said. “I have never seen data on a survey look like that.”

Harnden said the data was presented to the Board as it was received, completely and unmodified and that everyone had the same opportunity to participate.

“Everybody had the same right, the same opportunity, that was what the validity of this survey was all about,” he said. “It did not exclude anybody that dealt with the education system at this present time.”

Board member Kathy Rose made a motion to renew Lawson’s contract as presented, which would end on June 30, 2027. The motion was seconded by Larry Crabtree.

During the discussion regarding the contract renewal, Ballard said he believes there are errors in the contract which he has mentioned previously that were not addressed.

“The main issue I have with that is outlined in yellow and there is a key at the front of this, is six times in a 10 page contract this agreement references an annual performance agreement, which is basically performance standards for Dr. Lawson,” Ballard said. “This agreement does not exist, has not existed and if we approve this contract we are not doing our job as a Board, until you have this document referenced. It explicitly incorporates this document by reference.”

Board Chairmen Gary Nester asked if that were Lawson’s fault or the Board’s fault.

Nester then asked Lawson if the contract had been reviewed by legal counsel prior to the meeting.

Lawson said his original contract was reviewed by school district attorney Chuck Cagle, and the only changes that have been made to it since that time are to the work calendar, compensation and dates.

“I have heard in past meetings it was because we didn’t have a five-year plan and this time it is the contract is not correct and I have heard that it is too early,” Nester said. “I guess what I want to hear is what in his performance or where has he let us down that we would not hire him to be our director. What has he done and what is he in the process of doing that is making our system better and if he has failed at that those are the reasons I want to hear, not that I don’t like his contract.”

The question was called and the motion to renew Lawson’s contract failed for the third time.

Following the vote, Rose attempted to make a motion to approve the contract without the references to an annual performance agreement but was told that was not possible.

She then made a motion to terminate Lawson’s contract without cause effective June 30 2024.

“This Board has demonstrated on three separate occasions that it has no confidence in Dr. Lawson,” Rose said. “We have listened to the results of a staff survey, we see the crowd in the room tonight. We have heard from people and I don’t believe if the good Lord came down here and sat someone in that chair that people would be satisfied.”

Rose said if the Board of Education would not support its director, then it was best to let him move on and begin the search for his successor.

“If we are going to look at the test scores that we have and the way we have run circles around area school systems this year with the data that has been given to us from the state, if we are going to look at all of that and we are going to look at the comments that have been made about ethics and leadership and dedication to a job, if we are going to look at that and we are going to say no, we are not interested in that cut him loose and let’s start looking for another superintendent,” she said. “Just let me say I can’t wait to see, I can’t wait to see what comes through the door.”

The motion to terminate Lawson’s contract effective June 30, 2024 failed with a 6-3 vote.

Following the meeting, Lawson said he finds it unlikely his contract renewal will be brought before the Board again.

“Obviously the board can take whatever actions that they see fit at whatever time they see fit, but I find it highly unlikely that this issue will come before the board again,” he said.

Lawson said he plans to remain in his role as director of schools until the end of his contract in June 2025 and will then take some time off.

“What I am going to do is I plan, once my contract is expired, my wife and I plan to take a two-year hiatus so to speak and if at the end of those two years I still have that itch to teach I plan to return to a classroom somewhere,” he said.

Lawson said he is currently in his 28th year in public education, and in retirement he is looking forward to having a little more freedom and a little more control over his time.

When it comes to his contract not being renewed, he said it is not uncommon for school boards to search out new director of schools.

“I have been asked three times in the course of my career what I would advise somebody who was thinking about pursuing this kind of job, and that advice each time has been don’t take the job until you can lose the job,” he said. “I went in knowing this because it is not unusual for people to run for a school board to get rid of a director of schools. Almost nobody runs for the school board to keep a director of schools. That is why the typical tenure for a director of schools is about 4.25 years.”

With just over one-year remaining on his current contract, Lawson said he still has some goals left to achieve before his time as director comes to a close.

“I would like to have funding secured for renovations at East Coffee and Hickerson,” Lawson said. “I would like to continue our work with instructional practices and trying to improve across the district. I think some of those improvements have been seen in the last couple of years especially, and we would like to continue those and I would like to continue to try improve compensation for our employees as much as we can through whatever budgetary moves are possible.”