Rick SmithCHATTANOOGA (WRCB)- Six months into his tenure as Hamilton County Superintendent of Schools, Rick Smith is making a wish come true for local elected officials.
For years, his predecessors, Dr. Jesse Register and Dr. Jim Scales came under fire for what some officials called a "bloated" central office. With each budget cycle came demands for "cutting the fat," or eliminating high-paying positions. Already Smith has trimmed almost $200,000 from the central office administrative staff with two vacated high-profile positions.
The recent retirement of Ray Swoffard, who served as Deputy Superintendent of Elementary Education erases an annual salary of $109,973 from the books. Earlier this year Smith did not replace Danielle Clark, who earned $84,338 as Director of Communications. Since her departure in July, when Smith took office, chores formerly assigned to Clark have been handled primarily by administrative assistants.
Smith told Eyewitness News that he has no plans "at this time" to replace Swoffard. "Right now I am satisfied with the work of our three Elementary Directors," Smith said. They are Gail Morgan, Karen Hollis and Karla Riddle.
At a recent School Board meeting, Smith also announced the retirement of Lucile Phillips, the district's Director of Federal Programs. Ms. Phillips is paid $101,011 annually. Smith said he will post the position after the first of the year.
