The Nashville School Board continued to fill positions for the 2017-18 academic year during a special meeting Thursday, June 8.
Board members spent nearly two hours in executive session.
Afterward, the board named D.J. Graham the assistant principal at Nashville Junior High School. He succeeds Jason Williamson, who has been hired at Stuttgart as high school principal and athletic director.
NJHS Principal Deb Tackett was called into the executive session about mid-way through it.
Graham currently teaches junior high math and is the offensive line coach for the senior high Scrappers. He is also an assistant baseball coach.
He was hired on a 3-2 vote, with David Hilliard, Mark Canaday and Miles Mitchell voting in favor and Monica Clark and Randy Elliott voting against.
Elliott asked if it is “policy to not hire direct kin of administrators.” Graham is the son of Superintendent Doug Graham.
Superintendent Graham replied that it is “not a written rule. It’s a practice but not a policy that started under a previous administration.”
Graham’s move from coaching into administration leaves the district with another coaching vacancy. Openings include his offensive line position, the junior high offensive line position formerly held by Brian “Boomer” Brown, and the softball head coaching position formerly held by Jerry Baker.
There is the possibility of another vacancy on the high school coaching staff.
In other action at Thursday’s meeting, the board transferred Ashley Sweeden from primary school to elementary. Board members also accepted the resignation of primary teacher Jessica Hutson.
Additional vacancies include classroom teachers and a curriculum coordinator for the district.
