You’re reading “Echoes in Time,” a weekly newsletter by the Independent Herald that focuses on stories of years gone by in order to paint a portrait of Scott County and its people. “Echoes in Time” is one of six weekly newsletters published by the IH. You can adjust your subscription settings to include as many or as few of these newsletters as you want. If you aren’t a subscriber, please consider doing so. It’s free!
Today’s newsletter is sponsored by the Scott County Chamber of Commerce. Since 1954, the Scott County Chamber of Commerce has advocated for a strong community by supporting stronger infrastructure and leadership.
The history of Scott County’s school superintendents
At its monthly work session on Tuesday, the Scott County Board of Education is expected to begin the process of determining how it will choose its next director of schools from the six men who have applied for the position. The board will have the option of interviewing each of the six, or narrowing the list to a group of finalists who will be interviewed.
The six applicants include Fairview School Principal Scott Cash, Campbell County school principal Kenny Chadwell, Texas director of schools Jerry Gibson, Campbell County school principal Daniel Sexton, Scott High School Principal Marc Taylor, and Morgan County Career & Technical Center Director Keith Shannon. The person ultimately chosen by the school board will become the 34th school superintendent in Scott County’s history — and the 33rd person to serve in that position (one served on two separate occasions).
Here are a few facts about this position through the years:
• Prior to the organization of the Scott County School System in 1867, there were actually several different individual school systems in Scott County, with each electing three commissioners who were responsible for hiring the teachers to serve in their schools.
• From 1867 to 1924, the superintendent of schools was appointed by the Scott County Quarterly Court (a precursor to what we know today as Scott County Commission) to serve two-year terms. Beginning in 1924, the position was elected by the voters in a general election. Beginning in 2000, state law required the position to be appointed by the board of education.
• Scott County’s first school superintendent was John C. Parker, an attorney from Helenwood who would later serve as county judge and in the state legislature. He served from 1867 to 1869.
• The first elected school superintendent was Ovia Cross, an educator who organized the first four-year high schools in Scott County (at Huntsville, Norma, and Robbins) and also coached the first basketball team at Oneida High School.
• Cross was also the only person to serve as school superintendent on two separate occasions. He served from 1924 to 1926 and again from 1928 to 1931.
• The first woman to serve as school superintendent was Ora Shoemaker Robbins, who was elected in 1952 and served until 1956. While Robbins was the only woman elected to the position, Sharon Wilson later became the first woman appointed to the role by the board of education, serving from 2006 to 2011.
• John Lee West and Bill Hall are the longest-tenured school superintendents, with West serving from 1933 to 1948 and Hall from 2011 to 2026.
• Jerry Willard Thompson was the last elected school superintendent, serving until 2000.
• James “Mike” Davis was the first school superintendent appointed by the board of education, serving from 2000 to 2006.
Here is the complete list of Scott County school superintendents through the years. There are a number of interesting stories among them, from Parker, whose son, Sam, was one of the best athletes in University of Tennessee history; Dr. Lafayette Sproule, who married the sister of Civil War heroine Julia Marcum; and Laban Riseden, whose daughter, Maude Riseden Hughett, served as the first woman school superintendent in Morgan County, was the first woman in the South to graduate law school and the first admitted to the Tennessee Bar, and the first Southern woman admitted to practice law in federal court.
J.C. Parker, 1867-1869
Lafayette Sproule, 1869-1871
Laban Riseden, 1871-1873
Alvin Parker, 1873-1875
Jasper Q. Cross, 1875-1879
Jasper Hughett, 1879-1883
James H. Jeffers, 1883-1887
W.F. Lee, 1887-1889
J.J. Newport, 1889-1891
C.C. Cross, 1891-1893
H.K. Pemberton, 1893-1895
Dr. Horace M. Robbins, 1895-1897
George W. Cross, 1897-1901
S. Marion Foster, 1901-1909
M.L. McDonald, 1909-1917
Willard W. Walker, 1917-1919
W.J. Jeffers, 1919-1924
Ovia Cross, 1924-1926
O.E. Jeffers, 1926-1928
Ovia Cross, 1928-1931
O. Earl Byrd, 1931-1933
John Lee West, 1933-1948
A.V. Ellis, 1948-1952
Ora S. Robbins, 1952-1956
Malvin C. Sexton, 1956-1964
Raymond Jeffers, 1968-1972
Bailey B. Cross, 1972-1980
Eddie C. Culver, 1980-1988
Amon L. Lay, 1988-1995
Jerry W. Thompson, 1995-2000
James Mike Davis, 2000-2006
Sharon Wilson, 2006-2011
Billy M. Hall, 2011-Present
Thank you for reading. Our next newsletter will be Threads of Life tomorrow. If you’d like to update your subscription to add or subtract any of our newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t yet subscribed, it’s as simple as adding your email address!
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Our Newsletters:
• Monday morning: The Daybreaker (news & the week ahead)
• Tuesday: Echoes from the Past (stories of our history)
• Wednesday: Threads of Life (obituaries)
• Thursday evening: The Weekender (news & the weekend)
• Friday: Friday Features (beyond the news)
• Sunday: Varsity (a weekly sports recap)