Chris Cope and Monti Hillis split 3-3 in two different votes for a chairman Tuesday night, leaving the School Board without a decision on a chairman for another month.
The Warren County School Board will have to wait another month to decide who will lead it.
Two votes for chairman ended in identical 3-3 ties Tuesday night as incumbent chairman Chris Cope and board member Monti Hillis each received three votes during the board's annual reorganization. With neither candidate receiving the required majority, no new chairman was elected and the board will revisit the position at its next meeting.
Cope, who has served as chairman for three years, will remain in the position in the meantime.
Jarvis Johnson nominated Hillis, pointing to her background in education and saying she brings experience to the board that its other members do not have.
"The school in some ways is a business and we have a lot of businessmen on this board," Johnson said. "There's a safety aspect and I feel like I serve in that, but one of the most important things is educating our students and no one on this board, I think, knows more about that than Monti."
Johnson also praised Hillis' leadership and said he believed she could carry that into the chairman's position.
Matthew Brown nominated Cope for another term, citing the experience, effort and time Cope has put into the position and saying he believed the board had been "going down a good path."
The first roll-call vote split the six-member board evenly, 3-3. Brown and Tommy Culwell voted for Cope. Johnson and James Hines voted for Hillis and each candidate voted for themselves.
With no chairman elected, board members were given an opportunity for further discussion before voting again.
Johnson said his support for Hillis was not a criticism of Cope's performance. Instead, he argued that after Cope's three years as chairman, giving another member an opportunity to lead could benefit the board.
"I don't think anyone's arguing that Chris (hasn’t) done a good job, but he has held this for several years and I think for us to have a well-rounded board, other people need that opportunity," Johnson said.
Johnson again pointed to Hillis' experience working in the school system and also raised the importance of female representation in board leadership.
"She also is female and I've heard many constituents say, 'Why is there not a female on the board?' That plays into this as well," Johnson said. "I think that she brings strong female leadership. I think we should celebrate that."
Brown said he did not disagree with Johnson's assessment of Hillis but continued to support Cope because of the continuity he believed another year would provide.
"I just feel like, with Mr. Cope, I've seen the effort he's put into it, and it's just something that I appreciate, and I'd just like to see that continuity moving on for the next year," Brown said.
Brown's push for continuity included support for Hillis as vice chair, something Culwell also supported.
When the board voted again, nothing changed and the motion for a chairman failed.
The board then attempted to elect a vice chairman, with Cope and Hillis again nominated. That vote also failed to produce the required result.
With the annual reorganization unfinished, the current chairman and vice chairman will remain in place until the board tries again at its next meeting in October.
Hillis did leave the reorganization with a new role. She was selected as the board's legislative liaison, a position previously held by Brown, by a 4-2 vote. Cope and Hillis voted for Brown, while Brown, Culwell, Hines and Johnson voted for Hillis.
