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The fallout from the contested hiring of the new director of the South Cheatham County Library in Kingston Springs was brought to the attention of the Cheatham County Commission at its Aug. 19 meeting via a 101-page report by District 6 Commissioner Mike Breedlove.
At issue was the question of whether the hiring of Jennifer Ensley for the director position was done transparently and fairly by Library Trustees, of which Ensley was one at the time of her appointment.
Breedlove's report, which consisted chiefly of interviews he had conducted with those involved in the selection process, neither reached a conclusion nor asked the commissioners to take any action.
Breedlove said he undertook his informal investigation after Lana Foster, a resident of his Kingston Springs district and one of the five applicants for the job, alleged "unethical tactics by the Library Board" when undergoing the hiring process.
Following former director Sara Schultz's announcement that she would be resigning in May, the search began for her replacement. The first solicitation for applicants was posted on May 6 and specified “Bachelor's degree required; minimum two years experience.” A revised posting on May 22 stated the requirements were “a minimum of two years of college in a comparable field, plus five or more years of supervisory experience preferred.” The starting annual salary was listed at $54,376.
The search netted five applicants, four of whom had either bachelor's or master's degrees. Ensley listed herself as a Harpeth High School graduate and cited among her experiences service as an administrative assistant at the University of Tennessee Extension and as deputy clerk of the Cheatham County Election Commission.
In presenting his report to the commissioners, Breedlove said, “There were enough allegations that concerned me” that he discussed them with the commission chairman and the county attorney. “I wanted to conduct an inquiry myself to learn what the facts were.”
To that end, he continued, “I interviewed everyone who is party to it - not just board members, but also employees, other past employees and other people who wanted to talk ... There were some problems that needed to be addressed or at least documented, and that's what I did [in the report].”
He said he had reached “no conclusions or opinions” on the original complaint. “I wanted you [commissioners] to be able to come to your own conclusions.” He went on to describe the solicitation and hiring process, noting the qualifications of the various applicants and observing what he saw as some inconsistencies, shortcomings and irregularities in the selection.
“It was a process that would make anybody stop and say there's something not right about it,” Breedlove continued. “What is this? Cronyism? Back door politics? This just didn't smell right. It didn't pass the smell test ... I know as a Commission there's probably nothing we can do about it. But I need everybody to know that this process that was done was not fair.”
Commissioner David Anderson, who serves Ashland City, spoke on behalf of the Library Board members, commending their work and integrity.
The Commissioners took no action on Breedlove's report but approved the slate of new and returning Library Board members.
Chair Jack Kapanka was replaced with Angela Sutton, member Jennifer Ensley was replaced with Judy Bell and member Joseph Combs with Clare Silliman.
The newly constituted Library Board of Trustees now consists of Marsha Hunt (chair), Susanne Buttrey (vice chair), Robert Perry, Anita Van Melle, Silliman, Bell and Sutton.
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