Newcomer named BOE chairman

LISA HOBBS – News Editor

Deciding who would oversee the Warren County Board of Education brought forth some tense moments during Thursday night’s session, but Monti Hillis was ultimately selected.

Nominated for the position of chairman by fellow board members were Matthew Brown and Hillis. He has served since 2024, while she was recently elected. It took three rounds of voting before a decision could be made between them.

Vote one: members Jarvis Johnson and James Hines voted for Hillis, who voted for herself, while members Chris Cope and Tommy Culwell voted for Brown, who voted for himself. A 3-3 tie.

“Let’s vote on that one more time,” said Cope, the outgoing chairman.

 Vote two provided the same result.

“Let’s vote one more time on that or do we need to move on,” Cope stated.

Director of Schools Dr. Grant Swallows replied, “You can’t move on. According to board policy this board will have to stay on this agenda item until a chairman is selected.”

During the third round, Cope and Culwell changed their nodes to Hillis, and all others remained the same. She won the spot with a 5-1 vote.

Cope questioned of Hillis, “Would you like to continue leading this meeting or you pick up next month?”

“Let’s start next month,” she replied.

Next on the agenda was selection of a vice chairman. Brown was nominated and unanimously approved.