GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Greene County Commission appointed George Frye to the school board seat vacated by Tom Cobble last month.

Frye was chosen from a field of six candidates during Monday night’s commission meeting. He will hold the District 2 seat for the remainder of Cobble’s term, which ends Aug. 31.

“I have been in the school system for 41 years as a career,” Frye said. “I have grandchildren coming out of the school system. My family worked in the school system. I have a vested interest in the school system. And I want to see the best for Greene County students.”

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Frye worked as a teacher, football coach, and principal at Chuckey-Doak High School.

He told News Channel 11 that he is looking forward to making decisions on important issues in the school system. Frye identified safety as the top issue.

“The budget is always an issue,” Frye said. “But I want to see our system improve. We’ve got CTE programs coming on. I think there’s a lot of improvement going to be made in the next few years, a lot of hard decisions.”

District 2 County Commissioner Josh Arrowood said he has known Frye from working in the school system.

“He has good leadership skills,” Arrowood said. “He did have quite a bit of support from the community. I had several contact me on his behalf. And that’s the most important thing, whoever we choose. And I wanted to make sure that they had the backing from the community.”

Arrowood said that as a county commissioner and an educator himself, he wanted a board member who would put students first and understand all aspects of the school system.

“You’ve also got to look at the parents and taxpayers and you need to look at the employees,” Arrowood said. “And, you know, Coach Frye, he’s been involved in all aspects. You know, he’s been there for the kids. He served as an employee of the school system and a taxpayer.”

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Cobble resigned in April, citing declining health in his resignation letter. However, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed that it was investigating allegations against him.

Earlier this month, Cobble pleaded guilty to official misconduct after engaging in “untoward activity” with students, according to District Attorney Dan Armstrong.

Cobble won the Republican primary and was set to appear on the ballot in the August general election, but due to his conviction, he is no longer eligible to hold public office.

The Republican Party will have until noon on June 22 to file the name of a new nominee.

Frye hopes to earn the nomination in a caucus that will take place in June.

Arrowood also made a motion during the commission meeting to hold off on voting until after the caucus next month, but it was voted down.

“So we would have known who the people of that district had actually gotten together and who they had chosen,” Arrowood said.

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