Marion County School Board President Larry Jenkins gave an update Monday night on the search for a new superintendent to replace current superintendent Wendy Bracey. The latter is retiring at the end of the school year on June 30.
“I would like to do some public information sharing,” Jenkins said about the update.
He reported that all of the stakeholders' meetings had been completed, including the anonymous surveys, and the Mississippi School Board Association has completed the interviews with potential candidates. The next step is for the board to have a special called meeting to hear from the school board association and proceed with its interview process.
Jenkins said board meetings are now available to be viewed via live-stream or at a later time and date on YouTube. The link to the meetings is available on the Marion County School District website. He said it was important for them to be transparent to the public.
“We need the support of the general public, but also we need the support of the public for the school system and the board,” Jenkins said.
Architect Lewis Griffin addressed the board about the HVAC upgrades at the four campuses. Currently, the upgrades are to be funded through the Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER).
Griffin said work should be done on all the schools collectively, instead of one school at a time. He said doing it this way will allow updates to be completed on all the buildings and not just some, and then realize the money run out. They were looking into replacing the HVAC units in the classrooms, and putting a better covering around the new units in the classrooms. He said because of the amount of work under the ESSER funds throughout the state, the estimates he provided Bracey are very rough. Minor electrical repairs will also be completed during the course of the work.
Griffin said the work would take between eight to nine months, but he will work with the administration to try to minimize the disruption as much as possible.
The board accepted the resignations of Rebekah Graves, Leila Guy, LaToya Staton Green and Evan Jones at East Marion Elementary; Jimmy Barr from East Marion High School and also as a bus driver; Maegan Green from West Marion Primary and Anthony Johnson seventh grade science teacher.
New hires approved include Kristie Singley, Dora Bedwell and Larry Holman as bus drivers; Willie Smith as cafeteria manager at East Marion; Carrie Pounds and Rebekah Regan at West Marion Primary; Austin Yelton and Humberto Futch at West Marion High; Karen Barnes as the community engagement coordinator with Save the Children and Hollie Miller at East Marion Elementary.
The board also approved eight fundraisers for the various schools and members reviewed several 16th Section bids before adjourning.
The next regularly scheduled meeting will be on June 14.
