Del Phillips is officially headed to Tennessee.
The Sumner County, Tenn., school board voted Monday night to OK a four-year contract with the Columbus school superintendent, a Tennessee news outlet reported.
The Hendersonville Star News said that the Sumner County board unanimously approved a four-year contract with Phillips, 39, at a salary of $178,500 annually.
The contract includes incentives for improving test scores and cutting costs in the district, which is located outside Nashville, and a $4,500 moving stipend.
Phillips begins work June 13, the newspaper reported.
Phillips was in Sumner County over the weekend negotiating his contract with Sumner County”s school board president.
“What attracted me was the quality of life there,” Phillips said in a phone interview with the newspaper. “Everyone I asked gave rave reviews about the schools, the principals and the teachers. I”m really excited about getting there and getting to know people in the community.”
Phillips is credited with innovative advances in the Columbus Municipal School District.
Phillips, who took over as superintendent of the Columbus Municipal School District in June 2007, instituted magnet school programs at each of the city”s elementary schools and the International Baccalaureate program at Columbus High School. He also guided the passage of a $22 million school bond issue which led to creation of Columbus Middle School, which opened earlier this year.
From the time he arrived in Columbus, Phillips had been clear about his higher aspirations. Last year he was considered a finalist for the Mississippi state superintendent post.
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