STARKVILLE — Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District has chosen its new superintendent.
Following a lengthy executive session Friday at The Mill at MSU Conference Center, the board of trustees unanimously chose Tony McGee, who is currently superintendent of Scott County School District. He will take the reins in Starkville on July 1.
“I’m excited and humbled all at the same time,” McGee said. “I think Starkville has always had a long tradition of excellence in education. There’s a great community base and great school system, and there’s a school board that I think really has the heart for boys and girls and doing the right thing for education. It has all of the potential to be one of the best school districts, if not the best school district, in the state of Mississippi.”
Wes Gordon, SOCSD board president, said the meetings and surveys conducted by search firm Hazard, Young, and Attea Associates weighed heavily in the board’s decision.
“(Those meetings and surveys) were the driving document on how we got to the final person,” Gordon said. “Of course you start with a bunch of people and you keep focusing in, but the way we got to the large group of candidates was the basis for moving forward. … Those focus groups and those answers from staff, faculty, parents, grandparents and community stakeholders, that was the basis of putting this whole search together.”
When considering the information collected from the surveys and meetings, the board valued central office experience, familiarity with SOCSD and leadership.
There were three finalists the board took into consideration before deciding on McGee. Michael Battle, who is the assistant superintendent of the Hattiesburg Public School District, and Melanie Nelson, who is the director of elementary programs for Biloxi Public Schools, were the other two final candidates.
McGee has 14 years of experience as a superintendent, previously serving in that role at Kosciusko School District. He has served for seven years in each district.
“In Kosciusko, we always held a high standard for academics, athletics and arts, so we had a community there that really held us to a standard of excellence,” McGee said. “In Scott County, we’ve been able to add early childhood education with pre-k, after school programs with the 21st Century Learning grant, courses like AP Physics and expand our dual credit and higher level courses for our students. We’ve been doing a lot of work expanding our facilities, so it’s been a lot of good work over the last 14 years.”
McGee holds a bachelor’s degree, as well as a doctorate in educational leadership, from Mississippi State University. He is ready to come back to Starkville and Oktibbeha County and to meet and serve the community in his new role.
“I’m looking forward to the excitement of getting (to Starkville) and meeting the community and staff, seeing the kids and their families,” McGee said. “I’d like to get to know their hopes and dreams for the school district and see what direction they aspire for the district to go into. I’m just excited about the opportunity.”
McGee will take over for Eddie Peasant, who is leaving the district June 30 after five years. McGee was among the finalists in 2017 when Peasant was hired.
Per Gordon, details of McGee’s contract, such as salary, are still being worked out and should be finalized Monday.
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