Emotions were high Monday afternoon at Columbus Middle School as colleagues, supporters, friends and family gathered to pay tribute and say goodbye to Dr. Del Phillips, former superintendent of the Columbus Municipal School District.
Phillips resigned in April in order to accept a position as director of schools for the Sumner County School System in Gallatin, Tenn. His last day at the central office will be June 11.
He joked at his farewell reception that if he had his way, he would have quietly slipped out the back door, gotten in his red truck, and left without fanfare, but then he became serious.
“This is not goodbye for me,” Phillips said. “All the friendships I”ve made here are going to continue.”
Each of the school board”s members spoke, their voices thick with emotion as they talked about what Phillips has meant to the district and their memories of working with him. Many recalled the night they interviewed him for the superintendent”s position four years ago.
“There was just no question,” board member Alma Turner told the audience. “He was just so far ahead of the others.”
She said his forward-thinking style kept him — and the board — always working “outside the box” as they implemented sweeping changes across the system, from the magnet schools to the International Baccalaureate program, to a $26 million bond issue, which funded the new Columbus Middle School.
“This board prayed a lot when he was outside that box,” Turner said, laughing.
Mayor Robert Smith said many nights, as he worked late in his office, he would hear a knock on his door and it would be Phillips, wanting to talk about the schools, wanting to talk about the children, wanting to talk about the future.
“I”ve never met a man like him,” Smith said. “He reminds me of a snake oil salesman. He can sell anyone anything.”
And what Phillips sold was the Columbus Municipal School District, Smith said. Over and over, he pushed the vision, convincing others to buy into it.
Col. Barre Seguin, 14th Flying Training Wing commander at Columbus Air Force Base, said Phillips sold CAFB on the quality of the city schools, and in turn, the base sold recruits and their families on the quality of life in Columbus.
“I had never seen such innovation,” Seguin said. “The IB program, the magnet schools … he made it a part of the way we educate our students.”
In doing so, Seguin said, Phillips also became a part of the history of Columbus Air Force Base.
Phillips credited the school board, administrators, faculty, students, and community for his success. He said while many school boards would have backed down on his initiatives, CMSD fully supported him.
“All the people that did the work are still here,” he said. “The best days are ahead of this district. Keep doing things that are good for the children and you”ll always come out on the right end.”
As Phillips heads to Tennessee, the school board continues to search for a new superintendent. Dr. Martha Liddell has been named as interim superintendent until a replacement can be found.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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