Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Board of Trustees President Jenny Turner said she has not yet decided between seeking a second term on the school board or stepping away from her seat, which expires in March.
Her seat is one of three appointed by Starkville aldermen, and the board is expected to set Feb. 15 as the deadline for public letters of interest for the position during Tuesday’s 5:30 p.m. meeting.
Turner, whose son will graduate from Starkville High School this May, first hinted at her potential departure in September when SOCSD Trustee Anne Stricklin said she would stay in her position through the new year after her husband, Scott, was selected as the University of Florida’s athletic director.
Turner confirmed Monday she still has not made a decision about her school board future and will continue debating the issue as February approaches.
Stricklin reaffirmed Monday the stance she took last year on her seat: She’s likely to remain with the school board through May, when her own children will finish the academic year, and move to Florida permanently with her husband.
Stricklin’s departure is guaranteed. And if Turner walks away from her seat, the school board will have three new faces guiding SOCSD’s educational efforts.
John Brown became the first elected school board trustee since the state merged the city and county school districts in 2015. He avoided a runoff election by securing 53.9 percent of the three-person race’s vote, beating second-place finisher Jamila Taylor by almost 2,150 votes.
Brown, who has served as a parole and probation officer for the state, replaces former school board President Eddie Myles. He assumes his elected seat this month.
Listening sessions scheduled
SOCSD stakeholders — parents and employees — will have opportunities next week to share their opinions and visions about the ongoing superintendent search next week.
The district will hold listening sessions for the public at West Elementary School (6 p.m. Jan. 9), the Greensboro Center (6 p.m. Jan. 10) and East Elementary School (5:30 p.m. Jan. 11), while other sessions are scheduled for SOCSD elementary faculty and staff (4 p.m. Jan. 9 at the Henderson Ward Stewart Cafeteria), middle and high school faculty and staff (4:15 p.m. Jan. 10 at the Greensboro Center Auditorium) and administers and directors (9 a.m. Jan. 11 at the Greensboro Center).
The search firm hired by the school board — McPherson & Jacobson LLC, of Nebraska — will administer the listening sessions.
Applications are due Feb. 7, then trustees will develop a list of interviewees. Those interviews are expected to begin at the end of February, and a hire could be made in early spring.
Last year, SOCSD Superintendent Lewis Holloway announced he would retire at the end of June, before the start of the school district’s fiscal year.
Holloway joined Starkville School District in 2012 before it absorbed Oktibbeha County School District.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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