STARKVILLE — The interviews are done. Now, the five-member Starkville School District board of trustees must decide who’ll take the district from good to great.
Dr. Lewis Holloway and Dr. Michael McInnis met Starkville educators, parents and community members Monday night, starting the first public portion of the superintendent search since it began. Holloway and McInnis each led with a PowerPoint presentation highlighting their achievements and visions for the district, followed by a question-and-answer session with stakeholder-submitted questions. Both candidates met with teachers and community members following their presentations.
“I was real pleased with the turnout and the crowd,” said McInnis, superintendent of Union Public Schools. “The questions were well thought out. I was pleased and impressed.”
Absent from what was supposed to be a three-candidate field was Jackson County Assistant Superintendent Michael Van Winkle. Board President Keith Coble said Van Winkle called him at 8 a.m. Monday to say he’d withdrawn from consideration.
“He gave us some reasons, mostly having to do with personal matters,” Coble said of Van Winkle. “We’ll just leave it at. It kind of surprised us.”
Coble declined comment on whether each of the two semifinalists who didn’t make the cut — Starkville’s Walter Gonsoulin and Bay High’s Andy David Parker — were considered as last-minute replacements.
Gonsoulin said he didn’t hear about Van Winkle dropping out until the presentations started at 5:30 p.m.
They planned to meet at 10 a.m. today. Coble said Thursday, following the final round of semifinalist interviews, that the board would like to name a candidate by today.
The board would also have to negotiate contract terms. Former Superintendent Judy Couey, who resigned last spring, made $130,000 annually.
“You have to take it one step at a time in terms of how you’ll proceed,” Coble said.
Holloway earned more than $147,000 per year at Clarke County (Ga.) before moving to Bulloch County, a school district with about 3,000 less students. Holloway’s salary at Bulloch was not posted online, but his predecessor earned $139,000, according to gainformer.com. McInnis earns under $100,000 at Union Public Schools, which has slightly more than 1,000 students.
The candidates faced a range of questions from how they would handle public input to detailed questions about challenging students who aren’t at risk of failing and the possibility of giving teachers merit pay for superior test results.
“At this point, I’m not sure we’re ready to go that way,” McInnis of merit pay. “It creates animosity between teachers. You start comparing rosters for at-risk kids. Until we get a better determinant other than test scores, I don’t think we should.”
Holloway, who has more than 25 years experience as a superintendent, looked to be the more polished candidate. His presentation was precise, highlighting Bulloch’s construction of new elementary schools powered by more than $150 million generated through local option sales taxes. Holloway also highlighted individual student achievements from various grades.
“I felt good about my message tonight,” Holloway said. “I wasn’t confined to a set of questions, and I was able to convey who I am. I didn’t want to do that in a format where I was just talking about me, but what our district has been able to achieve altogether. It’s about your people, your students, your volunteers.”
Both candidates spoke at length about Starkville’s potential, its status as a successful district, the resources it has with Mississippi State University and a strong core of involved parents.
“Starkville has everything it needs to be a star district,” McInnis said.
Both candidates have ties to the Golden Triangle. Holloway’s wife, Karen, is a graduate of Mississippi University for Women. Holloway also has relatives in Columbus. Holloway holds a master’s degree from MSU.
McInnis took post-graduate classes at MSU.
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