The Columbus Municipal School District Board of Trustees on Thursday rescinded a decision made in February to appoint two interim superintendents and instead appointed just one.
During executive session, the board unanimously appointed Assistant Superintendent Craig Chapman to be the sole interim superintendent once Dennis Dupree’s contract ends March 19.
Dupree was appointed the interim superintendent after the abrupt resignation of former Superintendent Cherie Labat in August. He took over at the beginning of September, and his contract was for 117 days, which will end March 19, CMSD Public Information Officer Mary Pollitz told The Dispatch.
Because Dupree came out of retirement to work in the position, his contract could not be extended until a permanent superintendent was hired because PERS (the Public Employees Retirement System) limits the number of days he can work.
In March, the board named both assistant superintendents Chapman and Shernise Wilson as interim superintendents set to take the helm together on March 20. Chapman was going to handle operations and support services, and Wilson was set to handle curriculum, as they both currently do.
However, after a 40-minute executive session, in which the board also discussed a student matter, all five board members agreed to solely appoint Chapman.
While board president Telisa Young could not divulge why Chapman was chosen as it was a personnel matter, Board Attorney Chris Hemphill said appointing only one seemed like the best interpretation of the law.
“We looked at the law, and we can’t really appoint two superintendents,” Hemphill told The Dispatch. “The law says, ‘Appoint a superintendent,’ and in looking at it and interpreting it, we said that’s just one. We felt like we just needed to have one point of contact as the superintendent.”
Chapman will begin in his role as interim superintendent on March 20 and will serve until June 30 or until a new superintendent is hired.
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