STARKVILLE – With dirt work well underway for a new $100 million-plus Starkville High School, a new job could be on the horizon for Superintendent Tony McGee.
McGee has been named a finalist for the superintendent job at Baldwin County Public Schools in Alabama, Communications Coordinator Chasity Riddick told The Dispatch.
The potential move comes as Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District presses forward on the new high school’s construction, a project set to be funded by up to $127 million in bonds that will require a tax increase to pay back.
SOCSD Board President Sumner Davis expects the high school project to continue without interruption even if McGee is offered the job in Southwest Alabama.
“If for whatever reason Dr. McGee were to move on to another position, the project moves on,” Davis told The Dispatch on Wednesday. “There are multiple people in the district that are working on this project, and the continuity will be seamless. The project is not contingent upon Dr. McGee being our superintendent. … The mechanisms are in place, and the process is moving forward.”
Riddick said McGee is one of two finalists for the job, along with BCPS Assistant Superintendent for Security, Athletics and Student Services Marty McRae, who is currently serving as interim superintendent for the district.
The BCPS Board of Education will begin interviewing finalists Tuesday with plans to vote on a candidate during its July 16 meeting, Riddick said.
McGee, who did not respond to requests for comment from The Dispatch before press time Wednesday, was named superintendent for Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District in 2022, though he had previously been named a finalist for the position in 2017. Prior to joining SOCSD, McGee served as superintendent for the Scott County and Kosciusko school districts.
While he acknowledged the unfortunate timing, board member Wes Gordon said there’s really no good time to hire a superintendent.
“My opinion is, if we’re hiring people that aren’t sought after by anybody else, then we hired the wrong people,” he said. “… He’s the best superintendent in the state of Mississippi, and he’s had people come after him before. That’s what happens when you hire the best.”
Davis said McGee has been open with the SOCSD Board of Trustees about the “potential opportunity outside of the district.” Should McGee not be selected for the job, Davis said there will be no ill will from the board.
“Dr. McGee has done a tremendous job with our district, and we want Dr. McGee to be our superintendent for the foreseeable future,” he said. “There is no bad blood between the board (and) Dr. McGee.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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