Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District trustee Anne Stricklin submitted her letter of resignation Wednesday after forecasting her eventual departure last year.
Stricklin, who was appointed to the board months after Starkville and Oktibbeha County school districts merged in 2015, previously said she would serve until the conclusion of the academic year after the University of Florida hired her husband to lead its athletics department in 2016.
“It has been my sincere pleasure and honor to serve on the SOCSD school board,” she said in her letter of resignation. “I truly appreciate the opportunity to serve my city, county and my alma mater in this way. Starkville will always be my first home, and I wish you all the best as you move forward to put the needs of all of our children first.”
The incoming Starkville Board of Aldermen is expected to name a replacement next month to serve the remainder of Stricklin’s term, which expires in 2019.
The person assuming Stricklin’s seat will be the third new member to join the school board this year.
John Brown was sworn into office in January after he won the district’s first school board election following consolidation, and aldermen tapped Melissa Luckett to fill Jenny Turner’s seat in February.
Aldermen appoint three school board seats, while county voters decide the other two.
Before joining the school board, Stricklin, a SHS graduate, served as a member of the former city school district’s parent-teacher organizations, including stints as co-president of Sudduth and Overstreet schools’ PTOs and as president of the district-wide PTO’s executive committee.
During her school board tenure, she and fellow trustees worked toward establishing local revenue streams to fund the construction of a grades 6-7 partnership school with Mississippi State University.
“Anne was a valuable board member who cared passionately about our school district and her alma mater. She will certainly be missed,” said school board President Keith Coble.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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