uring the January 14 school board meeting it was announced that Superintendent Greg Paes will be retiring.
Paes’s retirement was included in the Human Resources report. The board accepted the report as presented and pulled two items for discussion, which included the retirement of Paes and the hiring of a new financial director, Joanna Maddox.
Members of the board expressed thanks to Paes for his service to the Simpson County School District and acknowledged his efforts during the ongoing global pandemic.
The hire of Joanna Maddox was discussed in great length. Maddox was selected from a list of candidates who have applied to replace former financial director Duane Fewell. Paes explained that Maddox has been employed with the Simpson County School District and has a great understanding of the district’s finances. Human Resources Director Dr. Robert Sanders said the position was posted nationally and throughout the state.
Paes said he sent a summary of candidates that who were vying for the position, and there was no question that Maddox has the credentials and certification to do the job. Paes said, “She is one of only two candidates that applied with the credentials needed for the position, and we would be doing Simpson County School’s a disservice if we did not hire her.” Paes signed off on a 30 day interim, putting Maddox in the position temporarily pending board approval.
Board member Lilly Hardy expressed concerns about moving forward with the hire. Hardy made it clear that her concerns were not of Maddox’s abilities to do the job, but instead that the district would be moving too quickly in hiring Fewell’s replacement. Hardy said her concerns are that the school district is facing some other things that are not for public discussion.
Hardy said, “My concerns are, we have one of the highest positions in the district, and we have some situations we may be discussing at a later time. We need not be in a rush and should slow down. That doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t go the same way.”
Board President Danny Cowart reminded board members that the board only votes yes or no on the hire, and does not have the ability to tell Paes who to hire.
Paes said, “The board has to have faith in me doing my job, I work diligently to find the right people, and I wouldn’t put somebody in there that I didn’t think could do the job.”
Hardy again reiterated that her concerns were not about Maddox’s ability. She shed some light on the previously stated pending situation and said the business department is being audited. She said due to the pending results of the audit, she believed Maddox should continue in the position on an interim basis.
Member Stanley Bulger agreed, saying, “We don’t want to put her in a position that is difficult while going through an audit. We don’t want to put her in that position to be tainted in any way.” Bulger also believed that it should be on an interim basis until the audit findings are returned to the board.
The board approved the hire of Joanna Maddox as Finance Director with a majority vote. Lilly Hardy and Stan Bulger were opposed.
During the meeting the Board was also tasked with electing new officers for 2021 to the position of Board President, Vice President, and Secretary. After some discussion the board unanimously voted to keep the slate of existing officers.
An update on the COVID-19 situation in Simpson County was given by Judith Jones. Jones said the district was up to 167 positive cases which is on the higher side in comparison to similar size school districts. She stated that additional students had to quarantine this week, and that the Christmas and New Year’s break has led to an increase in positive cases.
Jones announced that K-12 educators are next on the list to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. She said the district is currently waiting to get clearance from the MS Department of Health, and Maxim Health Care has volunteered to administer the vaccine to educators. Jones said the Magee Urgent care has been cited as a potential location to administer the vaccine and the district will also have the option of setting up a vaccination location at the school. Board members will also be eligible for the vaccination.
Mid-year Benchmark data has been released. Debbie Davis explained that students initial scores in reading were a few points lower compared to last year, and the growth up to this point was also lower.
She said Magee Elementary and Magee Middle School are expected to score slightly higher than they did in 2019, and there has been a slight drop in scores for Mendenhall Elementary and Simpson Central. Scores for Mendenhall Jr. High remained the same.
In math the starting point was very low according to Davis, but all schools have shown growth. However they have not shown as much growth compared to last year’s data. She said Magee Middle School and Mendenhall Jr. High are expected to have more proficient students. All schools are except for Mendenhall Jr. High are at 50 percent growth for the year which is on track for 100 percent by the end of the year. Davis said, in comparison to other schools the Simpson County School District is performing well.
Hardy asked did the schools face any challenges in the number of students they were able to assess due to quarantine and complications from COVID-19. Davis said they were able to asses 99 percent of the students. Only a few homebound students and quarantined students were unable to be assessed.
Hardy also inquired about a comparison between virtual students and in class students’ performance on assessments. Davis was unable to provide an immediate comparison between the two, but plans to compile the data to show the results. However Davis said the students’ performance was typical of what the students have been able to do. Good virtual learners scored well and poor virtual learners not so well. The same results reflected for in class students.
The board entered executive session to discuss legal matters before adjourning the meeting.
