LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
To the citizens of the Marshall County School District:
In the middle of the 2017-2018 school year, you elected Dr. Lela Hale as your superintendent of education. You elected her, not the school board or the board of supervisors. She was elected to complete the term of the outgoing superintendent which ends January 1, 2020. Because of a new law passed in Mississippi, the school board now must hire superintendents instead of them being elected by you, the people.
A group of people, mostly in the north end of the county, seem to want to replace Dr. Hale. The school board just voted to spend over $10,000 for a search for the next superintendent. This was $10,000 that could have been spent to fix some of the serious problems in our schools. The board could have simply hired Dr. Hale without spending this money.
Dr. Hale has a Ph.D. in education. She has worked tirelessly for the 26 months she has been our superintendent. She is a homegrown asset to this county and cares about our children. She has taught young children and was a college professor at Blue Mountain, teaching new teachers.
Our school problems took years of neglect to get this bad. There are no quick fixes. Dr. Hale has started us down a path that addresses these problems. A new superintendent would take months to get up to speed and delay progress again. This assumes that we could find someone as qualified that would take the job.
Soon you will be invited to a meeting to ask for your inputs into the qualifications you want in a new superintendent. If you believe we need a new superintendent, then by all means, do nothing. If you believe like I do, that we need to stick with Dr. Hale and give her a chance, speak up. Talk to your board member. Speak at board meetings. Make your voices heard. Use social media, talk to your neighbors and make phone calls. You may have lost the right to elect a superintendent but you can still have an impact on the future of the school district.
Sincerely.
Bob Barry,
Marshall County School Board,
District 2