Calhoun County Residents Weigh In On The Search For School District’s Next Superintendent

CALHOUN CITY, Miss. (WCBI)- The search continues for the next Calhoun County School District superintendent.

On Thursday, the community came together to add their input in the district’s next leader.

The goal of the meeting was to allow concerned parents and residents come out and discuss the criteria and qualifications they want see in their next superintendent.

During the meeting, some of the traits people expressed that they’re looking for includes someone who’s a forward thinker, someone that’s going to show transparency, and that’s going to focus on the district as a whole.

Everyone in attendance had the chance to speak with members with the Mississippi School Boards Association, the organization hired to help the school board with its search.

Once everything wrapped up, the MSBA gathered all of the information and reported it back to the Calhoun County School Board.

From there, the board is expected to take the information from the meeting, compare it to the candidate that matches the criteria that residents want to see, then use that to pick their candidate.

“You’ve got to have your next superintendent fit with the community and the schools within the communities,” said Dr. Michael Waldrop, executive director with the Mississippi School Boards Association. “If you don’t know what the stake-holders desire in the leader, it’s a hit or miss thing, so by bringing them to the table and letting them discuss the characteristics, the traits, the priorities of the new superintendent, or what the priority should be, it gives the board a better understanding of what to seek when they go out and start interviewing these candidates.”

The district’s previous superintendent, Mike Moore, resigned from the position in December.

You may remember it was last school year when Moore, along with Bruce High School Principal Michael Gillespie, were charged with failing to report an alleged sex crime.

Their probable cause hearing was set to take place in February but ended up being delayed because the prosecutor in the case also serves as a public defender in Calhoun County.

No timeline has been set for when a new prosecutor will be appointed.