Florence School District 3 hires two principals, moves one

LAKE CITY — Florence School District 3’s Board of Trustees has voted to name new principals at J.C. Lynch Elementary School and Ronald E. McNair Middle School.

Ronald E. McNair Middle School Principal David Laws, meanwhile, will become co-principals at J. Paul Truluck Middle School with Kat Tisdale, who had been that school’s sole principal.

District Superintendent Beth Wright said she decided to make the changes after Lake City Elementary and Ronald E. McNair Middle were named to the state’s Palmetto Priority program.

The program is aimed at assisting schools that haven’t met student-learning goals set by the South Carolina Education Accountability Act of 1998, according to the South Carolina Department of Education.

The board voted 6-3 on June 30 for Franklin Foster to become the new J.C. Lynch Elementary School principal and Margie Myers to serve as Ronald E. McNair Middle’s principal.

Foster, who began his career in education 13 years ago, had served as principal since 2005 at Harbison West Elementary School in Lexington/Richland School District 5. Myers, with 24 years in education, was principal of Kingstree Junior High School for the past three years.

Voting to offer the principals’ contracts were board Chairman Richard Cook and board members David Eaddy, the Rev. Martin Jackson, Patsy McCutcheon, Kimberly Sims and Dianne Smith. Opposed were Vice Chairman Bernard McIntosh as well as board members Gracie Hannah and Paula Morris.

Before the vote, McIntosh asked when the district had advertised for a principal at Ronald E. McNair.

“So we don’t have to advertise for positions for Palmetto Priority schools, is that what you’re saying?” he asked Wright.

District counsel Andrea White said after Tuesday’s meeting that no state or federal law requires advertising for vacancies. She said the district’s policy in this case is only that no employee can be hired without an interview, checks of references and background, and a board vote.

After the meeting, Wright said state Superintendent of Education Jim Rex “outlined very clearly” that superintendents can remove and reassign principals for Palmetto Priority schools, she said.

The board had previously considered an extended school year calendar after the schools were named to the Palmetto Priority program.

During public comments, Terrie G. Bryant, whose daughter attends Ronald E. McNair Middle, asked why Laws would be moved when the schools’ standardized test scores have showed gains.

Bryant said she has a daughter who will enter eighth grade this fall at Ronald E. McNair Middle.

“I have seen my child grow with Dr. Laws as the principal, and I know (Laws) is doing a good job,” she said.

“Is this a plan or a reaction to a failed plan?” she asked the board, referring to the extended calendar.

In terms of their numerical absolute ratings, Ronald E. McNair Middle suffered a drop recently, while Kingstree Junior High’s figures have risen in recent years, Wright said. Those ratings determine whether a school enters the Palmetto Priority program, she said.

Wright said she can’t take the chance of Ronald E. McNair Middle’s rating dropping any further, which would place it in the state’s Turnaround Schools program, an extension of Palmetto Priority.

Both schools have received absolute ratings of “At-Risk” on the past three years’ School Report Cards from the state.

The district is working on an overall middle school improvement plan to ensure that no other schools enter the Palmetto Priority program, Wright said last week.

It has formed a Middle School Improvement Leadership Team and a similar elementary school team, each led by a pair of the district’s senior directors. The middle school team consists of Laura Hickson, who is over accountability, and Yvonne Scott, who is in charge of student services.

A similar team for Lake City and Main Street elementary schools will be led by Barbara Woodbury, senior director of instruction, and Dianne Oliver, senior director of academic improvement.

The original plan for Ronald E. McNair Middle, before Myers was hired, was for Hickson and Scott to serve as principal leaders there while maintaining their duties with the district office.

Wright has emphasized the changes made are not a demotion for anyone.

Other plans include an optional 10-day mini-camp before the school year begins for Lake City Elementary School students. The camp, open to all students at the school, is encouraged for children not performing up to standards, Wright said.

It is being funded by federal stimulus and technical assistance funds, she said.

The camp aims to improve children’s reading and writing skills through activities such as a dramatic play, Wright said. Students will learn to develop characters and write and perform the play, and they’ll also deal with numbers as they measure costumes, she said.

“It makes math real,” she said.

In addition, the district’s Countdown to Kindergarten program, for children going from 4K to 5K, will focus on Lake City Elementary this coming year, when its enrollment will consist entirely of students from that school, Wright said.

In other business during the June 30 meeting, the board:

• Voted 8-1 after an executive session to deny an employee’s request for a hearing before the board, with Morris voting against the motion to deny; Wright said the request was discretionary and not required by statute to be heard.
  
• Heard from district Food Service Supervisor Don Navorska, who gave a report on $23,500 in federal stimulus funds used to buy more efficient equipment to produce healthier food.
  
• Voted 8-1 to approve a parent’s request for home instruction of a rising fourth grader in the district; McIntosh voted against the motion.