HAMLET – The Richmond County Schools Board of Education held a meeting Monday evening at its central office location at 118 Vance Street.
Board chairman Wiley Mabe led the called meeting and was joined by vice chairwoman Bobbie Sue Ormsby, and Board members Dr. Irene Aiken, Jerry Ethridge, Don Greene, Joe Richardson and Ronald Tillman. Also in attendance were RCS Superintendent Dr. Cindy Goodman, Associate Superintendent Dr. Jeff Maples and Human Resource Director Dr. Julian Carter.
The meeting was brief, lasting approximately five minutes start to finish. But the purpose was clear: to approve 54 personnel changes before the district is set to start classes on Monday, August 28, 2017.
Of the total, 27 members of the personnel report are classified as “new hires,” meaning they are new to the district. Many on this list are fulfilling classroom teacher needs, but also included teaching and child nutritionist assistants. Richmond Senior High School topped this category with eight new hires, with Rockingham Middle School not far behind with five.
The district’s personnel report also called for the approval of three administrative positions, 10 transfers and 10 resignations. The most notable transfer would be Rockingham Middle’s assistant principal Jennifer Brach, who, if approved, would take over as the Director of Testing and Accountability at Central Office effective Sept. 16, 2017.
Dr. Carter, who presented the list of changes to the Board, acknowledged that the district is going through some transitions, but is certain that RCS is in a good place regarding filling vacant positions.
“We won’t know the total number of spots we’ll need to fill until the first 10 days of school are finished,” Carter said. “We believe it will be about six spots.”
With teachers across the County reporting for their first day of in-service on Monday, Dr. Goodman is upbeat about the upcoming school year.
“We are really pleased with all of our new hires,” Goodman said. “As school begins soon, we want to get these changes approved so our employees can make the necessary changes. We’ve got a good group of teachers (across the district) this year, and I’m certain we’ll be successful.”
The Board unanimously voted to send the personnel report to be approved. For more information, please contact RCS at (910) 582-5860.