After more than 30 years in the education field and four years at the helm of the Richmond county school system, Dr. Cindy Goodman is stepping down.
The superintendent announced her Jan. 1 retirement to the Board of Education at Thursday night’s meeting.
“Through our partnership we have accomplished a lot,” she told board members. “Test scores have increased each year, attendance has improved, student suspensions are down, and based on the N.C. Teacher Working Conditions survey, teacher morale is up.”
Goodman also touted the transitioning of the county’s special needs students from Cordova School to “age-appropriate regular schools.”
“With the help of the county, we were able to repurpose Cordova into a beautiful facility to house the former Rohanen Middle School students,” she said.
School board Chairman Wiley Mabe called Goodman “an outstanding leader,” adding that she has maintained high expectations and created positive relationships.
“Under Dr. Goodman’s leadership, we have also strengthened relationships with our partners,” Mabe said in a statement. “We have developed positive ties with the County Commissioners, city governments, the judicial system, the sheriff’s department, local police departments, the department of Human Services, and Richmond Community College.
“We are grateful to Dr. Goodman for her service to Richmond County Schools,” he added.
Mabe said the board will first pick an interim superintendent, which will likely be someone from within the system, and have that person in place by the end of the year.
The next step will be to sit down as a board and decide “what we are looking for” in a superintendent including education, experience and other qualifications. The board will then begin the search based on that criteria.
Goodman was hired as superintendent in 2014, following the retirement of Dr. George Norris, who held the post for seven years. Before that, she had worked as a teacher, principal and assistant principal, before serving as assistant superintendent under Norris.
She is married to state Rep. Ken Goodman, D-Richmond, who was just re-elected to his fifth term in the North Carolina House of Representatives.
As for her future, Goodman says she has “no immediate plans.”
“I will take a little time to just take a deep breath,” she said. “Ken and I do want to travel some.”
