The East Tallahatchie School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday night, July 12, voted to uphold their previous decision to terminate the contract of first-year superintendent Marvell Hudson.
In a telephone interview Thursday afternoon, July 13, Hudson confirmed his receipt of a five-page document to that effect.
"I received a letter today from my attorney," he said. "They doubled down on the termination."
Hudson declined to share a copy of the letter with The Sun-Sentinel without first consulting his attorney, Carlos Moore of Grenada.
He did, however, say that the letter contained a board finding that "Good cause exists for Mr. Hudson's dismissal."
Weeks earlier, Hudson had appealed the board's June 8 action to terminate his two-year contract just weeks shy of the close of the first year.
Hudson, 53, labeled the board's stipulated reasons for letting him go as "subjective," calling them questions of a "he say, she say" nature. He said the list of accusations, observations and/or criticisms was set down both in his termination letter and again in this week's document.
Hudson has not made his termination letter public either, saying it contains the names and privileged information of some other school district employees.
To date, the school board has offered no public comment on the matter.
The board held a June 29 hearing on Hudson's appeal. Hudson, accompanied by Moore, made a roughly one-hour presentation to the five-member board, which said it would render its decision within 10 working days.
Thursday, July 13, was the 10th business day since that hearing.
Minutes after the appeal hearing, Hudson told a group of supporters that he would accept no less than a four-year contract to remain superintendent of East Tallahatchie schools, saying the challenges faced by the district would take more than a few years to overcome.
The district has named Dr. George Gilreath of Brandon as interim superintendent. His work in the district reportedly began in late June.
According to his profile on the social media network LinkedIn, Gilreath holds professional degrees in elementary education, teaching and educational leadership.
Gilreath reportedly is a stopgap hire and will assist the district in the search for a permanent superintendent, but details of his hiring have not been made public.
