First-year East Tallahatchie School District Superintendent Johnnie L. Vick says his decision to step down at the close of the school year June 30 is “based completely on family issues.”
“Under normal circumstances, I would certainly be returning,” he noted in a May 2 email to The Sun-Sentinel.
Vick, 56, is in the midst of a two-year contract paying him a base of $97,000.
He said he informed the school board in March of his decision to not return.
ETSD Board of Trustees President Darrell Neal last Thursday declined to comment on Vick’s leaving, his tenure with the district or any plans the school board might be making for his successor.
“I don’t have a comment today, but after the next board meeting I promise you we’ll send you something,” Neal noted.
Neal would neither confirm nor deny reports that the board has made a decision on who will serve as the next superintendent.
“After the board meeting, we’ll send you a statement,” he reiterated.
The five-member school board next meets in regular session on the evening of May 12 at the district office in Charleston.
Vick said he has “tremendously enjoyed” his time as ETSD superintendent.
“Charleston is simply a great community with people that go out of their way to show true Southern hospitality,” he noted.
While thanking the board for the opportunity, Vick said the district has an aptitude for success.
“There is no question that the district has a huge potential with the teachers, staff and students we have in the district,” he added.
Vick, a native of Smithdale in southwest Mississippi, assumed the district’s chief administrative post on July 1, 2021. He succeeded Ruleville native Dr. Darron Edwards, who left the district after three years at the helm.
The district employed the Mississippi School Boards Association Superintendent Search Service to oversee the hunt for Edwards’ replacement, drawing 13 applicants.
From that pool of candidates, the school board pared down the list to four finalists, who were then interviewed for the post.
Vick reportedly was the only 2021 finalist with experience as a school superintendent.
Late in the search process last year, then ETSD Board of Trustees President Bryant Watson said the district hoped to gain continuity in leadership from whoever was named the new superintendent, citing stability at the top as a contributing factor to school success.
“The school districts that you know are the most formidable are the ones that have an in-place superintendent for years and years and years,” Bryant noted. “That’s kind of my hope, that we will get one and have one around for a good fit for a long time.”
