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The Escambia County School Board met in a special session Tuesday morning to discuss filling some top positions in schools within the system.

During the meeting, Superintendent John Knott announced the placement of two new principals in the county.

“Randall Jackson will be stepping in as principal at Pollard-McCall Junior High School,” Knott said. “He has most recently served as assistant principal at Escambia County High School. He will certainly be an asset at Pollard-McCall.”

At W.S. Neal High School, students will see the return of Todd Williamson to the campus, but this time as the school’s principal.

“We are proud to have Todd take on the principal position at Neal High School,” Knott said. “He has served well in the position of director at the Career Tech Center and we believe he will do great things at W.S. Neal High School.”

Other personnel decisions were also approved during the special meeting including accepting resignations, transfers and employment of new staff for the system.

Following the special meeting, a workshop was held in order for the board to receive the names of the candidates hoping to land the position as superintendent for the system.

Michael Barber with the Alabama Association of School Boards presented a list of the final six candidates recommended for interviews in the coming weeks.

“There were 21 applicants for this position and we have narrowed that number to six,” Barber told the board. “We looked at surveys and your desires on what the superintendent would look like for your system to make the final determination and recommendation on the candidates for the position.”

Barber presented packets to board members including the resume, letter of application and reference materials on each candidate to the board.

“We had people from Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and even one from Okinawa that were interested in coming to Escambia County,” Barber said. “That is no surprise since you all have a wonderful way of making people feel at home. It’s been a pleasure to come to Escambia County.

Candidates recommended for consideration by AASB search committee members are:

• Gary K. Glass – a resident of Kinston, he currently serves as a principal in the Monroe County School system;

• Michele M. McClung – a resident of Mobile, she currently serves as director of teaching, learning and assessment for the Mobile County Public Schools Board of Education;

• Dr. Sandra Reid – a resident of Brewton, she currently serves as assistant superintendent for the Escambia County Board of Education;

• Wade Shipman – a resident of Tallassee, he currently serves as superintendent at the Tallassee City Board of Education;

• Dr. Barbarietta Turner – a resident of Monroeville, she currently serves as director of student services for the Monroe County Board of Education; and,

• Dr. Stephen “Clay” Webber – a resident of Albertville, he currently serves as a principal in the Marshall County Board of Education system.

Escambia County School Board members will be working in the coming days to determine an interview schedule for each of the candidates.