County BOE delays contract renewal for superintendent

Published 7:32 pm Thursday, September 14, 2023

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Board to vote on renewal on Sept. 21 at Atmore Central Office

A vote to decide whether or not the contract extension for Escambia County Schools Superintendent Michele McClung was expected in today’s (Thursday) meeting.

However, with the item not on the agenda, the vote didn’t take place.

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Escambia County School Board President Danny Benjamin announced at the close of the meeting that the contract item, along with other items, would be on the agenda for a special called meeting set for Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. at the Atmore Central Office.

In the last meeting of the board, the vote to decide upon the renewal of McClung’s contract, which is set to expire in May 2024, was expected to take place Aug. 30 after Benjamin tabled the item following discussion by members about the vote.

During the Aug. 30 meeting, Benjamin said that without full support of the board to move forward with a vote on the contract matter, that tabling the matter would seem appropriate.

“It is wise to table and vote on Sept. 14,” Benjamin said. “But we don’t need to wait much longer. It would not be fair to this board or Ms. McClung to hold her in limbo. We all know what is at stake. Do we know how many counties want what we have? It is important that we do the right thing for the children of Escambia County.”

All meetings of the Escambia County School Board are open to the public. The Atmore Advance will update this story when action is taken in the matter.