Superintendent search narrowed to two
Only two candidates remain on the list to become Russellville’s next superintendent of education.
Former Russellville High School principal and current city schools administrative assistant Rex Mayfield and former Belgreen High School and current Tishomingo County, Miss., High School principal Eddie Britton will both interview for the job this week.
School board president Jerry Groce said a third candidate, Ashville High School principal Jason Baker, notified officials Monday afternoon that he would be withdrawing from consideration for the position.
The school board received 14 applications from candidates across the region and narrowed the list to three on Friday.
Groce said the board was pleased with the overall response they received and are happy to have the two candidates remaining.
“We looked at the applicant pool and hoped to find someone with administrative experience,” Groce said. “It just so happened that these two candidates are from this area. We did not just focus on them.”
The interviews are open to the public and Groce said he welcomes anyone that may be interested to attend.
Mayfield will interview with the full school board at 9 a.m. Thursday. Britton will interview at 2 p.m.
The interviews will be held in the board meeting room at the Russellville city schools central office.
Mayfield was a longtime Agri-science teacher at RHS before being elevated to assistant principal and then on to principal before moving to the central office. Britton spent many years as the principal at Belgreen. He retired from there and became principal of nearby Tishomingo County, Miss., High School.
The position became open when Superintendent Don Cox announced his retirement last fall. He is scheduled to work through March 31.
Groce said the board hopes to name a successor at the Feb. 24 school board meeting.
“We would like for the new superintendent to be able to work with Mr. Cox for a few weeks before he leaves office to help in the transition period,” he said.
Cox was Russellville’s head football coach and assistant principal for 15 years before being named the school’s principal in 1995. He spent five years there and then moved to the central office in 2000. He was named superintendent in 2008.
“With a community like Russellville, this is a very important hire,” Groce said.
