Mayfield, Britton interview for superintendent’s job

The Russellville City School Board held interviews Friday for the superintendent position, which will be vacant once current superintendent Don Cox retires on March 31.

The school board conducted interviews with 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.

Mayfield, who was interviewed at 11 a.m., became the agri-science teacher at RHS in January of 1981 before being elevated to the assistant principal position in 1995 where he served for six years before becoming the principal of the school. Mayfield served as principal for seven years before accepting the administrative assistant position at the central office.

Britton, who was interviewed at 2 p.m., spent 21 years as the principal at Belgreen during which time he served as the president of the State Principal’s Association. After retiring from Belgreen, Britton became the principal of nearby Tishomingo County High School in Mississippi.

Mayfield told school board members that communication was his greatest strength and it was something he started cultivating during his time as an agri-science teacher.

“Part of my job then was to visit with the parents and keep up communication with them,” Mayfield said. “This carried over when I became the assistant principal and then the principal.

“It seemed to be pretty meaningful for a student to understand that I knew their parents and their parents knew me – not to scare them, but so they would know we would find a solution to whatever problem we were having together.”

He also said his background working in the school system, knowing the specifics about the system’s budget, and the ins-and-outs of specific details would make him a viable candidate to fill Cox’s shoes.

“This school system is special to me, and I just want to continue to help the system excel and provide the same opportunities for these kids that my children had when they went to school here.”

Britton echoed the fact that communication is important in the role of a superintendent, especially the superintendent at Russellville.

“I believe communication is the biggest problem between the schools and the community,” Britton said. “We need to let the community know we’re open and available to them.

Britton contended his 29 years as an administrator prepared him to lead the Russellville school system and said the skills and knowledge he gained over the years would help him be a good superintendent.

“I have worked with budgets in a k through 12 school setting and as president of the State Principal’s Association,” Britton said. “I don’t think I’ll have any problem translating that knowledge over to this system.

“I also understand the value of discipline and the value of building up the faculty and staff. During my time as an administrator, especially at Belgreen, I feel I was able to improve the overall quality of the program, and I would like to institute that here.

“I believe in the phrase, ‘Strive to be the best, then make the best even better.’ Russellville has a tradition of excellence and I want to build on that.”

One thing the new superintendent of Russellville City Schools will have to face is financial woes, a problem that has plagued the system for some time now.

Mayfield said he is familiar with they system’s financial issues through his job as an administrative assistant and said that knowledge would better equip him to make decisions as a superintendent.

“So far, we have utilized stimulus and jobs bill money to take care of both certified and non-certified employees, but as of Sept. 11, that money will be gone,” Mayfield said.

“Budgets are essential and I think it’s important to meet with each principal and say, ‘This is what we have.’

“I also think we need to look at each and every person at each school, look at the supplements, and make cuts where they’re necessary.”

Britton said he believed success starts at the bottom, so he believes core classes like reading and math should be preserved first.

“If cuts had to be made, I would look at classes that weren’t core classes first,” he said. “All other areas could be scaled back, but it’s important to preserve the core curriculum.

“Above all, we would have to make decision that were in the best interest of the children.”

School board president Jerry Groce said the board would make a decision between Mayfield and Britton in the next two weeks at the latest, but he said he hoped the board would have a decision within the next week.