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Marion County School Board approves administrative personnel moves as members press for staffing plan
Summary
The Marion County School Board unanimously approved administrative personnel items for 2024–25 while pressing district leaders for clearer staffing plans to avoid pulling teachers from classrooms during testing.
The Marion County School Board unanimously approved administrative personnel items for the 2024–25 fiscal year at its Feb. 11 meeting, a package that included internal promotions to principal and one external resignation.
Board members used the discussion period to press district leaders about a recent wave of assistant principal turnover and how filling vacancies could affect classroom coverage during state testing windows. Board Member (Rev.) Eric Cummings and Board Member Lisonbee Campbell both asked whether postings and hires could be staged to avoid taking teachers from classrooms in the weeks before tests.
Dr. Diane Gullett, superintendent, said the district will prioritize keeping instructional staff in schools and that central-office academic positions that would “adversely impact schools” will not be replaced until after the current budget cycle. “The focus will be schools,” Gullett said, adding the district has been meeting with academic, HR and finance teams to coordinate hiring and site-based budgeting changes.
Several board members noted that most of the assistant principals being moved are being promoted internally to principal positions and that internal advancement is a district goal. Members asked for clearer advance notice when resignations or vacancies occur; one board member said some notifications previously arrived only via the board packet rather than direct communication.
The board voted 5–0 to approve the administrative personnel items. No individual vote tallies were recorded in the public minutes beyond the unanimous outcome.
Board members also set an internal timeline of roughly four to six weeks for completing the superintendent evaluation process and discussed the need for a clearer calendar and earlier communications to staff about staffing changes.
The discussion will continue at upcoming work sessions and in meetings between the superintendent and board members to finalize how vacancies will be posted and filled during the spring testing period.
