As the Lexington County School District 1 Board of Trustees searches for a new superintendent to replace the outgoing Greg Little, it has sought community and parent input.
The board appointed the S.C. School Board Association to organize public forums and meetings with people within the schools. The district also used an online survey, which ended June 12.
Five community forums were held June 8 and 9 at Gilbert High, River Bluff High, White Knoll High, Lexington High and Pelion High. The forums welcomed small groups, with each meeting being attended by 13 or fewer people. The survey collected at least 2,000 opinions at last count, according to Judy LeGrand with the S.C. School Board Association.
LeGrandwas at the Lexington High forum June 9, among others. She explained that the association will continue to collect input via email. If anyone has input regarding the characteristics or experiences they wish to see in the new superintendent, they may email LeGrand at jlegrand@scsba.org by June 20.
The nationwide search will continue through June 27 when the application deadline ends. On July 12, the association will present an initial pool of candidates to the board. The pool will contain up to 10 people.
LeGrand said that on Aug. 2, the final pool will be presented to the school board, with interviews taking place through the end of August. By state law, there can be no less than three finalists.
According to the district website, they hope to announce the new superintendent by Sept. 1.
While the public forums were small, the opinions expressed seemed to echo from forum to forum, LeGrand said — for instance, attention to special needs classrooms and elementary schools being overlooked by the high schools was a common thread.
“We need someone with an open door policy willing to listen to people and the community,” Constance Flemming, a retired Lexington 1 teacher, said at the Lexington High forum.
Flemming also mentioned there are racial tension issues that need to be addressed, recalling an incident when the N-word  was written on a table. In a separate instance, she said an elementary student didn’t want to sit next to another student because of the color of thor skin.
“Fifty-one years later [after graduating from Lexington High], why is this still going on?” Flemming asked.
Another parent who wished to remain anonymous mentioned a bullying incident based upon the ethnicity of her child.
Another parent who wished to remain anonymous stated that the superintendent needs to understand that the board is the elected body making decisions and shouldn’t overstep their authority.
“Don’t let the superintendent sweep things under the rug,” she stated.
Lexington 1 parent Katie Jeffcoat mentioned the superintendent needs to pull things together. She also noted a need for equity among district schools, a bus driver shortage that needs attention and staffing issues, particularly in special needs classrooms.
Other traits that were mentioned as desirable included valuing support staff, humility, a strong personality and servant leadership.
Little announced that he would end his tenure as superintendent after six years in April. He is leaving to take on a leadership position with the S.C. Technical College System.
Lexington County School District 2 recently moved much quicker to fill its own superintendent vacancy, hiring Brenda Hafner earlier in June, less than a month after Nicolas Wade’s sudden resignation.
Gerrita Postlewait, former superintendent of the Charleston County School District, is serving as Lexington 1’s interim superintendent.