Bobby Neighbors is back in a familiar chair, as he becomes Jefferson County’s interim superintendent
Published 5:46 pm Tuesday, May 13, 2014
- Jefferson County Board of Education member Oscar Mann, left, chats with new interim Supt. Bobby Neighbors before a special meeting of the board on Tuesday morning. It was Neighbors' first meeting after taking the appointment on Monday.
“Last Thursday, I was planting my garden.”
Dr. Bobby Neighbors joked about what he was doing when he suddenly got a call from the Jefferson County Board of Education.
Things changed quickly after that, as the board asked him to step in as interim superintendent of the system.
The appointment came the next day on a unanimous vote, and on Monday he was in his new office. And on Tuesday, he was sitting in on a special called JefCoEd meeting.
It’s a familiar post for Neighbors, who served as full-time superintendent from 2000 to 2003.
Neighbors will lead the Jefferson County Schools through June 30, until the board selects a permanent replacement for Dr. Stephen Nowlin, who served for 16 months before being ousted last week.
Neighbors led JefCoEd during the time it was under state takeover, because of unaccounted funds that put the system’s cash reserves below state-mandated minimums.
Neighbors’ contract calls for him to be paid $23,000, which is the maximum allowed for someone already drawing a pension through the state retirement system. (Nowlin was paid more than $18,300 a month as superintendent, and continues to draw that salary in a consulting role through the middle of 2015, under the terms of his departure.)
Parsons said that the board hopes to have a permanent superintendent in place by July 1.
In other business Tuesday, the board voted to declare a state of emergency for North Jefferson Middle School, after it suffered damage during the April 28 tornado in Kimberly.
The declaration will allow officials to move more quickly on getting the facility repaired, and precludes the requirement to advertise for bids on the repairs.
NJMS suffered heavy damage to its gym roof, which allowed heavy rains to enter and damage the floor.
Deputy Supt. Dr. Yancy Morris said that the entire floor will need to be replaced, and HVAC units that were in place over the media center will also have to be replaced.
The board also voted to retain Davis Architects to assist in the repairs. The firm originally designed the school, and has all as-built plans on file.
