School board approves new principal for Pritchardville Elementary
Several months after the principal at Pritchardville Elementary School was placed on paid leave and resigned soon after, the Beaufort County Board of Education has approved a new principal.
Long-time educator Brenda Blue was approved unanimously by the board at its Tuesday night meeting.
The decision came out of an executive session and affirmed a recommendation from district administrators.
"She has a strong and diverse track record of leadership at successful schools and in successful school districts," Superintendent Jeffrey Moss said in a news release.
Blue began her education career 35 years ago as a teacher in Virginia and currently is a principal at Lucketts Elementary School in Leesburg, Va. She also served as an assistant principal, classroom teacher evaluator, elementary-level professional development coordinator and parental involvement and community outreach coordinator.
She will begin at Pritchardville in January when the second semester starts and be paid $94,754, according to chief administrative and human resources officer Alice Walton.
"A former colleague who now is in the Beaufort County School District was telling me about the great focus on science, engineering, math and technology in the district and those are all great things I'm involved in," Blue said by phone Tuesday night. "So it seemed to be a really good fit."
More than 45 people applied for the position. A screening team reviewed the applications and recommended six candidates for interviews.
A six-member committee -- a school parent leader, a teacher, a principal of a similar school, chief instructional services officer Dereck Rhoads, Walton and Moss -- then interviewed the recommended candidates.
Committee members then rated the candidates and called references
Blue's selection comes after former principal Charles Johnson was placed on paid administrative leave on Sept. 10 and resigned nine days later. The reason for Johnson's leave and resignation have never been made public by the school district. Officials have declined to comment, calling it a personnel matter.
Follow reporter Sarah Bowman on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Sarah.
Related content:
- Pritchardville Elementary principal resigns after nine days of administrative leave, September 19, 2013
- Pritchardville Elementary principal put on administrative leave, September 11, 2013
- District reviews hiring process after Hilton Head High teacher's license suspended, November 2, 2013
- School board committee recommends several programs for school choice, December 3, 2013
- School board decides to build two new schools in Bluffton, October 1, 2013
- School district one step closer to defining school choice for Beaufort County, November 30, 2013
This story was originally published December 10, 2013 at 12:39 PM with the headline "School board approves new principal for Pritchardville Elementary."