Jacksonville High School’s principal resigned last week, less than a year after he was hired.
Superintendent Mark Peterson said Bill Singleton officially resigned Friday to deal with a medical issue in his family. Singleton’s resignation came just a couple of weeks before the anniversary of his hiring, June 13.
Attempts to reach Singleton for comment Monday were unsuccessful.
Petersen said he’d already begun the search for a new high school principal and hopes to hire one by the end of July.
“We’ve posted the job and had quite a few applicants ... we’ve probably got 30 right now,” Petersen said. “I’d like to have a new principal as soon as possible.”
Petersen said Singleton met with him a few days before the resignation to discuss why he wouldn't return for the upcoming school year.
“I hate to see him go,” Petersen said. “He’s a class act and I think he did a great job.”
Jacksonville Board of Education President Marita Watson also said Singleton’s resignation was a loss for the system.
“I hate that he left,” Watson said. “I’m sorry to lose such a strong administrator.”
Singleton, a Dothan native, was hired last year after a months-long search, chosen from 11 candidates for the job. Before coming to Jacksonville, Singleton worked five years as the assistant principal at Rome High School in Rome, Ga.
During the school board’s regular Monday meeting, Ricky Whaley, agriculture business teacher at Jacksonville High, brought a petition from some faculty members supporting the promotion of Assistant Principal Erika Clark to be principal. Clark has worked at the high school as assistant principal for the last 14 years.
“Mrs. Clark is the kind of person that undertakes every task with determined enthusiasm and the result is always with the best interest of Jacksonville High School, our students and our staff in mind,” Whaley told the board. “She is most respected by the faculty, students, staff and members of the community as well.”
After the meeting, Petersen declined to comment about the petition and instead said he was currently reviewing applications.
Watson also didn’t comment on the petition after the meeting, but instead referred to a Facebook post she made on the issue over the weekend.
“Hiring a school system administrator, with the exception of the superintendent, is not our responsibility as school board members,” Watson wrote. “This task is the responsibility of the superintendent … it is important that the board of education does not supplant or overrule the administrator’s judgement about people being recommended for employment, unless there is solid evidence to the contrary.”
Staff writer Patrick McCreless: 256-235-3561. On Twitter @PMcCreless_Star.
