BOARD NAMES DR. PERCY MACK NEW RICHLAND ONE SUPERINTENDENT

By a unanimous 7-0 vote, the Richland One Board of School Commissioners has named Dr. Percy Mack the district’s new superintendent.

Chairwoman Wendy Brawley released the following statement on behalf of the Board:

"On behalf of the Board of Commissioners of Richland County School District One, I am pleased to announce today (May 16, 2008) the appointment of Dr. Percy Mack as superintendent, effective July 1, 2008.

This Board action follows an extensive superintendent search conducted for the district by BWP and Associates, a search firm headquartered in Libertyville, Illinois. During this process, the Board received 59 completed applications, and the full Board conducted interviews with six candidates before naming three finalists. These finalists were invited to the district for a second round of interviews. The public had an opportunity to interact with the finalists at a reception on May 6.

While all three candidates were personally and professionally impressive, after careful deliberation, the Board has concluded Dr. Mack was best suited to lead our district.

Dr. Mack is a native of Savannah, Georgia, and has served as superintendent of the Dayton Public Schools in Dayton, Ohio, since 2002. Prior to his service in Dayton, he was an assistant superintendent in the DeKalb County School System in Decatur, Georgia. He also served that district as an area executive director, a coordinator of personnel, a high school principal and assistant principal, a teacher and a coach in Decatur. He began his teaching career in the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System.

His many accomplishments as superintendent of the Dayton Public Schools include moving the district from academic emergency status to continuous improvement status in just four years, a two-level jump in the state ratings.

In the interim, between now and July 1, 2008, Dr. Mack will be designated as Richland One’s superintendent-elect and will perform those duties mutually agreed upon by the Board and the superintendent-elect.

Today’s appointment is, of course, conditioned upon the mutual agreement to the terms of a written employment contract.

We welcome this appointment and Dr. Mack and his family to Columbia. The Board also expresses its appreciation to the Richland One staff and community for the support they have provided during this process."

Wendy Brawley, Chairwoman
Richland County School District One