Board Reconfigures School Leadership

At a special meeting Sept. 25, the Franklin County school board accepted the resignation of Principal Freddie Hargett, and made several administrative changes to accommodate his departure.

Hargett left last week, citing health reasons, to return to his wife in Huntsville, AL.

By unanimous consent, the board agreed to relocate Nick O'Grady, the district's director of curriculum and vocational education, as acting principal at the consolidated school. A former principal of both Apalachicola and Carrabelle high schools, O'Grady is one of the few district staffers with the state certification needed to oversee the entire school.

The day-to-day operation of the school will be in the hands of a handful of deans. Chris Crozier, who had taught special education, has been reassigned to handle discipline at the high school, while Nina Mark will continue to handle the duties of working with high school teachers and parents.

Eddie Joseph, who had overseen facilities, has been reassigned as dean of the middle school, while Deborah Huckeba remains in charge of the elementary school.

Chairman Jimmy Gander pressed the superintendent to find a permanent replacement for Hargett, and asked for a complete list of applicants by the time the superintendent steps down following the November general election. Jo Ann Gander said she expects it to take a minimum of two weeks, and likely much longer, to replace Hargett.

Jimmy Gander was critical of the administration's oversight of the new school's physical plant. "The wrestling room is atrocious. It's an embarrassment," he said. "If that's the way the field house is, I'd just as soon lock it up. Somebody needs to be assigned to keep that clean. A lot of things could be done that aren't being done."

He also said care must be taken to take care of the outside of the new consolidated school, and asked whether capital outlay funds could be sued for that purpose. "What's going to happen in three months when the grass is dead?" he asked. "Whose fault is that going to be."

Board Member Denise Butler noted "four classrooms that are uninhabitable."

The superintendent said she planned to step up custodian efforts to clean and maintain the new school. ""We're going to clean the building, from the entrance to the exit," she said.