The Vance County Board of Education has appointed Ronald E. Gregory as the next Superintendent of Schools for the Vance County Public School System.
Gregory has been serving as the Interim Superintendent of the school system since May 1.
He will be sworn into office by District Court Judge J. Henry Banks in a brief ceremony at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow in the school system’s Administrative Services Center. The public is invited to attend.
In the selection of a new superintendent, the Vance County Board of Education read and considered the community and staff survey responses, reviewed over 20 applications and supporting documentation, conducted extensive interviews and background and reference checks of the candidates and met to review and discuss all of the information collected.
“I am honored and humbled at the opportunity to serve the Vance County School System as Superintendent,” Gregory said. “I am looking forward to moving our school system to the next level.”
Margaret Ellis, chairperson of the Vance County Board of Education, says she looks forward to Gregory continuing to selflessly serve the students of Vance County, and bringing his documented enthusiasm, excitement and experience to his new role as the Superintendent of Vance County Schools.
The Board asks that the school system staff, parents, students and the entire community commit to support Gregory as he works to help children strive for and achieve excellence. Please join the Board of Education in congratulating Gregory on his appointment as the Superintendent of Vance County Schools.
This is the best news I have heard in awhile.
Henry-you must not get a lot of news!!! What a disgrace that the teachers, assistants,custodians,secretaries,librarians,maintenance, etc. have to be under the thumb of a 69 year old man that was accused of inappropriate actions per a former FEMALE school employee. The superintendent at that time recommended that he be relieved of his duties at the time but the School Board voted 4-3 to keep him. The lady that reported the actions of Gregory was awarded 75K after the EEOC said that her claims weren’t investigated enough. I wonder if that’s on his resume` when the interviews were conducted. I find it very hard to believe that he was the most qualified. I told you back over 1 week ago that the job was his and everything else was smoke & mirrors to make it look like a search. 2 years the schools will be worse off than they are now!! Guaranteed….and he will be sitting around drawing his FAT OLD PENSION. Where was oxendine? Thanks to Ruth Hartness for speaking the truth about the fact that after the interviews were conducted NOT ONE discussion as a Board as to who was best qualified. What the &%#@ is that about? Only N Hunnerson……just when you think you’ve seen it all…another governing body steps into IT again!! How bad do you feel for the students/staff?
“U R” said it right!!! What a joke. Nothing against age but how many years does a 69 year old have to work? Not many. He will not have time to implement any ideas or changes before he is set to retire. And his past record??!! I am so very glad my kids are out of VC Scholls, but feel so bad for the parents and kids and staff that have to put up with decisions like the school board made.
I give it two thimbs down!
Lest we forget, the Superintendent has time to fill 2 Asst. Superintendents spots before he retires with that fat pension. One has to wonder how much “HELP” he’ll get from the Board MembersMembers with those appointments.
So, we might want to think about voting out these sorry members and SOON! Just my opinion.
I am so embarassed to live here.
And yes, where was Oxendine?
We are appalled people continue to drudge up rumors from years — nay, decades — past to begrudge this man.
We are glad Mr. Gregory has been recognized for all the input he has given this county. Now, may we RAISE the standards and improve education in our impoverished area.
Was Gregory hired as a caretaker ? What political debts were used for his appointment ? What a dissapointment for the school system. No future for Vance County where some education is required to perform today’s jobs.I sincserly hope Board’s next hire is better.
no Gregory was hired as the “NORM” for Vance County. You scratch my back…I’ll scratch yours. Maybe he will take his hefty salary and loan some of his $$$ to the Testing Coordinator Ms. Brooks so she can pay her taxes. Then he can run over to the Flint Hill area and loan city council member Mrs. Peace-Jenkins some $$$ so she can pay her taxes on the properties that are delinquent. I wonder if she will ask the congregation this week to help out the Church and ‘pass the plate’ so that you will be blessed. What a joke for a council member!!! C’mon New Direction…can’t you get ‘puppets’ that can pay there taxes?
The “rumor” about Gregory’s sexual harassment of an employee is a FACT!! The fact was never acknowledged by Vance County schools administration. He was incompetent as a principal and was put in charge of facilities so that he couldn’t screw up anything else. He is a nice guy and learned from the “rumored” sexual harassment incident and got his act together. However, he is the last person I would have chosen. If this is the best supt. that Vance County can find; I am glad my children are out of school. Look for an explosion of charter school applications in Vance County now that the limit has been lifted. I am going to begin saving immediately so that I can send my grandchildren to private school if they are still living in Vance County when they begin school. Vance County is a joke; but you get the govt. u vote for. Why Vance county continues to elect people who don’t pay their taxes is the height of stupidity!! Keep on electing tax scofflaws and watch the county go further down the toilet.
It should be of no surprise that this looser has been put in charge of our county’s failed public school system.
Excellent editorial in today’s paper. The members of our scholl board should be ashamed of how this was handled. Thank you Mrs Hartness for questioning this choice because it is our tax money that paid to do a search when the man was already chosen.
It is pathetic to know that these people are the ones we trust to be in charge of educating our kids!
Now how does a superintendent(w/o a Doctorate Degree) talk to a high school science teacher who has his/her Doctorate? Talk about the carriage before the horse? WOW!! BOE you have made the idiots on the other governing bodies look like Albert Einstein!!
I took the survey the BOE offered at the behest of a friend. Guess my input was not taken to heart. I believe Vance County should have acted in a manor similar to Wake County and hired outside of the system, not from within. Besides, and please do not take this the wrong way, how much of a future does a 69 year old man have leading a system? I doubt the system can get a quality decades worth of work from him. The BOE will be spending thousands of more dollars in just a short while to find a new superintendant. I voted for Grissom.
Me thinks the School Board needs to be educated in hiring people. WE NEED NEW IDEAS not the same old Vance County way on education “It was good enough for me so why change.You can always get a job at the mill
In short, the majority of School Board Members did not care what taxpayers wanted in a new Superintendent. Pure and simple–Board Nullification. There is little if any common sense and forsightedness in that bunch.
Every one is wondering how Mr. Gregory could have beenselected as the new head of V C Schools . Simple- When people with limited intelligence are allowed to vote this is what you get
Along with limited intelligence add arrogance .
People should be celebrating the fact that the first Black Superintendant has been hired in Vance County. This should be reason for celebration rather than complaints. You say he is 69 but is that really your problem?
The real problems are so obvious. The position will need to be filled within the next year–would be my guess. He also doesn’t have a Doctorate, and there was a case of harassment which was settled . He kept his job and the School Board didn’t think that was any reason not to hire him as Superintendent. From what I hear, this was board nullification of more qualified applicants. Should I go on? Oh yes, won’t he be appointing asst. superintendents???
Henry the Eighth:
The last I checked the calendar says it’s 2011 and the best I can tell my generation was not raised during the Civil Rights era. Call me color blind. Citizens my age that I know do not make choices based on race like they did decades ago. I dont choose my friends because of what color their skin is, just like I dont vote for someone because of the same. I resent your post asking if people like myself believe the reason Ronald Gregory was chosen to be the leader because he was non-caucasion. Yep, I’m an average middle class white male. The truth is I could care less if a leader is black, white, asian, Indian, etc. I want the most qualified person to lead. I believe that person is not currently working in Vance County. It’s common sense for a struggling town to look elsewhere to bring in someone with a fresh perspective. Common sense tells me not to let my actions be based on race, I was raised that way. Why is it so tough for citizens like yourself?
Here is why it’s a poor choice: 1. He is 69 years old 2. I was a student at Eaton Johnson when the allegations occured which in turn disrupted our campus and sent shock waves across the entire school system. Whether he was right or wrong, that was a black-eye for our system. 3. He is under-educated i.e. he has no Ph.D. In this day and age a position like that should be staffed with someone who has climbed to this highest of educational plateaus.
Like I said, it’s 2011 and my generation was not born of the Civil Rights era. We believe in equality not just in race but gender as well. High time for folks to stop feeling sorry for themselves and realize the playing field is equal. All you have to do is 1. Dream it 2. Go out and get it.
No one is going to give it to you. The time for hand-outs is over, its time people began to earn for themselves.
Well Said Mr Mojo Rison.
What is this hangup about firsts? First black this, first female that, how about we begin the process of always hiring and recruiting what we need, based on experience and track record.
You do not have to have a Doctorate degree to be a Superintendant. Experience in the position is much more critical than having a doctorate. Miss Wallace had a Doctorate. What did you do with her? You had to buy her off for 100’s of thousands of dollars. But she had a doctorate. You haven’t even given him a chance. It shows the ignorance of the populace/
He made me a lieutenant on the South Henderson school patrol.
If someone had a Doctorate you could go as far as saying is the degree from Harvard, UNC, Pfeiffer, or the University of Watauga County Online. Where do you draw the line? A lot of degrees don’t mean anything if you don’t use them through practical experience during your lifetime. Experience is what matters. Age discrimination is against the law. Would you like to be discriminated against because you are 69? Sometimes I wonder how intelligent you people are. You just talk without rationalizing.
Henry:
Again, I believe someone who was best qualified for the position does not currently work in the VCSS. There are all kinds of candidates from all over the country with the experience needed to tackle this position. I do not care where a person gets their Ph.D. so long as they have it for this level of occupation. Having one shows that a person can be committed to a high level of thinking and can do so while being successful at the academic challenges they face. It also creates something that those working under them should respect. Now, dont tell me that I am saying someone with a degree is better than someone that does not have one. What I am saying is this; in certain occupations an advanced degree is neccessary. I believe this is one of those positions. So what if you dont think so Henry. We are all entitled to our opinion and should not have to worry about someone like yourself race-baiting and tossing out words like discrimination. Again, its 2011. Roll along Brotha!
Now, on to Ms. Wallace. Was she the OBE Superintendent? If so, I was in 4th grade when she came along so I did not have anything to do with that as you say. Yet I do recall my parents along with most everyone else’s that I knew attending meetings at E.M. Rollins to voice their concerns. What a travesty that was. But I am willing to guess who hired her…our local Board of Education. Were some of our current board members on the board when Wallace was hired? (Cash maybe??? Is he not the same board member who sent his kids to school in Granville County) This is another example of a poor move by our BOE.
Age discrimination? I almost laughed out loud when I your remark about that. It would be totally understandable if he was hired in the position at, say, 59 years of age and was still working at 69. But that is not the case. He assumed command of our tax-payer fed school system when most people are retired. Why did they not hire someone who could actually work the job for more than 10 years? That person would have the time to make the changes necessary to make our program better. We dont need to do things the same old way they’ve been done. That mentality is not working all over Vance County, not just in our schools. Discriminating I am not Henry, just using a good dose of common sense. Join me, wont you?
By the way, where the heck is South Henderson School? Never heard of it. Must have been long before my time. Vance County needs fresh ideas and a shot of youthful exhuberance, not someone who’s been doing things the same way for decades. It is those types of people who must move on for the sake of Vance County’s growth.
I do not concern myself with “First’s” I concern myself with “Best’s”. God Bless you Brother.
Vance County Schools sucks. The election of Ronald Gregory to be Superintendant was a ridiculous move. While my wife was laid off today after teaching for 26 years, these people in the Taj Mahal have nothing to worry about. They even created jobs for people at the TM. And they spent over $11000 on a search committee and didn’t even need to but could not let my wife at least finish 4 more years so she could get full retirement. We all know the sexual harassment that was allowed to go on by this man but he not only has his job but is now superintendant elected by once again a stupid Board of Education. Vance County will never progress because of the ignorance of the populace and they will never be convinced to make the smart move. They will be like our stupid President Obama and will just be led by fear and ignorance. You can get a local preacher to arrouse the people of Henderson and they will believe everything he says. That is how backwards this county is. Racism still exists in Vance County and it is more reverse discrimination than it is what is considered the norm. As long as the local Section 8 housing landlords continue to run Henderson and the Black preachers continue to spew ignorance into their congregation Henderson and Vance County will fall even further into a whirlpool of disaster.
Henry VIII, didn’t you post a few days ago that the new superintendent was a good choice? And if your wife taught in VCS for 26 years, she would have to have committed an atrocity for VCS to terminate her employment. Something is “fishy” about your story. If she was a TA then that’s a whole different issue. I fear that most of their positions will be cut. But we’ve known that might happen for months now. Losing our TA’s is going to create major problems for the K-3 classes as well as for the schools as a whole. Most people don’t even realize how many things the TA’s are asked to do.
Yes, UNC mom. If you are in the Arts field you are expendable. She received her pink slip Thursday. She has done nothing atrostic but since she has been teaching 26 years in an expendable field they can hire a new person at a lot less money. She taught at the same school for 24 years. She was like an icon at that school but Mr. Gregory has decided she is expendible.
I posted those other things just to get reaction out of people. That is not the way I really feel about this county. I tend to agree with you more than you know.
It seems that the only way to get people to post on here is to say something to get them riled up. So that is what I do. And it seems to work. But now I will probably have to get off the internet as we will not be able to afford it. You dedicate 26 years of your life to a county and they end up saying your position has been eliminated. You don’t know what goes on behind those closed doors at the central office or boe office. The unnecessary jobs at the central office are protected while the people on the front line trying to educate the children are the first to go. While we had a super and two assistants making a combined $375,000 these positions were necessary. In case the super goes to play golf the one assistant caddies for him and the other gets to play super for a day. I’m sure the teachers teaching english as a Second language are retained because we have to adapt to the Spanish language rather than them adapting to ours. And the illegals are getting a free education so we must keep them educated.
I don’t think riling people up is the way to get people to post. I do wish the best for you and yours.
Henry VIII:
If what you are posting is true than I too hope for nothing but the best to come out of this mess for you and your family. Discourse can become heated when those debating are passionate about the issues at hand. I suppose you were doing nothing more than adding to the original prompt and perhaps playing a bit of devils advocate. Anyways, hope things get brighter in your camp soon.
Not only is it true Mr.Rison, if you went to the elementary school that you have mentioned previously my wife has probably taught you too.
I am a Republican and very disturbed at our county politics and the stupid president of the USA. However, the Republicans in the State of NC have gone a little too far in cutting education. My wife is very well known by students of West Henderson as she has probably taught half of them. It seems that our new superintendant who should have been fired a long time ago should be the one dismissed. Yes, he and Fred Owen were my principal and assistant principal at South Henderson school. They treated Mr. Owen like dirt and basically forced him to leave. This man has been documented with sexual harassment and should have been fired a long time ago. But the School Board is 3-2. So you go figure it out. My wife did nothing to deserve this punishment. But what goes around comes around and I can make the promise that I will make it my personal vendetta to damage their reputation any way I can.
A Vance County Schools spokesperson, ie Terri Hedrick, on WIZS today before the 5 pm news during her regular VCS update program mentioned that there might be one or two changes in principals– Mrs. Harris would be leaving Sept. 1st–after 30 years. Is Gregory getting ready to move some principal to Central Office?
UPDATE!!! My wife called the NCAE today to explain the situation and they said they could absolutely not lay her off because of her status. VCS sent an email saying she would retain her job at the same school. The question is can she go back to the principal and assistant principal who chose her to be laid off, not to mention the other teachers who gave input on who to choose. She will seek further employment but she may have to go back and face the same people who selected her to leave. What they did was illegal!
So in essence our new Superintendant evidently didn’t ask the school lawyer about the rule of law. And this and the BOE is what we have running VCS. Now my wife has to go back to the same school where the principal and assistant principal chose her to be laid off. If the stupid people at the central office had done their job correctly this resentment situation would not exist. And then there is the possibility of backlash. But this is against the law and I know that for a fact. So any attempt at this will cause me to take action.
Henry the 8th, may I suggest you walk lightly on this subject now that your wife has been hired back. In this day of ‘facebooking, blogs, and website such as HiH, They(the schoolsystem) could do some checking and see how you are talking about the school system and use it against you and especially your wife and find other means to terminate her. You are in fact talking about her employer, who is a school system and she now(again) represents the school system. Big companies and systems can ‘twist’ things around for their advantage because they have really deep pockets. You have already given too much info in to who this person was that got laid off.
But I do share your frustration in this matter. The VCS system was dumb to do this. I only thank my lucky stars that my kids are out of VCS!!!