It was no surprise to learn last week that the McComb school board voted 3-2 not to renew the contract of its superintendent, Dr. Tiffany Hicks.
When nobody on the board would talk about the issue after its Jan. 31 meeting, that pretty much answered the question. Had the board decided to keep her on, someone would have announced that kind of good news, right?
But maybe the reason nobody wanted to talk about it is because the entire process, from hiring Hicks last year to not rehiring her this year, was embarrassing. There are some lessons to be learned, but I doubt that anyone will let them soak in.
First, I wish Hicks had laughed at the school board when it offered a one-year contract. No superintendent can reorient a school district in a single year. It’s a minimum of a three-year or more likely a five-year assignment.
I don’t know what Hicks’ job situation was in the Hazlehurst schools, where she was working before taking the McComb job, but a one-year offer was a no-confidence vote. It was a bet that she couldn’t or wouldn’t get anything of substance done, and the board majority could move on quickly if it wished.
You may disagree. You may say a one-year deal is a “show-me” strategy by the school board, with the goal of seeing how a new hire does before making a greater commitment.
I’m not an educator, but I can tell you how that goes. No superintendent can make big changes in one year.
A new superintendent is working with existing teachers, principals and administrators. He can’t just get rid of them; teachers are under contract, and if you’re going to remove an administrator, you need a good reason.
This gets at the next lesson: If the school board had questions or doubts about Hicks, then why offer her the job in the first place?
I don’t think it was a panic hire, as in, this is the only competent application we received. Minutes from closed board meetings in 2024 indicate the trustees discussed at least four people for the job. There surely were more applicants, and the trustees had help from the Mississippi School Boards Association in its search.
So the one-year offer, and the decision to move on from Hicks after just seven months of work (she will remain an employee of the school district through June 30), indicates the board majority was second-guessing itself right away. Maybe even from the day Hicks took the job.
When school board votes are split, Dr. Alvin Burks, Lynn Martin and Evelle Thomas-Dillon typically make up the majority. Angela Bates and Betsy Murrell are the two trustees most often on the losing side.
What happened with Hicks is that Martin voted to hire her. Then, last month, she voted not to offer a new contract.
For consistency’s sake, the Burks, Martin and Thomas-Dillon majority needs to stick together in the hunt for a new superintendent. No more switching sides, please. Find somebody qualified and give them the time to make a difference.
Maybe the big question is whether this episode will discourage capable leaders from applying for the job. Recent history is discouraging. The board majority fired Dr. Cederick Ellis even though he got the district from a D rating to a B (granted, after too many years of trying). Then it lost patience with Hicks after a ridiculously short period of time.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Education has had its people at almost every board meeting since August. They interviewed a bunch of trustees and employees last year. They think something’s amiss.
At the Feb. 10 school board meeting, a Memphis contractor who put in air conditioning units at several buildings and upgraded windows and facades at the high school told trustees he is owed $5 million, and has not been paid since September. He gently told them he was ready to sue.
What message does all this drama send to the employees and the public? That something’s gone wrong in the McComb School District.
Blame Hicks if you like —– the lady who worked for McComb for a whole seven months. But she didn’t have time make this mess.
