Dr. Estess Taplin will take the reins of the South Pike School District on Monday — two weeks into the new school year — following the school board’s unanimous vote Wednesday to name him superintendent.
The vote followed a nearly two-hour executive session and interview with Taplin in a special-called meeting.
South Pike will be Taplin’s fourth position as superintendent. He has also led Greenville Public Schools, the South Delta School District in Rolling Fork, and the Baker, La., school district.
The 61-year-old Taplin graduated from Alcorn State University in 1972. He served two years in the U.S. Marines after college and started teaching in 1974.
“I’m looking forward to working in the district,” he said. “We plan to put students first. I’m confident that we have a staff that’s willing to work as a team.
“Hopefully sometime in the near future I’ll be able to meet and greet parents and students at all the upcoming events.”
Taplin was the lone candidate left from a five-member field the board narrowed earlier this summer. The list got whittled down to two — Taplin and Dr. Maggie Griffin, a former South Pike superintendent who instead accepted a position to lead Moss Point schools in July.
School board president Sam Hall said the board found Taplin to be a quality choice.
“We felt that he was an excellent candidate and we think he will bring a lot of expertise to the district,” Hall said.
Trustee Dr. Luke Lampton said that Taplin was the right answer for South Pike.
“I think he is the right solution for this district,” Lampton said. “I like that he has a military background, and that he was a teacher in the classroom.
That’s the kind of experience we need in our superintendent for success.”
Taplin also was a principal in McComb schools and in Amite, Wilkinson and Noxubee counties. He has taught in Simpson and Lawrence counties and in McComb.
Taplin left Baker schools in September 2010 after he did not seek a contract renewal, citing a reduction in his salary and benefits.
Since then, he has been doing educational consulting work across the state under Taplin & Associates, he said.
Lampton said Taplin’s expertise and enthusiasm for the job impressed him.
“I’m thrilled that Dr. Taplin will be our superintendent,” Lampton said. “He’s extraordinarily qualified. He has the skill set, he has the competence and he has the passion to be an outstanding superintendent for the district.”
Lampton said he felt the board come together as a team during Tuesday’s closed session, and he believes Taplin will be a good leader.
“I see the board coming together behind his leadership,” he said.
Lampton drew fire from fellow board members after writing an editorial in the weekly newspaper he owns criticizing the board during the search process, contending the district hadn’t cast a wide enough net. That resulted in a new board policy in which trustees agreed (with Lampton absent) to designate board president Sam Hall as the body’s spokesman.
Hall vowed to “take appropriate action” against violators.
“The board has come together on having a single spokesperson for the board. I feel Sam Hall will do well with that. But we also understand that if a board member feels they want to respond to the media, they have the freedom to do that,” Lampton said.
Taplin said he’s looking forward to starting work on Monday and is anxious to see where he can make a difference.
“I want to look at the data and make an assessment,” Taplin said. “And I plan to create a vision based on the needs of the district.”
