Jacksonville, AL – When Superintendent Mike Newell announced his resignation in January the Jacksonville Board of Education (BOE) started implementing a plan to find his permanent successor. During the month of May and ending on June 1st four candidates went through public interviews for the portion. At the June 14th BOE meeting the board unanimously voted for Dr. Michael Howard to succeed former Superintendent Mike Newell. Dr. Howard was previously superintendent of St. Clair County Schools. Mr. Ed Canady stated that he is, “Looking forward to another chapter and trying to go forward with everything that we have.” Mrs. Phyllis Morrison stated that, “Dr. Howard has a wealth of experience and he brings that to us. ” She also stated that she was most impressed with “It’s a we thing not a me thing.” She felt that he is going to do well for the students, families, and also the staff. Mrs. Teresia Hall said she was impressed and excited him even being a coach, but focusing on academics. She was very impressed with the fact that he was focusing on both because that is important. Mrs. Marita Watson reminded all that Dr. Howard’s 3 A’s were academics, athletics and arts. She stated she was impressed with the arts part. She went on to explain the he a 10 point action plan and she was impressed with the first point of that action plan was safety, the safety of our students, our staff. She elaborated that everybody knows academics is important, but if you do not have a safe environment for the students then everything stops there. Mr. Jeff Gossett noted that the board had five outstanding candidates and that the decision was most difficult. *One candidate had to withdraw. The full interview of Dr. Howard is below.
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