The Thomasville City Board of Education voted May 23 to place school superintendent Garth Moss on administrative leave, effective immediately, pending an investigation.
Vickie Morris, who had previously been chosen by the board to replace Moss, beginning in July, was approved to begin her tenure immediately, “at the same rate of her current pay until her new contract goes into effect (in July 2022),” said Jim Davis, board vice president.
These actions were taken after a recess in the board meeting, in which board president Marshall Pritchett had declared the meeting adjourned and board member Sharon Buford also left the meeting.
Early in the meeting, the board voted to remove action on personnel matters until another called meeting. The vote was 3 to 2 with Taylor Williams, Jim Davis and Rita Nichols in favor of the motion, and Pritchett and Buford against the motion.
Buford asked that the board receive guidance from the school attorney. Pritchett said he would like to speak to the attorney before going any further.
Heidi Nettles, the representative from the Alabama Education Association (AEA) attending the meeting, said that, according to Robert’s Rules of Order, a request to amend an agenda must be voted on.
During recess, Davis consulted with attorneys from the Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB) by phone. The remaining board members, Williams, Davis and Nichols, as a quorum, decided to resume the meeting.
The three board members approved placing Moss on administrative leave and approved Morris taking over as superintendent immediately. She served as superintendent throughout the remainder of the meeting.
In other action from the May 23 meeting, Avery Ford, Chief School Financial Officer, gave the financial report for April 2022. Accounts payable for April totaled $243,641.39, and the payroll totaled $880,938.91.
• There was a first reading of a board policy: Business Services: Time and Effort Certification. The item will likely be approved at a later meeting. The item involves employee compensation certification related to federal funding, Ford said.
• The board approved price increases for 2022-2023 Child Nutrition Program (CNP) meals, effective Aug. 9, 2022.
• The board approved the following field trips: an out-of-state, overnight raft trip for the THS football team July 29 and 30 in Ducktown, Tenn.; an overnight trip for the THS and TMS cheerleaders to summer camp May 31-June 3 at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
• The board approved a special called meeting for 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 25 in the Thomasville High School Library. The board is expected to vote on personnel matters during that meeting.
• A replacement for board member Sharon Buford, Tiffany Rodgers-Shamburger, was approved May 23 by the Thomasville City Council and will begin serving with the June 14 meeting.