SOUTH CAROLINA — South Carolina is seeing an uptick in public school district superintendents resigning or retiring long before their term ends.
They include three departures in local counties. South Carolina Education Association President Sherry East says it’s something they’re keeping an eye on.
“When you have turnover with either administrators, superintendents, school boards, people are noticing that right now,’” she said.
“It’s unfortunate that some of our superintendents don’t last three or four years into the job,” she said.
It’s a trend educators believe started during the pandemic.
East believes politics may play a part in recent sudden resignations or retirement announcements from top district leaders across the state.
“It is a tough (job). You have to answer to a board, but you also have to serve the people of your community and your employees and the students,” she said. “Sometimes politics have been playing out a lot on our school boards lately. We just hope that that’s not the reasoning behind anyone’s short tenure or why someone would choose to leave. But you certainly wouldn’t blame someone for the pressures that go on.”
Richland District 1, York District 1, Rock Hill, Fort Mill, and Chesterfield County school districts are the latest in the hunt to find new leaders. Fairfield, Cherokee, and Horry counties recently hired superintendents.
The teacher’s union head says it’s unsettling for teachers when leadership isn’t consistent.
“Dr. Epps in Fort Mill, he was there for a while. He had a vision. He grew that, he saw it through lots of changes. But you had one person at the helm, so you knew what to expect. You worked for Chuck Epps, you know what’s going to go on? You know what quality you’re going to get as superintendent. Same thing I would think, with Dr. (Sheila) Quinn in Clover. She’s been there a while. She’s set her vision, you know what to expect. You know what’s going on in Clover. And it’s a good school district,” East explained.
She says when there’s continuity, districts have better chances to prosper.
South Carolina has more than 1,000 teaching vacancies, despite that number declining for the first time in this decade.
“I think right now when it’s the teacher’s market. When there is a shortage, you can move around, you can look around. People want to go somewhere that is stable. They want to work for a district that has stable leadership. They want to work for a district that has a stable school board because they don’t want any surprises. They want to have job security. They want to know what’s going on. So when people call us and ask about certain districts, you know, well, how is that district-run? They want it. They’re asking questions like that,” she said.
The association has regular meetings with superintendents across the state — working through solutions that will retain teachers in the classrooms — and keep top leaders in district offices.
“There really needs to be a together (mentality), everybody on the same page for what’s best for a district, and that includes the superintendent, the school board, the employees, the parents, and the students,” East said.
