With a little over one month left in a Clinton City Schools assistant superintendent’s contract, little discussion, if any, has been had about renewal.

The contract for assistant superintendent Dr. Mark Duckworth, who began working with Clinton City Schools in the summer of 2014, will end effect June 30. While closed sessions have been held regarding personnel at the last two board meetings, board members say they have not discussed Duckworth’s contract in any way.

When asked if any discussion had been made about extending any contracts, not just Duckworth’s, school personnel cited closed meeting laws.

“This is a personnel matter which we cannot discuss,” Dr. Terrace Miller, associate superintendent of human resources, said.

In September, when then finance director Clyde Locklear left the school system to work with Cumberland County Schools, in a last ditch effort to keep Locklear, CCS superintendent Dr. Stuart Blount made a recommendation to the board to increase Locklear’s salary, with strings attached.

In addition to the salary increase for Locklear, the superintendent asked board members to extend the contracts for Duckworth and Miller. Miller’s contract will end in 2017.

Blount shared that he asked for those contract extensions because both Duckworth and Miller have done exceptional jobs for the school system, with both working for the growth of the system.

Blount’s recommendation wasn’t approved by the board, but not because a motion wasn’t made. Board member Diane Viser went on record at the time saying she made the motion to go with Blount’s recommendation because that was best for the students.

The board has the option to extend Duckworth’s contract or vote to not extend beyond the June 30 deadline. The recommendation to extend will likely come from Blount, who typically makes those recommendations to the board if support for the decision is present.

When asked about the board’s plans for extending Duckworth’s contract, Miller said, “At this time, there are no vacancies for employees serving under an administrative contract.”

Reach Kristy D. Carter at 910-592-8137, ext. 2588. Follow us on Twitter at @SampsonInd. Like us on Facebook.

By Kristy D. Carter

[email protected]

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