After little more than a year on the Clinton City Schools (CCS) Board of Education, Dr. Stuart Blount has announced his intention to resign.
“I have just turned in my resignation letter (from school board) to the Board of Elections office,” Dr. Stuart Blount stated in a message to The Sampson Independent on Friday. The resignation is effective July 1, Blount stated.
Sources said Clinton City Schools officials, including Superintendent Dr. Wesley Johnson, were also informed Friday. It is likely that an appointment would be made, as school board elections are held on even-numbered years. Municipal elections are taking place this year.
Blount was elected unopposed last year along with Carol Worley and Georgina Zeng. Their four-year terms do not expire until 2022. The other three current CCS board members Linda Brunson, Jason Walters and Mike Lanier are up for election in 2020.
For Blount, it has been a whirlwind since the beginning of 2018, when he announced his retirement as Clinton City Schools’ superintendent in February after six years in the position to begin a career with the University of Mount Olive on its New Bern campus.
Just a week after that announcement, Blount shocked everyone in filing for the third and final seat on the system’s Board of Education with just moments remaining in the filing period.
Blount said the decision came out of concern for the students and faculty in Clinton City Schools.
“There are a lot of good things going on in Clinton City Schools and I want to help that continue,” Blount said at the time. “It was something I have thought about and contemplated. I have been watching the filing period, and seeing who has filed, and knowing there would be one vacant seat, I decided to do what I thought was best by getting someone on the board that has the experience and knowledge of the educational system.”
His last day as superintendent for Clinton City Schools was March 31. The board hired Dr. Stewart Hobbs Jr., former superintendent of Sampson County Schools, to work in that role in the interim until a permanent hire could be made.
Johnson was subsequently hired and began in that capacity Oct. 1.
A native of Camden County and graduate of East Carolina University, Blount came to Clinton City Schools from Scotland County Schools, where he served as the assistant superintendent of auxiliary services. He has some three decades of experience in education, serving as a teacher, coach, assistant principal and principal.
While serving as CCS superintendent, Blount also earned his doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.