Biloxi hires new superintendent. He’s moving up from a principal’s job.
Biloxi High School Principal Marcus Boudreaux, a longtime school system educator, is the new superintendent of the city’s 6,300-student district.
The school board voted Thursday night to hire Boudreaux, 42, at a salary of $140,000 a year.
“I’ve spent my entire career here,” Boudreaux said after the meeting. “This was the next step. I want to do everything I can to lead the Biloxi school system in the right direction.”
He said his administration will be guided by the school system’s theme: “Excellence from all for all.”
Board members have discussed candidates for the job in a series of closed meetings since early December, meeting minutes show. State law allows public bodies to discuss personnel behind closed doors.
Boudreaux replaces interim superintendent Larry Drawdy, a retired Biloxi superintendent who agreed to fill the position temporarily after the resignation in May of Arthur McMillan. McMillan had held the job for eight years.
Boudreaux has worked as principal at Biloxi High School since June 2015, after serving for five years as assistant principal. The Coast native previously served as principal at Biloxi Junior High, according to his resume on LinkedIn. He was a teacher from 2001-2009.
His wife, Michelle Boudreaux, is assistant principal at Biloxi Junior High, and they have three daughters who attend city schools.
Boudreaux has a specialist degree, a step above a master’s, in educational leadership and administration from the University of Mississippi.
As Boudreaux takes the helm, the public remains uncertain about the status of an investigation into potential fraud in the school system. The office of State Auditor Shad White has been investigating. His office will not discuss ongoing cases.
Drawdy told the Sun Herald before Thursday’s board meeting that nobody from the auditor’s office has contacted him about the investigation since he stepped in as interim superintendent on June 15. Drawdy said he does not know if the investigation has been concluded.
Boudreaux also said in an interview after being named superintendent that he knows nothing about the investigation.
Drawdy said he has intentionally stayed out of the search for a superintendent, conducted by the Mississippi School Board Association after extensive interviews with Biloxi stakeholders, including school employees and community members. The position, he said, was advertised nationally.
This story was originally published January 16, 2020 at 7:07 PM.
