The same person who led search for new Coast superintendent will take the job himself
Mitchell King, who led the Harrison County School District’s search for a new superintendent, won the job himself on Monday night.
The board’s vote took place in executive session. It was not unanimous, board president Dr. Barbara Thomas said, but board members refused to say how the vote had broken down.
“You can get it when the minutes come out,” board member David Ladner said.
The announcement came after 10 p.m., more than five hours after the meeting began with a public comment period devoted to debate over the superintendent selection.
At their meeting last week, the school board announced that it had offered the job of superintendent to King. That was a sudden reversal from the decision they made on March 31 to offer the position to Dr. Christopher Williams, currently an assistant superintendent at Ocean Springs School District.
King turned down the same job offer from the board back in February, and then was appointed to lead the search process to evaluate candidates. In an interview with the Sun Herald in March, he said he would not seek the job.
On Monday evening, the board heard from parents and community members, including Gulfport Councilwoman Ella Holmes-Hines, who expressed concerns about the search process and the abrupt end to negotiations with Williams.
“You found a candidate, selected a candidate, offered the position,” said parent Tori Bishop. “And now you’re selecting Mitchell King. This is a circus.”
King, who has worked in the district for 52 years and been assistant superintendent since 1986, did not speak while commenters criticized the process that had led him to getting the district’s top job.
“Mr. King, 52 years, that’s awesome,” Bishop continued. “But the district operates that way, too. It is time for some fresh blood, some new perspective, some new vision. We were excited about that, and then you went and did this.”
Four Harrison County School District teachers and administrators voiced their support for the school board and excitement about the selection of King.
“I, too, want to thank the school board,” said Cheri Broadus, principal of D’Iberville High School. “One thing I can say is that the one constant in our district has been Mr. Mitchell King… He has my full support and I think I speak for a lot of administrators as well.”
What was the counteroffer?
According to the minutes from the March 31 meeting, the board voted to offer Williams “a three year contract term to begin on July 1, 2021 and a salary of $160,000 per year, with the stipulation that Dr. Christopher J. Williams, Sr., will move his residence to the Harrison County School District within six months after July 1, 2021; and to designate Board President Dr. Barbara Thomas and attorney Wynn E. Clark to negotiate and execute, if the offer was accepted, the Contract of Employment.”
During the negotiations, Williams made a counteroffer, the details of which have not been previously reported.
Board member Rena Wiggins said that Williams asked for a salary of at least $175,000, some moving expenses, and a more flexible timeline to move into the district.
Because the full board would need to vote on a new offer for Williams, that request was neither accepted nor denied until the board’s meeting on April 12, when it voted to reject the counteroffer.
Wiggins said she felt $175,000 was excessive because Williams had not proven himself as a superintendent or in the Harrison County School District.
Gill started at $160,000 before earning raises up to over $180,000. Unlike Gill, Williams has a doctorate. Wiggins said she feels experience is more important than educational credentials.
“The guy had never worked for us a day,” Ladner said in a brief interview before the meeting.
Wiggins said because the board had already determined they would not pay more than $160,000, Williams’ counteroffer thus ended the negotiation.
“If the board had already made a decision they weren’t gonna pay — that pretty much ends it,” she said.
After voting to reject Williams’s counteroffer, the board voted to offer the position to King, rather than to one of the other two finalists they interviewed on March 31.
Wiggins said in her mind, the board had to start at step one after Williams was out, and that meant returning to King, who had turned down the position back in February. Wiggins said she didn’t know why he had changed his mind.
“I’m surprised,” she said. “[Board member] Mr. [Tom] Daniels asked him and he said yes.”
Ladner said he felt King offered unique depth of experience in the district.
“There’s no doubt we’re getting a man that knows the system,” Ladner said.
Contract controversy
In response to questions during the public comment period, Clark emphasized that the board had no legal obligation to continue negotiating with Williams after he rejected their initial offer.
Speaker Gary Fredericks, president of the Gulfport branch of the NAACP, said that wasn’t the point, and that it had been reasonable for Williams to make a counteroffer.
“I’ve heard the attorneys talk about legality,” he said. “Legality, legality. There’s a word called humanism.”
Holmes-Hines told the Sun Herald last week that she hoped the board would return to the negotiating table with Williams.
At Monday’s meeting, she raised concerns about possible legal issues facing the board as a result of their process.
“I get very concerned about liability here because it’s taxpayer’s money that can help a child,” she said.
Superintendent salaries
The minutes from the March 31 meeting show the board voted to offer Williams a salary of $160,000. That’s what outgoing superintendent Roy Gill made in the 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years, according to a copy of the Superintendent Salary Report provided by Jodi Trosclair, administrative assistant to the superintendent.
But for the 2019-20 school year, he got a raise up to $165,000. In 2020-21, he got another raise up to $180,304.
Superintendent salaries vary widely across Mississippi and the Coast, but they’re typically higher for superintendents with Ph.D.s and in large districts. Dr. Bonita Coleman, who leads the district where Williams now works, made $185,750 this school year.
Trosclair said that King’s salary as assistant superintendent has been $70,000 since 2016, and that he also currently draws retirement benefits.
This story was originally published April 20, 2021 at 10:31 AM.
