Submitted
John H. Walker
TARBORO —
Edgecombe County’s hiring of John Farrelly as the new superintendent of schools is a move viewed by many as positive.
In a time when many administrators sit back and try to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Farrelly has been vocal in his criticism of budget cuts to education and asked the state to eliminate the discretionary cut.
He has the reputation of bing a hands-on manager who expects excellence from his staff and is no stranger to the students who schools in the system he heads.
Granted, we have more campuses, more students and more faculty and staff than Washington County, but an interactive approach works, whether you are dealing with 100 persons or 1,000.
A superintendent who will get in the trenches — and whose faculty, staff and students know will get in the trenches of their behalf — earns the respect a lot faster than someone who hides out in an office.
In addition, Farrelly said he and his wife, Rena, and their infant son Jack will be looking for a church home and he wants to be visible and active in the community.
All of those sound likes winners.
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That fills one vacancy in a position of leadership in the community and leaves that of Tarboro Police Chief as the one most often discussed in the coffee shop.
One council member told us they expected a decision to be made “in the near future,” indicating this week.
North Carolina law allows government agencies to maintain confidentiality of applicants during job searches, even when a so-called short list has been created, such as with the town’s five finalists for police chief. or with the short list the board of education developed before hiring the district’s new super.
That’s understandable, because some of the applicants may be applying without their current community’s knowledge — just as many of us make the conscious decision to not tell our current employer when we go looking for greener grass.
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Still, there are a couple of staff positions in the town and county that are being held by the town manager and county manger — that of planning director in Tarboro and the DSS director by the county manager.
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There are several activities upcoming worth noting, including the America In Bloom Community Yard Sale, the Tarboro Spay and Neuter groups silent auction and inside/sidewalk sale and the big garden-related sale upcoming with the Spring Garden Symposium.
All three events support worthy causes beneficial to the community.
And while we still enjoy mild Spring weather, it’s a good time to clean up, paint up and plant for the AIB judges!
(John H. Walker is editor and publisher of The Daily Southerner.)
