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What qualities does the next superintendent for Prince Edward County Public Schools need to have? The school board wants residents to give their opinion on the subject through a series of meetings over the next two weeks. 

The first of those meetings will take place on Monday, Oct. 28. It’ll be at the Crawley Forum on the campus of Hampden-Sydney College, starting at 6 p.m. One day later, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, there will be a meeting at the Rice Fire Department at 6 p.m., followed on Wednesday, Oct. 30 with a meeting at the Meherrin Fire Department, also at 6 p.m. Two more meetings will follow those soon after, the first on Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Prince Edward Middle School Cafeteria at 10 a.m. and the last on Thursday, Nov. 7 at the Community Center on Sulfur Spring and Pinoak Road, at 6 p.m. 

“Our goal is to find a leader who will inspire our staff, support our students, and build strong partnerships with our community. We look forward to the important work ahead as we seek to provide the best educational opportunities for our students,” said Lucy Carson. She serves as Chairperson of the Prince Edward County School Board. “We urge parents, staff, and residents to participate in the search process by completing the survey or attending the public hearing.” 

That’s the second part of the request. District staff put together a survey about superintendent criteria as well, which you can find at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Prince Edward Search . If you go to the online version of this story on the Herald website, we’ll have a direct link set up for it. 

Now if you fill out the survey, you’re on the clock. The deadline to complete it is Nov. 7. You can also go by the school board office at 35 Eagle Drive in Farmville. 

Getting help, establishing a timeline 

Prince Edward is hunting for a new superintendent due to Dr. Barbara Johnson stepping down on Monday, Sept. 30. Dr. Barbara Johnson, who stepped down on Monday, Sept. 30. No reason was given as to why Johnson stepped down. In recent months, she faced increased questions about the inability of the district schools to reach full accreditation. In Prince Edward, only the elementary school was fully accredited this year with no conditions. The high school, and especially the middle school, continue to struggle. 

Currently, Dr. Joseph Cox is serving in the role on an interim basis. Cox is best known as the longtime superintendent of Colonial Heights Public Schools. He took over that position in 2001 and stayed until his retirement in 2019. Before that, Cox had served in Colonial Heights Public Schools as a teacher, first at Colonial Heights Junior High for nine years and then as a government and history teacher at the district’s high school.
Since his retirement, Cox has served in an interim role as superintendent for a number of different school districts in Virginia. He took over in Nelson County in 2022 for a few months and then in 2023, he went back to Colonial Heights, taking over as an interim superintendent at his old district.

As for the timeline to find a permanent replacement, it’s going to take a while. That’s one thing Gina Patterson wanted to make clear. She works as executive director of the Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA). Prince Edward asked the VSBA to help in this process and Patterson pointed out it’s not something that wraps up in a matter of weeks. It’s going to take a couple months. 

“You need at least three, six would be ideal,” Patterson said of the months involved. 

And she advised to keep in mind this search would be taking place over a period with multiple holidays, so the hope would be to have a candidate for Prince Edward’s superintendent by April 2025. 

A timeline for Prince Edward’s superintendent

After the surveys are collected and meetings are held, the school board will meet on Wednesday, Nov. 13 to establish what qualifications the next superintendent needs to have. The job announcement will then be put together and sent out, with applications being accepted through Dec. 31. 

On January 15, 2025, the school board will meet with VSBA at 3 p.m. to discuss where they are with the process. Then over the course of February and March of 2025, the goal will be for the school board to interview the respective candidates, with a hiring decision for Prince Edward’s superintendent made soon after.