Greatest Georgia university district hires initially-at any time Black superintendent

Wilbanks was the longest-serving present superintendent of a substantial school district in the United States, with a tenure of 25 a long time.

“I enjoyed functioning with each other as we tried to discover the ideal replacement we could for Mr. Wilbanks for the sake of the youngsters of Gwinnett County,” board member Steve Knudsen stated. “I’m super energized to have Dr. Watts in this article. I feel he’s heading to do a good career.”

Caption

Mother and father protest mask mandate in Gwinnett County Community Schools

Credit rating: Rebecca Wright

Credit history: Rebecca Wright

When the vote was taking place, about 300 men and women gathered outdoors the building chanting, “unmask our children” and “no extra masks.” Previously this week, the faculty program mandated that masks be worn at all district amenities and on buses, no matter of vaccination standing, citing direction from the Centers for Disorder Manage and Avoidance.

Watts was given a two-calendar year deal that commences Sunday, just forward of Wednesday’s get started of the college 12 months. He will obtain the very same foundation wage and transportation and price allowances as Wilbanks. That delivers Watts’ overall pay to an volume exceeding $413,000, not together with contributions to the Trainer Retirement Process of Ga and relocation reimbursement not to exceed $29,500.

Watts grew up in the Seattle region and gained his undergraduate degree at Howard College, a prestigious historically Black college or university in Washington, D.C., ahead of coming to Ga for highly developed schooling. He earned a master’s degree from the University of West Georgia and a doctorate from the Atlanta campus of the now-defunct Argosy College.

He taught in the Seattle and Atlanta places before coming to the Gwinnett district as an assistant principal. Above 13 a long time, he also labored in Gwinnett as a principal, human sources director and assistant superintendent. He left to turn into superintendent in Kent.

Watts was employed out of a pool of 27 candidates.

“I am really grateful that we had been able to appear collectively and get the job done through this entire approach jointly and make this materialize,” board Vice Chair Karen Watkins claimed. “So congratulations and welcome aboard.”

Gwinnett superintendents

The following superintendents led the university district in excess of the previous several decades:

1957-1967: B.B. Harris

1967-1977: J.W. Benefield

1977-1989: Alton C. Crews

1990-1994: George Thompson

1995 (Interim): David O. Crews

1995-1996: Sidney Faucette

1996-2021: J. Alvin Wilbanks