Recent education headlines: Wright resigns as superintendent, Gamble in place; CCTC hires new leader

WRIGHT RESIGNS AS SUPERINTENDENT; GAMBLE SERVING AS ACTING LEADER

Sumter school board voted on Aug. 14 to accept the resignation of William Wright Jr. as the fifth school district leader and for district Chief of Schools Shirley Gamble to begin as acting superintendent.

Wright served as the district's leader for a little more than three years. He started in the post July 1, 2022.

As background, in October of last year, Sumter's previous school board gave Wright a three-year extension through June 2028 in a 5-4 vote and cited stability in leadership as a key factor. Three trustees in support of the extension were gone from the nine-member board two weeks later after the Nov. 5, 2024, general election, while all four who opposed a new three-year term remained.

Those voting in favor of the extension included Bonnie Disney, Matthew "Mac" McLeod and former board members Daniel Palumbo, Shery White and Jeff Zell.

The four trustees against the three-year extension who are still on the board include the Rev. Ralph Canty, board Chairman Shawn Ragin, Brittany English and Tarah Johnson.

Wright had two annual evaluations under the previous board. In both, the trustees gave him overall satisfactory remarks, the middle ranking between commendable and needs improvement.

Then, in late June, the current board conducted a mid-year evaluation in executive session. No district leader has had a mid-year evaluation in at least the last several years.

Wright's contract called for an annual evaluation, which was normally held in the fall.

The evaluation was on June 23. The Sumter Item asked Ragin that night for the purpose of a mid-year evaluation, and he said the board majority said they wanted to have one. There was never a board vote on the matter.

At a regularly scheduled board meeting on Aug. 11, just three days before Wright resigned, there was more discussion of the evaluation in executive session.

As part of his settlement agreement, Wright received $220,000 as part of his resignation. All but one superintendent before him has been compensated at their departures, and now the district's boards have paid about $700,000 for its top leaders to leave when including legal fees, according to The Item's archives.

Wright's exact payment was $220,272.26, which represented his remaining base salary for the 2025-26 school year (Aug. 16, 2025 to June 30, 2026) and unused vacation and sick leave time.

On Sept. 8, the full board voted unanimously to allow Gamble to remain as acting superintendent in the district until a permanent superintendent is named.

Some districts go the route of hiring an outside interim superintendent after a district leader departs before hiring the next permanent superintendent through a search process, but Sumter school board decided to skip the middle step with the vote to keep Gamble in place.

Gamble said that she looks forward to staying in the role for the time being.

"I appreciate the confidence of the board of trustees in allowing me to continue in the role of acting superintendent," she said. "My priority is to ensure consistency, stability and progress as we move through this period of transition."

STATE SELECTS 4 DISTRICT PRINCIPALS FOR LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

Four Sumter School District principals have been accepted into a statewide program this school year focused on developing leaders, leading change and engaging teachers.

District principals Anamaria Sandor (Sumter High School), Jayson Leach (Crestwood High), Eric Masaitis (Alice Drive Elementary) and Stephanie Gregg (Lemira Elementary) will participate in the South Carolina School Leadership Executive Institute program, according to a district news release.

A seven-month program offered in partnership with Truist Leadership Institute, the state's executive institute equips veteran principals in the Palmetto State with the insight, knowledge and competencies needed to lead innovative and successful schools, the release stated.

Masaitis, Gregg and Sandor led their respective schools to state or higher accolades last school year.

WILBANKS NEW CCTC PRESIDENT

The Central Carolina Technical College Area Commission selected Jennifer Wilbanks as the college's new president on Aug. 26, according to a college news release.

A veteran of higher education with more than 22 years of experience, Wilbanks currently serves as executive vice president for academics and workforce development at Horry-Georgetown Technical College, based in Conway. She will begin her tenure at CCTC in mid-October.

"I am honored to be selected as the next president of Central Carolina Technical College," Wilbanks said. "This is an exciting time for the college, and I look forward to working alongside our faculty, staff, students and community partners to build on the college's strong foundation and advance its mission of serving our region."

Central Carolina serves the four-county region of Sumter, Clarendon, Lee and Kershaw counties and has a current full-time enrollment this semester of 2,920 students.

Before joining Horry-Georgetown, Wilbanks held multiple leadership positions at Piedmont Technical College in Greenwood, including assistant vice president for academics, dean of county campuses, interim dean for engineering and industrial technology, director of dual enrollment, instructor, outreach counselor and career transition specialist, the release added.