Gilliard asks for principal’s resignation

A Grady County principal is out of a job and a new principal has been installed.
Grady County School Superintendent Dr. Kermit Gilliard late last week asked for the resignation of Southside Elementary School Principal Stacey Whigham and she tendered a letter of resignation through her attorney, Charles Ferenchick, on Monday, according to the superintendent.
“The decision to make a change in the middle of the school year was a very difficult decision to make. However, I determined it was in the best interest of the students and staff at Southside to ask for Mrs. Whigham’s resignation,” Dr. Gilliard said.
Southside parents were alerted to the staff change last Thursday and the superintendent met with the faculty and staff Thursday afternoon.a
At that meeting, Gilliard introduced Grady County Assistant School Superintendent Kevin Strickland as the principal of Southside.
Mrs. Whigham was hired last April as an assistant principal at Cairo High School, but before she could begin work Dr. Gilliard appointed her principal of Southside in May.
Dr. Gilliard said he could not discuss the specifics of his decision, but noted he had had discussions with the members of the Grady County Board of Education for a couple of months prior to last week’s decision.
Mrs. Whigham, formerly of Pelham, came to Cairo from Macon where she had been employed as an assistant principal at Howard High School in Macon since January 2010.
The new Southside principal is a 28-year veteran of public education having been hired in 1990 as a classroom teacher at Whigham School. Prior to being named assistant superintendent in April 2015, Strickland was the assistant principal at Shiver Elementary School.
He is a 1985 graduate of Pelham High School and went on to earn a B.A. degree from Albany State College in 1990 and a Master’s degree from Troy University in 2005. Strickland earned his Education Specialist degree in 2007 from Albany State University.
Dr. Gilliard declined to discuss his plans for the 2018-2019 school term or if Strickland’s new assignment was permanent.