The Cherokee County School Board has asked retired educator Bob Eddy to return to the district as interim principal for Etowah High School, Woodstock, through the end of the school year.

Eddy officially takes the job March 1 to replace Principal Keith Ball, who is leaving to move closer to extended family in New York and pursue a new career opportunity there, officials said.

Eddy had been a classroom teacher, an award-winning wrestling coach, principal of Dean Rusk Middle School and the first principal of Creekview High School, officials said. While retired, Eddy worked part-time for the district to help it implement the state’s new teacher and leader evaluation system.

Schools Superintendent Brian V. Hightower said he and his staff will use the next six weeks to seek and interview candidates for the principal post, as well as other principal slots and district leadership roles to be filled for next school year. Recommendations will be presented to the School Board at its March 16 meeting.

About the Author

Featured

Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

Credit: NYT