Fayette Schools Superintendent Jody Barrow is pushing back the date of his retirement as the south metro district deals with the impact of the coronavirus.
In a unanimous vote earlier this week, the Fayette Board of Education rescinded Barrow’s retirement resignation after he agreed to stay on to help the district develop strategies to help shape the 2020-2021 school year.
“We just thought as a board that there is a lot of planning to be done this summer, there is a lot of uncertainty still surrounding what the school year could look like in the fall and for consistency sake we’ve asked Dr. Barrow to postpone his retirement,” board chairman Scott Hollowell said during a special-called meeting to extend Barrow’s time with the district.
“We’re really grateful he decided to put the district first and hang out with us for a couple more months,” Hollowell said.
Barrow, who has led the district since 2013, announced his retirement in February and planned to step down effective June 30.
The Georgia School Board Association is conducting the search for Barrow’s replacement and applicants may apply through May 23. Fayette hopes to have candidates by the first week of June, Hollowell said.
Barrow will stay on through the process and is expected to help the district in its transition with a new superintendent.
The shutdown of schools for the 2019-2020 academic year because of the coronavirus and the switch to virtual learning has upended many targets set by education leaders across metro Atlanta.
“I promise to do my very best Mr. Hollowell to guide us through these uncertain times,” Barrow said after the vote.
