2015

Newly elected SUPERINTENDENT from page AI

permanent vice president. He transferred to the Philadelphia/Neshoba County Career-Technical Center in 2010, where he has served as director since. Killens and his wife Teri have two children: Kyle, who works for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, and Allie, a junior at The University of Mississippi. Killens is a member of Salem Bap– tist Church in Burnside, where he serves as a deacon.

want to do is make sure everyone's on the same page and working together. ln order to have a successful school, everybody's got lo be pulling the same way," he said. ''There will be a learning curve," Killens said of his new role, which will be a change from his experience at lhe community college level. To prepare for his new job, IGilens has enrolled in a program sponsored by the Mississippi School Board Association. The classes help prepare potential superintend– ents, he said. "It's going to help, but I've got a lot of learning to do," he said. Killens has 28 years of experience in the educa– tion field. He started his career at Clarkdale as a teacher and coach in 1987. He started his administrative career in 1996 as the director of the alternative school in Itawamba County. He joined ECCC in 1997 as the director of Student We. In 2000, he served as the interim vice-presi– dent for Student Services, and was later appointed

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said. "I didn't think they · needed somebody to come in and save them, • by no means. But I do

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• think I can bring some superintendent ~~a~e~~~~h-~e~~ forming system." C 1 • Killens said his first 10CUS on earntJ prioritrwhenheta~es

office m January will be getting the new Neshoba Central High School built. In August, Neshoba County voters approved a $14 million bond issue that will help build a new high school and after– wards, a new football sta– dium. "I'll have a lot to do there, 11 Killens said. "I'll do a lot of observing." Killens said his main focus will be on ensuring that students are learning "We have some very good extracurricular pro– grams, but we need to do our job in the classroom one hundred percent." he said. Another focus will be teamwork, he said. 11 1 will not be effective ifLdon't have good people working for me," Killens said. "And we do have quality employees. One of the first things I

By Biii Graham b_graham@themerldlanstar.com A longtime East Central Community College adminis– trator was elected superin– tendent of the Neshoba County School District in the general election Tuesday night. Joe lGllens, a Republican beat incumbent Democrat ' To~my Lee Dearing, gar– nenng about 72 percent of the vote. "I'm excited," Killens said Wednesday. "It's a natural

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Killer in the classroom.

step in my professional career" . .The district has about 3,400 students en m its three schools: Neshoba Central Elem tary, Neshoba Central Middle School and Neshoba Central High School. The s~hools located on one campus, but in separate buil complexes. 1 "Neshoba has a good school system," Ki See SUPERINTENDE.\T on page A2

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