Two Vicksburg Warren School District administrators denied recommended promotions by the Board of Trustees during the past two months have been bumped up into two newly created posts.

Lum Wright Jr., VWSD athletic director for nearly 20 years, and Dr. Michael Winters, principal of Vicksburg Junior High School, have been named administrative assistants to Dr. Elizabeth Swinford, she said Thursday.

“These two gentlemen are the ones I felt could help move and continue moving the Vicksburg Warren School District forward and fulfill the mission and vision of our board,” Swinford said by phone from Biloxi, where she is attending the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents summer convention.

Wright, with 23 years experience with the VWSD, will be paid $98,450 and oversee athletics, transportation, facilities and security, she said. He would have received $111,694 as assistant superintendent.

Winters has 14 years with the district and will be paid $89,450 to oversee child nutrition, career and technical education, human resources and finance departments, said the superintendent. In addition, their employment benefits run about 40 percent of their salaries, she said. Under the salary schedule, he would have received $102,694 as assistant superintendent.

Curriculum and instruction remain under the supervision of Paula Johnson, assistant superintendent.

Board members were polled by telephone and the vote will not be official until it is ratified at the next business meeting Thursday. Voting in favor were District 1 Trustee and board President Bryan Pratt, District 2 Trustee Zelmarine Murphy and District 4 Trustee Joe Loviza. Voting no was District 3 Trustee Jim Stirgus Jr. A simple majority only is required of the five-member board, and District 5 Trustee Sally Bullard, who could not be reached, was not polled.

The reorganization of operations, athletic and transportation functions came in the wake of the board’s denial of Swinford’s recommendations to replace Debra Hullum, former assistant superintendent, and David Keen, former director of transportation, both of whom retired June 30.

In a split vote May 31, the board declined to appoint Winters to succeed Hullum, and on June 28 trustees removed Wright’s name from a list of various proposed appointments before unanimously approving the remaining recommendations.

“They had varying concerns, but the one that I could do something about was financial,” said Swinford, noting the downgrading of the assistant superintendent position and combining two directors into one administrative assistant.

The position of assistant superintendent for operations will not exist, and the duties will be split between Wright and Winters. The position of athletic director has been eliminated.

Under schedules trustees approved in May, the salary scale for an assistant superintendent is $88,694 to $123,694 after 35 years; administrative assistant, $75,450 to $110,450; athletic director, $68,828 to $103,828; and transportation director, $62,206 to $97,206. For all, benefits add about 40 percent.

Swinford also reported that she has received “raw scores” from this year’s state-mandated tests. Results cannot be published, she said, but added, “We are thrilled with them. I cannot wait to release and talk about them. We are excited and we will be celebrating at convocation.”

Theme for this year’s preschool-opening convocation of district officials and school faculties and staffs is Don’t Stop Believing, she said. It is set for Aug. 2 at the Vicksburg Auditorium.

Teacher contracts, delayed this year by a board vote to increase salaries, are due to be distributed Aug. 1.