The Vicksburg Warren School District will remain under the leadership of superintendent Chad Shealy.

Following his annual review at the meeting of the Board of Trustees Thursday, Shealy was given a one-year contract extension keeping him under contract for three years. He was also given a 7 percent raise from his current salary of $143,246.25.

“It mirrors my confidence in this district and city,” Shealy said. “My family has been committed since the time we arrived and we always appreciate their support.”

The motion to extend Shealy’s contract and give him a raise was passed by a 3-2 vote. Board members Bryan Pratt, Sally Bullard and Joe Loviza voted in favor of the motion. Alonzo Stephens and Jim Stirgus Jr. voted against the motion.

“We are very happy with the innovative things that are happening in our district,” said Pratt, who is president of the board. “There is so much positive going on in our district. We still have a long way to go. There are things we still want to achieve, but we felt it was important to make sure Chad knew how satisfied we are with the work he is doing. We haven’t seen so much happen in such a short period of time in a long time.”

Stephens said he has full confidence in Shealy, but voted against the motion because his constituents are worried about VWSD receiving a D letter grade from the state.

“My constituents, the D concerns them. It concerns all of us, but I know from the town hall meetings and the information and the data that Vicksburg is on the upswing and turning around,” Stephens said. “In talking to the constituents that I represent, they can’t get passed the D. That is why I try to educate them every month and bring people to see. I have all the confidence in the world in my superintendent.”

Pratt said the system’s letter grade “came into play” during Shealy’s review, but they also recognized that there have been improvements and the accountability metric has consistently changed at the state level.

“If anyone had a concern it was related to our current rating, but we also see the complexity of that rating,” Pratt said. “Knowing that we have more B schools than we’ve ever had. All of our schools have gone up in their score. We feel like the state keeps moving the goal line. It was wrong for us to punish him. Under the previous model, we would be a C.”

The last year has seen the implementation of Leader in Me district-wide, the creation of adult education classes through a partnership with the Department of Agriculture and the district’s designation as a Ford Next Generation Learning Community along with the development of career academies at the high schools.

“It is quite apparent that we want to continue to improve,” Pratt said. “He (Shealy) has shown that he is moving the needle in the right direction. We have adults that are getting educated. We have students at River City Early College who are going to graduate high school with two years of college under their belt.”

Other actions at Thursday’s meeting included:

• The board approved an interlocal agreement with the Warren County Board of Supervisors to use the county’s voting machines for the bond resolution election March 27. The election will be operated by the circuit clerk’s office and VWSD will reimburse the county for costs they incur.
• The board approved two adjustments to the school calendar. A motion passed to waive makeup days for the three days students missed in January due to a winter storm. The board also designated March 27 as a job-shadowing day for high school students because the election for the bond referendum will be held at the high schools.