Less than two weeks on the job, new Clarksdale Municipal School District superintendent Dr. Earl Joe Nelson suffered a heart attack last Friday, but he is expected to fully recover.
Nelson had two stents Monday, was released from the hospital after having surgery and is expected to be out for two weeks. The superintendent’s condition was announced during a special called board meeting Monday morning.
“He was discharged this morning from the hospital,” said CMSD board president H. Clay Stillions. “His physicians are going to tell him, I am sure, that he should not work for two weeks.”
Stillions said he would like Nelson to stay home for two weeks, but he expects him to be back at work sooner.
“I put him on the prayer list at my church,” said board member Joan Morris.
Get well cards for Nelson may be sent to the CMSD administration building at 526 South Choctaw St., P.O. Box 1088, Clarksdale, MS 38614.
Nelson is expected to be back at work by the scheduled meet-and-greet that has been slated to introduce him to the community. It will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4 at Clarksdale High School.
Board members express optimism about what Nelson will bring to the district.
“We have a new superintendent,” Stillions said. “Everybody’s aware of that. We have a man that has a history of running exceptional schools. He has run for 10 years, a nationally recognized school, one of the highest rated schools in the country. They’re a blue ribbon school – Pass Christian.”
Nelson was the principal at Pass Christian Middle School.
“We are fortunate to have him,” Stillions continued. “He had other opportunities that would have been more advantageous for him and closer to where he’s from. He wanted to come here to make a difference in our school district. We are blessed to get him and we are highly enthusiastic about what we think he’s going to do for this district.”
The other board members nodded in agreement.
“We can see his presence already in this district,” said board vice president Delores S. Harris.
Morris said Nelson had a plan when he arrived at the CMSD, has an open door policy, is very personable and wants to be a part of the community.
“Everywhere I go, people are excited about a change,” Morris said. “It doesn’t matter whether they have a dog in the fight or not. The whole community is excited. He has the whole community’s support, maybe with the exception of a few soreheads. Otherwise, he has the support.”
Stillions said Nelson has roots in the Delta, as he is from Cleveland.
Other items
n The board planned to approve the claims docket for reoccurring bills, but with Nelson out sick, it was unanimously agreed to postpone the issue until the regular board meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 30. The board usually meets at 5 p.m. the third Thursday of the month, but the decision to postpone things came before Nelson’s heart attack.
n The board unanimously approved CPA Sandy Hollowell from Meridian reviewing finances at $125 per hour beginning Aug. 6.
“What she will do is come in and look at our policies, supplement salaries for clarification and review with the policies and procedures, state and local law to make sure that they are aligned,” Harris said.
Stillions explained the reason.
“This is not a question of we think there’s something wrong,” he said. “This is a question of we’re having a change of leadership at the top and it’s appropriate to bring someone and audit at that time.”
n It was unanimously approved for the Mississippi School Board Association to review all policies making sure everything is aligned with proper procedure.
“This is something every school district should do every year and we don’t,” Stillions said. “And nobody else does either and we’re changing that.”
n The board unanimously approved rescinding the tuition reimbursement policy until it is reviewed. The policy allows assistant teachers to earn degrees, become teachers and be reimbursed for their tuition.
“We’ve got to go back and look exactly who’s eligible and who has applied for reimbursement, so that we can make sure we are aligned with policy when we give them that reimbursement,” Harris said.
n The board is also looking for a new attorney following the resignation of John Cocke. The board approved advertising for an attorney on the website and in the newspaper.
n A new policy was unanimously passed for the all items on the agenda for the board meeting to be submitted to the superintendent the Thursday prior to the meeting.
Harris said the law states the board must have its packets at least 72 hours before the meeting. However, board members continue to receive packets 24 or 48 hours before the meeting.
“What we want to do from here on out is state that board packs – all items to be added to the agenda – must be submitted to the superintendent by noon the Thursday the week before the board meeting, which allows him Friday to develop the agenda and get it to us on Monday, so we will have time to thoroughly go through the board packet,” she said.
“One of the problems that I find is we get items at the last minute,” said board member Sherley Fields in agreement.
