RRHS leaders resign mid-year

Hank Dewald, Herald Staff Writer

ROANOKE RAPIDS — Two key Roanoke Rapids High School administrators have resigned. Principal Jeff Dishmon and Assistant Principal Jeffrey White will be on the job when students return from the holiday break tomorrow but both are preparing to leave the district very soon.

Roanoke Rapids Graded School District Superintendent Dennis Sawyer confirmed that both men have resigned apparently to take jobs closer to their residences.

According to Assistant Superintendent Carol Cowan, Dishmon and White’s jobs have been posted as vacant. Both are honoring the minimum 60-day notice period. “We are actively looking for replacements, but they will be on the job when school returns,” Sawyer told the Daily Herald.

While pointing to confidentiality requirements for personnel actions, Sawyer pointed out that both men had been commuting daily an hour or more one-way to their Roanoke Rapids jobs. “I believe they are taking jobs close to their homes.”

In the case of Dishmon, Sawyer said he understood the principal had been unable to sell his Raleigh area house.

School Board Chairman Vernon Bryant confirmed the resignations and said he expects them to be formally accepted during the Jan. 13 school board meeting.

“Officially, we do have to have a formal vote on the matter,” Bryant said. “We want to make a smooth transition. This is a difficult time of the year for an administrator to step down, in the middle of the school year. We want to be fair to the person, the current employee, but at the same time, we need to think about our kids.”

Bryant said Sawyer is working toward making the transition to a new administration at the high school quickly.

“While this is a personnel issue, we’re not going to release them too quickly. We need to have a smooth transition. I’m meeting with Dennis (Sawyer) today and he is going to be moving very quickly to get someone in there at the high school,” Bryant said Friday.