“...Dr. James decision to request a release from his contract was made solely by Dr. James. Contrary to the speculative statements that have been made by the media, the Board did not ask Dr. James for his resignation, nor did the Board make any offer to buy out Dr. James' contract.” Numbers are the only information county residents will see on how school board members felt this year about the job performance of Cherokee County School Superintendent Dr. Bill James.

The evaluation results released by the school board Thursday fall between two extremes.

Three school trustees gave James an outstanding evaluation this year, including one perfect score. Four school board members rated the superintendent poorly in virtually every category on their evaluations.

School trustees voted unanimously on March 1 to accept James request to be released early from his contract. James had served as superintendent since February of 2001.

The school district hand-delivered copies of the school board members’ evaluations to The Gaffney Ledger on Thursday morning in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the newspaper.

No overall score was compiled by the Cherokee County School Board. The individual evaluations by board members average out to a 2.86.

James was evaluated by board members on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score possible.

School board members were asked to circle a number based on the description that best fit their opinion of James’ performance in a specific area. He was evaluated in 13 categories in areas such as job knowledge, financial management, disposition, quality of work, initiative, community and public relations, and job effectiveness.

Cherokee County School Board Chairman Billy Blackwell released a statement to the media Thursday with the superintendent evaluations. He sought to clarify the circumstances surrounding James’ departure from the school district.

“As Chairman of the Cherokee County Board of Trustees, I wanted to take this opportunity to set the record straight regarding information that has been reported in the media regarding the recent retirement of Dr. James as Superintendent of the District,” Blackwell wrote in the statement. “This information implies that Dr. James was forced out by a majority of the Board as the result of a complaint from a teacher about an improper remark made to her by another District employee. According to one media article, Dr. James was aware of this complaint and did not properly handle it.

“As I stated to the media when the Board, by unanimous vote on March 1, 2010, agreed to accept Dr. James’ request to be released early from his contract, Dr. James decision to request a release from his contract was made solely by Dr. James,” Blackwell wrote. “Contrary to the speculative statements that have been made by the media, the Board did not ask Dr. James for his resignation, nor did the Board make any offer to buy out Dr. James’ contract.”

Blackwell said the school board did approve James request to use his accrued leave of 88.5 days for the remainder of the 2009- 2010 school year. His retirement takes effect at the end of the school year.

School board members did not sign their names on their evaluations of James.

Only one board member left a written comment stating, “I would like to see Dr. James get a 3-year contract.” Another board member circled non-applicable when asked to rate the school superintendent’s job effectiveness and adaptability.

After accepting James’ retirement, the school board appointed district administrator Kim Bagwell to serve as acting superintendent for the remainder of the school year.

Bagwell will receive a monthly stipend of $2,500 in addition to her regular $79,575 salary under an agreement with the school board, Blackwell said. Bagwell will be reimbursed mileage for out-of-county travel.

“Over the next several weeks, the board will be discussing the process for the hiring of a new superintendent,” Blackwell said.

NED & OPERATED