School board chairman Donnie Lee Smith indicated after Monday’s meeting the district will move quickly on its superintendent search.

Before a packed house, the school board agreed to immediately select a firm to conduct a search for a permanent superintendent. District attorneys will contact retired superintendents in order to find a person willing to serve as a replacement for interim superintendent Kim Bagwell.

Asked about the superintendent search’s timetable, Smith said, “As soon as possible.”

The school board followed a similar route in 1998 following the resignation of Cherokee County Superintendent Dr. Willie Ross. The school board brought in retired superintendent Dr. Buddy Broome to serve as interim superintendent.

Cherokee County used the South Carolina School Boards Association in 1998 to help with the superintendent search before Broome agreed to take the position on a permanent basis. Broome served for two years until he retired again in September of 2000. He was replaced by Dr. Bill James.

The South Carolina School Boards Association assists school districts statewide with all phases of a superintendent search. Services may include advertising a superintendent search, including advertising the position regionally and nationally; receiving applications; conducting reference checks; arranging candidate visits and conducting community meetings so the board receives community input during the superintendent search.

Members of the Cherokee Community Coalition said Monday night they will watch how the school board conducts its superintendent search with great interest. The coalition is an alliance of the Black Ministerial Alliance and the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

“We were very disappointed with the way the decisions were made tonight. The situation with (interim superintendent Kim Bagwell) was planned out well in advance,” said Rev. Tony Macomson of the Cherokee Community Coalition. “So far, this school board does not seem to be making decisions with the best interests of the children at heart. We plan to be very visible here in the future.”

For her part, Bagwell ended her remarks Monday night with a call for the school board to make decisions in the best interests of the Cherokee County school system.

“It is my sincere and earnest prayer that the current school board will work in cooperation to better the educational opportunities for our children,” Bagwell said in her prepared statement. “With the belief that our focus should be and will be the children of Cherokee County, I am willing to continue serving as interim superintendent until such time as the board can engage the services of a retired individual at which time I will assume the position of personnel director for our district.”