Dr. Marlon King signs contract to become JMCSS Superintendent

JACKSON, Tenn. — Over the past few months, the Jackson-Madison County School Board has been searching for a new superintendent, and Friday morning, the papers were signed.

“Went through the two interview processes, the site visit, then the final determination of who would be the superintendent for the school system,” said Dr. Marlon King, Superintendent of Jackson-Madison County Schools.

King says he’s done his research on the school system and doesn’t want to just repeat what’s already happened.

“I don’t want to overlap, and I don’t want to start the race over, what I want to do is gain as much context and much knowledge about the school system has done, so I can capitalize on the many strengths within the organization,” Dr. King said.

Dr. King says he knows these next few months will be a big transition and he wants to focus on four things: communication, schools, students and operations.

“In those four buckets I have identified a laundry list of things I need to know about, that I need to learn, so that I can adapt to the community and the culture,” Dr. King said.

And Dr. King says one thing he’ll do differently than his predecessors is visit churches, instead of having public forums, that way he can meet as many people as possible.

He says one of his biggest goals is transparency.

“I think when people know what you’re doing, they’re more prone to support you in your efforts,” Dr. King said.

And Dr. King is already looking to the fall. He plans to have a COVID-19 reentry task force and a contingency plan if schools are closed again.

Dr. King will being shadowing interim superintendent Ray Washing on June 1 and then officially take over on July 1.