Andre Whitfield, left, and Susan Glover were named the new principals at Southeast Elementary School and Banks Elementary School, respectively, Monday night. Photos by Linda Whittington / Neuse News

By Bryan Hanks

There are two new principals in the Lenoir County Public Schools system.

Andre Whitfield, previously the principal at the Lenoir County Learning Academy, was named the new principal at Southeast Elementary School, while Susan Glover, a longtime educator and staff member at Banks Elementary School, was promoted to principal at Banks.

The announcements were made by Lenoir County Public Schools Superintendent Brent Williams following a 56-minute closed session during the monthly school board meeting on Monday. Whitfield and Glover’s appointments were unanimously approved by the board; vice-chair Bruce Hill recused himself from the vote due to having family members on the personnel board.

Williams said there had been a “flood of applicants” for the positions after they had been posted.

“That’s the good news for us – that there were so many people who want to be a principal here,” he said. “It speaks well for our district.”

Whitfield’s move from LCLA to Southeast means there is now an opening at LCLA. Williams told the board he anticipates it will be filled soon.

Whitfield, a Craven County native, said he was very excited to become a member of the Southeast community.

“It means a lot to me because I think there is a lot of good that can be done there,” he said. “I’m so excited to be a part of the team.”

Also announced were the appointments of three assistant principals: Sheila West, a longtime teacher at Northwest Elementary and Woodington Middle to Frink Middle School; Dr. Janet Blaebaum, the former Southeast Elementary principal, to South Lenoir High School; and Christel Carlyle, a former teacher, curriculum specialist and principal intern with LCPS, to Kinston High School.

The hiring of the new principals wasn’t the only big news at Monday’s meeting. New board chairman Keith King, along with Williams and Hill, presented former board chair Jon Sargeant with an engraved gavel. Sargeant left the school board earlier this month when Gov. Roy Cooper appointed him as district court judge.

The process for appointing Sargeant’s replacement was discussed and approved by the board. Letters of interest for the position will be accepted with a postmark of no later than Friday, Aug. 10.

To be eligible for consideration, the prospective appointee has to be at least 21, qualified to vote in North Carolina, a resident of District 3 for at least 30 days and a registered Democrat for at least 90 days.

The letter to the board should include contact information and affirm the individual’s qualifications for the office. It also should include reasons why they should be considered for the office with appropriate background and biographical information.

Prospective appointees should mail the letter to Office of the Superintendent, Lenoir County Public Schools, P.O. Box 729, Kinston, NC 28502-0729.

At the school board’s Sept. 4 meeting, individuals who have submitted letters of interest and who meet eligibility requirements will each be given five minutes to make a presentation to board members in public session. Board members will have the opportunity to nominate a candidate from that group and vote on that nomination by secret ballot. The process will continue until a nominee is approved.

Editor's note: The assistant principals were added to this report Tuesday night.