BOE hires third principal for Blackwell Elementary

The Blackwell Board of Education has voted to hire a third principal for Blackwell Elementary School.

The board of education convened in executive session for nearly an hour in a special meeting Wednesday, May 22. Upon returning to open session, the board voted to hire Jennifer Hankins, a teacher at the elementary school, to serve as the school's third principal.

The motion to hire Hankins was approved unanimously.

Blackwell Public Schools Superintendent Rick Riggs said that the school needed a third principal because of the “people we have in the building and the needs we have in the building.”

Riggs said the school needed another principal to “help out” with “what's going on.” Riggs did not identify precisely “what's going on” until he was asked to go into greater detail by members of the audience, who filled the meeting room to capacity for the first time in months.

Riggs later explained that each of the school's principals will oversee certain classes based on grade-level.

“We have multiple needs in the elementary school,” said Riggs. “We get more and more kids coming to us that aren't prepared for school, and we need to have a plan and a way to work with those students. … We felt like we needed another person there to help out with that.”

One of the school's secretaries asked how Riggs “came to the conclusion” that the school had problems when “we don't see anybody in our building.” Riggs replied that he is in the building “quite a bit.” The secretary laughed and replied that she works in the front office, saying she “hardly ever” sees Riggs come to the school.

The head principal at BES is Melissa Moore, and the vice principal is Melissa Agee.

The board's next meeting, which will be a special meeting, will be held Friday in order to issue the district's general obligation bonds. This is an annual practice that the board must complete in order to appropriate revenue from public bond issues.