Holloway could earn early consulting pay

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By COLLEEN MCCARTHY

The Starkville School District Board of Trustees will consider employing incoming Superintendent Lewis Holloway as a consultant for the days he works before his contract begins during its regular meeting tonight.
Holloway signed a four-year contract at $175,000 per year, but his employment with the district does not officially begin until July 1.
“This is a legal issue in terms of how we can compensate him before he becomes a full-time employee,” board President Keith Coble said. “We’ll probably turn to (District Attorney) Dolton (McAlpin) and ask him to explain this to us. There are a lot of legal issues surrounding how you can handle this.”
Holloway worked Feb. 15-17 and has plans to work April 2-5. The board is not allowed to pay any expenses until his contract begins. If he is hired on as a consultant, Holloway will be paid a daily rate and any out-of-pocket expenses.
The board will hold elections for the board president and vice president. Coble and Eddie Miles currently serve as president and vice president.
New board member Jenny Turner, who replaces Pickett Wilson, will be sworn in during tonight’s meeting. Turner was appointed to the position last month by the Starkville Board of Aldermen.
In December, the school district discovered it owned part of J.L. King Park, which was used by Henderson High School as a football field before the district integrated several decades ago. The parks and recreation department handled the surveying process to determine how much of the park was actually owned by the district.
Starkville Parks and Recreation Director Matthew Rye and Park Commission Chairman Dane Moreland will discuss the result of that survey during tonight’s meeting. What the district will decide to do with the land is unclear.
Comptroller Rob Logan will give an update on the Corrective Action Plan and the status of the 2010 fiscal year audit. Logan recently told the board the audit would be complete soon and he hoped to schedule an exit conference between the firm that handled the audit and the board.
The SSD school board will meet at 6 p.m. tonight at the Greensboro Center.