After nearly 20 years in the city school system, Demopolis Middle School principal Clarence Jackson is expected tender his resignation as early as this week after being offered the principal’s post at Southside High School in Selma.

The Dallas County board of education voted unanimously Monday night to extend the offer to Jackson, who verbally agreed to accept the position and now awaits a formal contract.

The signing of the contract will bring to a close a career that spanned nearly two decades as an administrator and coach in the Demopolis system.

“It’s going to be different,” Jackson said of a fresh start at a new school. “This is home to me. I moved here from Birmingham, and this has been home ever since.”

In the past year, Jackson has expressed interest in a handful of local openings, including Demopolis High School principal, and was announced as a finalist for superintendent of education in Linden two weeks ago. That job ultimately went to Dr. Tyrone Smith of Birmingham.

Jackson said that once a formal contract is agreed upon and signed, he could begin his new role in the Dallas County System as early as next week.

“It will be very soon,” he said, “More a matter of days, rather than weeks. I need to familiarize myself with their test data and get acclimated with what goes on there. You can’t know where you’re heading until you know where you are.”

While Jackson will no longer keep office hours in Demopolis, he said he planned to continue to call Demopolis home.

“This is still home,” Jackson said. “It’s only a 50-minute commute.”