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An Editorial Opinion of The Demopolis Times

The Demopolis City Schools Board of Education has made their decision for the next School Superintendent of the district.

At a special called meeting last week, the board decided on Dr. Adam Pugh, a superintendent who is coming out of retirement to lead the Demopolis district.

According to the Oxford Eagle, Pugh retired from the Lafayette County (Mississippi) School District in 2021 after being with the district for nine years. Pugh served as Lafayette High School’s principal from 2002 to 2009 until he took the job at Pontotoc City Schools. That district earned an “A” rating from the Mississippi Department of Education from 2017 to 2021.

“Teaching without learning is just presenting material,” Pugh said after his contract was approved. “We’ve got to make sure that the kids are learning what we want them to learn, and figuring out how to know if they’ve learned it. What do we do if they already know the material? What do we do if they don’t know the material? Those are four simple questions, but the detail is in ‘how do we accomplish those things.’”

The search was conducted by board attorney Alexander Braswell. Interviews, which were not open to the public, were done earlier this month, and the board approved Pugh’s hire during a special called meeting Feb. 10.

We do not agree with the board’s decision not to open up the interview process to the public. Many other districts around the state announce finalists prior to the interviews, and the interviews are held in open session. Going forward, we encourage the board to be more transparent when making these decisions.

With the decision made, however, we are hopeful that the school leaders and the community can come together and work together to help improve the education system for our local students. 

Best wishes Dr. Pugh. We are looking forward to working with you!