Outgoing Fayette County School Superintendent Jeff Bearden may have lost out on the top job with the Floyd County School System in northwest Georgia, but he is in the running for the superintendent’s job with Rome City Schools, also in Floyd County. The Rome City Schools Board of Education is expected to make a decision on the new superintendent by Nov. 30.
Bearden is one of three finalists for the job in Rome and was one of two finalists for the superintendent’s job with the Floyd system. But the Floyd County Board of Education on Nov. 5 selected one of its long-time employees to fill the position.
In terms of population, Rome is home to approximately 35,000 residents, about the size of Peachtree City. The school system has seven elementary schools, one middle, one high school, Rome Transitional Academy and the Phoenix Learning Center.
Bearden is currently competing with the superintendents from Gordon County and Pelham City Schools, according to the Rome News-Tribune. With a population of approximately 55,000, Gordon County is situated adjacent to Floyd County and has six elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools. And located in Mitchell County in south Georgia, Pelham has a population of approximately 4,000 and operates three schools.
The Rome school board has a Nov. 30 deadline to select the new superintendent, according to reports.
It was on Sept. 19 that Bearden and the Fayette County Board of Education entered into a mutual termination agreement that cited Dec. 31 as his last day of employment. But according to documents on the Floyd County School System website, Bearden completed an application and resume for superintendent’s job on Sept. 4, a full two weeks before he and the Fayette school board agreed to the mutual termination.
The terms of the agreement call for Bearden’s contract to remain in effect through Dec. 31. The agreement states that, following that date, he will receive an amount equal to one year of annual salary. That salary is $153,000, according to his most recent contract extension executed during the summer.
The agreement also calls for Bearden to receive funds necessary to pay the state health insurance premium or costs for one year, to receive an amount equal to the daily rate for any accumulated annual leave already accrued and up $2,500 in documented attorney’s fees.
