The City School Board named Mike Coleman, principal of Sandy Bar High School in Sandy Bar, La., to the top post at Haraway High School during its Monday meeting.
In a 5-4 vote, the board picked Coleman over Haraway assistant principal Juli McCorvey. Coleman and McCorvey were the finalists in a search that drew more than 40 applicants.
“We have two fine candidates here. I find it very difficult to choose between them,” school board member Harley Duncan said. “Both of them have accomplished a lot during their careers, and I believe they each would do a good job for us at Haraway.”
In the end, however, the board opted for the lesser known Coleman, who has been principal at Sandy Bar High School for about 10 years.
Although she was not picked, McCorvey had support among the 200 people attending the meeting. Three-fourths of the dozen or so citizens who spoke out supported McCorvey.
“I have a daughter in the tenth grade at Haraway, and we have been helped a great deal by Mrs. McCorvey. I think she deserves this chance to be in charge and that she will do a good job,” Taylor Whitson, of 2121 Blackoak Drive, told the board.
Another parent, Darren McGarity, agreed with Whitson. He said that McCorvey paid special attention to his son who had problems in the ninth grade at Haraway. “I think she deserves this chance to be in charge and that she will do a good job,” McGarity said.
Only three people supported Coleman. One of them was Alex McCreless, of 1615 Ireland Drive.
“I have a child who is about to graduate from Haraway, and while I have nothing against Mrs. McCorvey, I think it is high time we got some new blood into our school system,” McCreless said. “We need some fresh thinking and new ideas. I think we need a change.”
McCorvey and Coleman were not in the room while the one-hour discussion took place.
Coleman, a Louisiana native, has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Backwater State University in Tennessee.