Ex-Tift School Supt. to be paid through June 30; Hathaway says he is ‘voluntarily’ terminating his contract
TIFTON, Ga. – According to our news partners with the Tifton Grapevine newsletter, former Tift County Schools Superintendent Adam Hathaway, who resigned effective last Thursday, will continue to be paid through June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
In Hathaway’s letter of resignation, released Tuesday to the Tifton Grapevine following a request, the superintendent wrote that he will “voluntarily terminate my employment contract with the Tift County School District effective June 30, 2024.” Hathaway noted that his “last day as superintendent with the Tift County School District will be September 28, 2023,” the date of his resignation letter.
Jonathan Jones, chairman of the Tift County Board of Education (BOE), confirmed that Hathaway will be paid through June 30 and that his annual salary is approximately $221,000.
At a special called meeting on Thursday, the BOE accepted Hathaway’s resignation without comment. No reasons have been given for Hathaway’s resignation.
“We are not disclosing those discussions,” Jones told the Tifton Grapevine following last week’s meeting. The following day, the school system released a short statement noting that Hathaway’s resignation was accepted and that “the board appreciates the tireless efforts of Mr. Hathaway during his tenure.”
In another special called meeting during the previous week, the board had placed Hathaway on administrative leave indefinitely. Again, the BOE gave no reason for that action.
Mickey Weldon, assistant superintendent for human resources, is serving as acting superintendent.
When Hathaway was placed on indefinite administrative leave, the BOE had also placed Tift County High Principal Chad Stone on temporary administrative leave for five days, offering no reason for its action. Stone publicly apologized for unspecified “ethical lapses,” for which he said he will “repay restitution to the school system.”
Stone, Georgia’s principal of the year, said he intends to retire at the end of the school year.
Hathaway was named Tift County Schools superintendent in 2019. The Clinch County High School graduate was previously superintendent in Schley County (Ellaville). He also had been a principal in Gilmer County and had taught in schools in Fitzgerald, and in Cook and Berrien counties.
He is a U.S. Army veteran who served in the 101st Airborne Division. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English education and a specialist degree in educational leadership, all from Valdosta State University.
By: FRANK SAYLES JR., Tifton Grapevine
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