Heather Black will be the new superintendent for the Neelyville R-IV School District when current superintendent Debra Parrish retires.

Black is currently principal of Neelyville Elementary.

The decision was made Tuesday during a special meeting of the school board, which also has closed campuses through Friday due to illness among both students and staff.

Neelyville faculty and staff received emails making the announcement Wednesday morning, after the district’s school board members met late Tuesday night to conduct interviews and make their decision.

Seven people applied for Parish’s job and the board interviewed four.

Parish said it is her pleasure to announce Black’s appointment.

Black has worked at the Neelyville district for nine years. She has been curriculum director since 2013. This is her second year as the Neelyville Elementary principal.

Black’s “skills and work ethic are exemplary,” Parish said, “I am confident the district will flourish with her at the helm.”

Black said, “It is an honor and a privilege to be given the appointment of the next superintendent of Neelyville.”

When Parish announced her retirement, Black decided to apply for the superintendent’s spot, because in each position she has held, “I have been leading the district in some way. I am deeply committed to leading our students, educators and families to continue the mission of the school district.”

Black continued, “my main goal for the new position is to lead our school’s district to see the next level of greatness and to continue on the path we are on to achieve success.”

Black believes, “coming from within the district, it is going to ease the transition time, from one superintendent to the other. I’m following a great leader and following in her footsteps to take over the reins.”

Parish agreed and said while Black will retain her position for the remainder of the year, “we will begin the transition immediately.”

Before joining the Neelyville staff, Black taught in the Poplar Bluff school system.

She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Southeast Missouri State University and her specialist degree from William Woods University.

A native of Poplar Bluff, she is married to Tim Black. She has two grown sons and a daughter-in-law. One son is in college and one is working.

Away from school, Black said, “I love to travel. I love to experience new cultures and see new things the world has to offer.”

Parish’s retirement is effective July 1. Her resignation was accepted at the November board meeting.

Neelyville board members will meet again Thursday for their regular monthly meeting.

They are hopeful this week’s closure will allow time for illnesses to dissipate among students and staff.

Parish acknowledged, “it is always a difficult decision to know when to close during times of contagious illnesses. (Tuesday), we had 21 staff members out and our attendance rate was at 79.5%.

“Numerous children were sent home throughout the day with fevers, sore throats, headaches, vomiting, etc. We have students and staff with COVID-19, strep and flu.”

Parish explained the goal during the closure is to do a thorough cleaning and disinfecting of the facilities.

“This timeout will give everyone an opportunity to rest and recuperate,” she said. “And, it will limit the risk of exposure to our students and staff. Hopefully, most will be well and we can begin anew on Monday.”

Parish described Tuesday as “difficult due to the extensive staff shortage, the entire team here pulled together and made ‘school happen’ for the students in attendance. A big thank you to all of them for their extra efforts.”

While the school is closed three days, Parish said, “we will be doing AMI (Alternative Methods of Instruction) on days three, four and five. We have also canceled ball games for the remainder of the week.”

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Originally Appeared Here