Newton Citizen

COVINGTON -- Dr. Dennis Carpenter is not leaving his position as Newton County School System's deputy superintendent of Operations until June, but he will travel between Georgia and Missouri until then.

In December, the Hickman Mills C-1 Board of Directors in Kansas City, Mo., finalized an agreement with Carpenter to begin as the district's new superintendent effective July 1.

The Missouri school district reported last week that Carpenter will be in its school system periodically during the final half of this school year, evaluating district procedures and getting acclimated to the area. He also will be working with its current acting superintendent, who has been in place since October, during the transition period.

The district also reported that in his biography, Carpenter said he is "a visionary and strategic leader versed in the area of district operations" who is ready to take "an active role, at the executive level, in matters relative to curriculum and instruction."

School Board President Breman Anderson Jr. said Carpenter had the skills and abilities to move the district forward, out of the several candidates that applied for the superintendent vacancy, according to the district's press release.

The Kansas City district received provisional accreditation from the state in September and is seeking to regain full accreditation.

The school district serves 6,200 students, while NCSS serves about 19,000 students. Its budget for the school year is more than $79 million, compared to Newton's $145 million budget.

Carpenter has been with NCSS since February 2008, when he was hired as associate superintendent for Human Resources. He is the husband of Dr. LaQuanda Carpenter, the principal at Alcovy High School since 2009.

NCSS has not yet began to advertise for either position.