After three months on paid administrative leave, Athens City Schools Superintendent Carl Martin is set to retire after his contract ends July 31.
Athens City Schools Superintendent Carl Martin, who the district placed on paid leave in February, will not return to his position in August.
The Athens City School Board announced Thursday night that Martin will retire and Associate Superintendent Tom Gibbs will take his place. Martin’s contract will expire July 31.
Because of budgetary restrictions, the district will not hire a new associate superintendent.
Martin has been on paid administrative leave from the district since February 12, when the district’s legal counsel investigated issues related to former teacher Isaac Thomas’s sexual battery charges, according to a previous Post report.
The school district’s legal counsel investigated Martin for not reporting an inappropriate relationship between Thomas and a student, but after investigation, the legal counsel did not take legal action against Martin.
Gibbs said the administrative changes have been in the works for at least a few months, and he has been on deck to replace Martin ever since he was hired in 2013.
“Those were conversations that we had along the way,” he said. “I think that was accelerated somewhat because I was in the role of superintendent in the spring.”
Last year, the school board approved Gibbs to take Martin’s position for the 2015-16 school year. Martin would take over as associate superintendent.
But Gibbs said that while serving as interim superintendent he determined there was not enough money in the district’s budget to pay for an associate position.
“This is trying to stay ahead of the game so to speak,” he said.
When the district did its five-year financial forecast earlier this year, it projected a $3 million negative cash balance.
Gibbs said the district has already removed four classroom aide positions, three bus driver positions and several teaching positions by not hiring new faculty after former faculty members left the district.
He said it was only fair to cut an administrative position as well.
“The idea was to distribute reduction proportionately across departments,” he said. “Those were plans that I put together through the spring as folks left the district.”
He also said that the district’s enrollment is down from about 3,500 students 30 years ago to 2,700 students today.
Gibbs said he is capable of handling the responsibility of serving as the sole superintendent of Athens City Schools.
“When I was asked to come to Athens a few years ago, I was superintendent of two districts at the same time,” he said. “It was a much bigger job…I did both of those jobs and did not have an (associate superintendent).”
He previously served as superintendent of both Warren Local Schools and Frye Local Schools.
“I'm excited,” Gibbs said. “Athens is a great community. It's a great school district.”
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