Peach County Hires New School Superintendent

This morning, the Peach County Board of Education voted unanimously to hire Joe Ann Denning as the new superintendent for the district.

She is a 24 year veteran with the school district.· Most recently, Denning served as director of student services.·

Her new salary will be $140,000 a year, that’s almost $50,000 less than former Superintendent Dr. Susan Clark earned. Denning will begin her new position tomorrow.

Denning says her top priorities are student achievement and the district’s budget. She is also considering moving the school system back to a traditional 5 day school week.

“It’s a challenge, but I’m ready to go to work.·First thing I’m going to do is make sure we have a teacher in every classroom.You know with all the budget restraints we have I’ve got to look at that first,” says Denning.

Peach County School Board Chairman Jamie Johnson says the board was happy to pick a candidate who is already familiar with the school system.

“Her vision is very similar to what each board member and what the board has as a vision and goals,” says Johnson.

The other finalist for the job were Dr. Christy Johnson from Caroll County Schools and Dr. Dennis Carpenter, currently an assistant superintendent in Newton County.

Denning will now be responsible for more than 4,000 students in the Peach County School System. Her contract runs through July 2014.

Denning replaces Dr. Susan Clark, who announced earlier this year that she would retire at the end of June.