School District Five Superintendent, Superintendent-elect earn high marks on evaluations
June 14, 2018
The Lexington-Richland School District Five Board of Trustees gave Superintendent Dr. Stephen Hefner high marks for his job performance during a final open evaluation June 11. Likewise, the Board endorsed an “outstanding” assessment of Dr. Christina Melton’s performance as Superintendent-elect, confirming her appointment as superintendent onJuly 1.
Hefner received an “extraordinarily exceptional” evaluation in a unanimous vote by Board members. He will officially retire on June 30.
Each Board member expressed their appreciation for Hefner, touting a variety of achievements including Hefner’s recent Magnet Schools of America Superintendent of the Year award and honors for members of his staff.
“One of Dr. Hefner’s many strengths is his ability to recognize and support outstanding leaders,” Board Chairman Robert Gantt said. “This is evidenced by the fact that during his time as Superintendent, numerous District administrators received state and national awards for their leadership… On behalf of the School District Five Board of Trustees and the entire School District Five community, we simply say ‘thank you’ for a job that is clearly your passion and extremely, extraordinarily well done.”
Melton also received high praise from Hefner and the Board. She was named superintendent-elect in December 2017, and as part of that process Dr. Hefner provided the Board with an assessment of Dr. Melton’s performance.
“In a word, Dr. Melton’s performance has been ‘Outstanding.’ She has met or exceeded every expectation,” Hefner said in his assessment of Melton. “She was an outstanding principal, an outstanding Director of Elementary Education, and an outstanding Chief Instructional Officer. Thus, it is no surprise that she has been an outstanding Superintendent-elect.”
School District Five again achieved high accolades and honors in academics, the arts, athletics, leadership and community service during the 2017-2018 school year. Niche.com, a national clearinghouse for evaluating public education, ranked School District Five as the top school district in South Carolina. The district’s SAT and ACT scores were again among the top in the state, and U.S. News & World Report ranked School District Five among the top in South Carolina for preparing students for college.
Hefner said, “It has been such a privilege to be your superintendent. I am leaving confident the district will continue to move forward positively and reach heights of success greater than ever before under Dr. Melton’s leadership as superintendent…And it is my hope that I will be remembered as someone who helped spotlight the greatest of our schools, our students and our community.”
