Greene County superintendent to head Dallas County Schools

Dallas County Schools is getting a new superintendent.

Dr. Corey Jones has been superintendent of Greene County Schools for the last six years. He officially takes the helm of Dallas County School System on Oct. 1.

Jones will work for Dr. Daniel Boyd, the Chief Administrative Officer in charge of the Dallas County School System. Boyd works for the Alabama Department of Education, and Dallas County Schools have been under state control since March because of serious financial issues.

Boyd said the state goes through an extensive process to ensure the person they hire to be superintendent “is a good fit for the system.”

“Dr. Jones has 31 years experience in education,” Boyd said. “He has led Greene County successfully.”

He added that Jones’ experience includes special education, accountability, school improvement and curriculum development. Boyd added that Jones “has a history of doing well financially and stabilizing the school district. He’s done that in Greene County.”

Boyd added that in Greene County, Jones has done “good work in terms of school improvement.”

According to Boyd, Jones has been living in Valley Grande for the last nine years.

Boyd also announced that the Dallas County School System has a new Chief School Financial Officer, Brent Mims. Boyd added that Mims is a graduate of Dallas County High School and also lives in Valley Grande.

“It’s a feather in the community’s cap,” Boyd said. “We have two people working in the county who live in the county.”

He said that the Board of Education and system employees with whom he has worked since the takeover have been extremely cooperative. Last year the Dallas County School System earned a “high C almost a B” on the statewide report card which tracks the progress of school systems. Although the school report card data will not be out until October, “report card data looks real good,” Boyd said.

“I have a feeling that the school district will do really well academically, probably a high C or a B,” Boyd said.

Normally when the state takes over a school system, “the stay is not very long,” Boyd said. “We’re typically in two to three years.”

The state also runs the Sumter County and Bessemer school systems. Boyd is Chief Executive Officer of Bessemer schools as well as Dallas County.