By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Joe Dennis, agriculture teacher at Maplesville High School, has been named interim principal at MHS for the remainder of the school year.

The announcement was made by Chilton County Schools Superintendent Tommy Glasscock on Facebook with a video entitled “Maplesville Update.”

This came just days before Maplesville’s graduation scheduled for May 24.

Dennis will handle the graduation ceremony. He has served as the agriscience teacher for several years and was previously the transportation supervisor for the system. Dennis has 27 years of experience in education.

In an interview, Glasscock said Dennis holds a degree in administration and “is qualified to serve as principal. ”

Glasscock said he had met with members of the community in a town hall setting to listen to leadership concerns about MHS.

Based on these discussions, Glascock said it was “in the best interest for the school that Mr. Dennis be interim principal for the rest of the school year.”

“There are many great and wonderful things going on in Maplesville,” Glasscock said. “We are excited about the new preschool.”

A number of Maplesville representatives were at the annual open meeting with the Board of Education. While many public comments were not made, letters expressing concern were presented to the board.

Glasscock said in the video that he has heard concerns in the past few weeks, and these concerns will be addressed “as we prepare to make changes at Maplesville High School.”

The Superintendent was at MHS on May 23, and a leadership team had been established to meet with faculty and staff.

Glasscock said he hopes to have someone named to the position permanently as soon as possible.

The MHS assistant principal was non-renewed as of a BOE meeting on May 15.

“We have a lot that are just hired for one year,” Glasscock said. “It’s not uncommon to have an assistant principal that is non-renewed.”

Future plans for the school also include trying to recruit more students.

“We have some unique programs we want to put in place,” Glasscock said.