The Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District’s chief of athletics spoke to the school board Wednesday about some sports-related repairs and renovations he would like to see done in the district.
Clinton Gatewood said that athletic facilities at all three of the district’s high schools — Amanda Elzy High, Greenwood High and Leflore County High — need to be brought up to par. The improvements he suggested would include refurbishing the track fields and installing new football scoreboards.
Gatewood said the athletic facilities at Amanda Elzy and Leflore County have been neglected for years in comparison to those at Greenwood High. He said he would like the district to purchase items needed for basketball, baseball and other sports at Elzy and Leflore.
He also said he hopes to work with Itta Bena Mayor Reginald Freeman to fix that city’s tennis court, which Leflore County High could use for matches, and he would like to have the the bathrooms and concession stands at the athletic facilities rebuilt.
“We just want our kids to be at the point where they’re comfortable — comfortable coming to practice where they know they’re in a safe environment,” he said.
Dr. Mary Brown, the superintendent, asked the board to determine how much money the district could allocate to upgrade its athletic facilities. Sports does bring in revenue for the district, she said.
Also Wednesday, Samantha Milton, the board’s president, asked the other members how they would like to handle the process for hiring a new superintendent.
The school board voted earlier this summer not to extend Brown’s contract. Brown will remain in her post through the end of the 2021-2022 school year.
Milton said she would like to have the Mississippi School Boards Association assist with the search. The association helped the board with its first superintendent search, which resulted in the hiring of Brown.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
