AMHERST REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL GENE JONES RESIGNS AFTER ONE YEAR
JONES NAMED PRINCIPAL OF LEXINGTON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN LEXINGTON CITY, N.C.
Amherst Regional High School Principal Gene T. Jones Jr. has submitted his resignation, after serving only one year of a two-year contract.
A June 2 article in a North Carolina newspaper states that Jones was named as principal of Lexington Senior High School in Lexington City. It is unknown how long Amherst-Pelham Regional School District officials were aware of Jones’ impending departure.
Jones’ resignation in Amherst will be effective on July 24, according to the brief email that he sent to high school families late yesterday (July 8.) The resignation creates a high-level vacancy as the district hurries to reconfigure interior spaces, schedules and programs in four elementary and two secondary schools to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission this fall.
Earlier this week, on the night of Tuesday July 7, Jones spoke at a virtual Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee meeting where plans for schools to reopen part-time this fall were discussed. No mention was made then of Jones’ impending departure.
In his email, Jones stated that this past year “was filled with many unexpected events that gave me a chance to reasses my priorities and reflect on what is truly important in my life … I have decided that it was crucial to move closer to my family.” Jones added that “an opportunity arose” which will enable him and his wife to “bring that decision to fruition.”.
Jones replaced former ARHS principal Mark Jackson last year, after Jackson retired abruptly in the fall of 2018 after 14 years leading ARHS. Assistant ARHS Principal Miki Gromacki served as interim principal while the search for Jackson’s replacement was underway.
Jones was slated to earn $138,000 in his first year on the job, and was eligible for up to $7,500 in moving expenses. The details of Jones’ contract termination were unknown yesterday.
“It was with a heavy heart that I offered my resignation as principal,” Jones wrote in the email. He added that the decision was extremely difficult, because he had built “many great working relationships in the Amherst community.”
“I will miss all of you greatly and I know that the great things that are going on at Amherst Regional High School will continue. I wish all of you the best,” Jones stated.
Jones was selected following a national search. A former principal of Warwick High School in Newport News, VA., Jones was one of three finalists, which also included Shannon Magee, then interim dean at ARHS, and Weymouth High School Principal Alan Strauss.