King Receives Contract Extension, Better Evaluation

Putnam County Director Of Schools Corby King received a 4.26 score on his annual evaluation Thursday night, leading to a contract extension.

The School Board and 31 school administrators evaluated King on 117 different items across a five-point scale. School Board Attorney Dan Rader called the evaluation excellent, noting King’s highest scores came in the areas of integrity, fairness and ethics.

“I think it’s always important for all of the students, the citizens, the boards and everybody affiliated with the Putnam County Board of Education to know that the integrity, fairness and ethics are being upheld by Mr. King and his administration,” Rader said. “And I think that’s exemplary.”

The board voted King a contract extension through June, 2027 with a bump in salary to $150,000 annually. School Board Member Kim Cravens noted the school system still had work to do to pay King a more competitive salary when considered against similar size systems.

“We know that if you look at the data that we’re still on the low end,” Cravens said. “We like to make mention of that because, you know, our goal is to get everybody, teachers and supervisors and Mr. King, up to a point where we’re competitive. And that’s what our goal is as we move forward. Doing that in small increments.”

“We want to try our best to pay more and also expect more,” School Board Chair Lyn McHenry said.

King’s score increased from 4.22 in last year’s evaluation. His score among administrators increased to 4.61. The annual confidential review is part of board policy.

“It’s a blessing to be here and serve this community,” King said. “We have something in our community that not a lot of people can say. We’ve got board members that, even if we disagree, can do so and not be disagreeable. We get along well. We’ve got administrators and teams that that fight for kids.”

In other business, the School Board voted to release some $1.9 million in escrow money to the construction firm behind the new Park View School project. The roof replacement at the former Park View School has been completed. Work has begun to design a new restroom facility with concession stand at Avery Trace. Cravens urged administrators to build the facility big enough on the front end.