Sumter school board selects N.C. candidate William Wright as next superintendent

Wright has served 7 years as leader of Hertford County Public Schools

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Sumter School District’s Board of Trustees went with the candidate with superintendent-level experience in selecting William Wright Jr. as the district’s next leader on Tuesday night.

The trustees’ vote was unanimous in selecting Wright at a special-called meeting at Sumter Career and Technology Center and the announcement was made about 8:40 p.m.

For the last seven years, Wright has served as superintendent for Hertford County Public Schools, a relatively small district and county in northeastern North Carolina in the town of Winton near Murfreesboro. The district has about 2,500 students.

He also previously served as a superintendent of a small district in South Carolina – McCormick County, which is just south of Greenwood and Abbeville counties and borders the Georgia state line – for about 2.5 years.

Before McCormick, Wright served as an assistant superintendent in Harnett County Schools in North Carolina. That district’s enrollment is about 19,000 students. Wright also has about 11 years of experience as a principal and assistant principal.

Wright has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from North Carolina Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. He holds a master’s degree in School Administration from North Carolina State University in Raleigh and also earned his doctorate in Educational Administration and Supervision from North Carolina State.

Wright is the district’s fifth superintendent since consolidation in July 2011, when including an interim leader who served two years as the acting superintendent.

He will begin in the position in about six weeks on July 1. Wright will replace outgoing superintendent Penelope Martin-Knox, whose contract ends June 30.