Friday, will officially mark the end of a half-century career in education for Billy Joe Ferguson.
Ferguson, who began in the Carroll County School District as a coach, worked his way up to principal of Vaiden High School and on to Superintendent.
His contract with the district is set to expire on December 31, 2019, after the Mississippi Legislature passed a law requiring all school superintendents to be appointed rather than elected. However, because students, faculty and staff go on Christmas break beginning Friday, his official last day is Friday. Ferguson said he’s tried not to reflect so much on why, how or what happened.
“I’m very, very, blessed. I can leave with a great deal of satisfaction,” he said. “I loved working with the kids and parents of Carroll County. I live here, my home is here; I want to live here. My parents are buried here. I have some sisters and brothers who are buried here. I want to be buried here. My roots are here.”
“I’m proud of our school and all the progress that we’ve made,” Ferguson said.
He said the district still has work to do, but he’s blessed to see the progress the district has made over the last 50 years.
“I still get around good. A lot of people can’t say that and work as long as I have,” he said. “I’m still in my right mind, I still got my mind.”
Ferguson is passionate about the students and even the parents of Carroll County and understands he’s not always liked, but said that he has put his heart and soul into the school district.
Ferguson was elected in 1996 as superintendent of the Carroll County School Board. At the time he was elected, he said the district didn’t have but one vocational program, no gifted programs, no band, no baseball, and no girls softball. There were window units in the old J.Z. George building, and there was asbestos found, steam heat, no chemicals in the Chemistry lab, no gas, no water in the lab, and the chemicals that were in the building were so old, the labels were unreadable.
He said when he became superintendent the first time, he began to make changes. The biggest change was the consolidation of Vaiden High School and J.Z. George High School and moving all of the students from Vaiden to North Carrollton. Something that didn’t sit well with many citizens.
“I battled with it,” he said. “I knew if I did it, people would hate me and I’d lose the election. I grew up in Vaiden, I worked in Vaiden. I knew just about everyone there.”
heat, no chemicals in the Chemistry lab, no gas, no water in the lab, and the chemicals that were in the building were so old, the labels were unreadable.
He said when he became superintendent the first time, he began to make changes. The biggest change was the consolidation of Vaiden High School and J.Z. George High School and moving all of the students from Vaiden to North Carrollton. Something that didn’t sit well with many citizens.
“I battled with it,” he said. “I knew if I did it, people would hate me and I’d lose the election. I grew up in Vaiden, I worked in Vaiden. I knew just about everyone there.”
He said before he made the decision, he had a discussion with God and decided to move forth.
When the consolidation happened, he was able to save the district money, but the biggest blessing came from the gravel pit when the control of the 16th section land was split between the districts and the Board of Supervisors. He said from 1996 until now, the pit has brought in over $3 million dollars -- money the district used to remodel and expand what is now the current J.Z. George High School main campus building, built a new gym, move the football field from what’s now the practice field to where the football is now and purchase a new field house.
“Our gym was condemned in 2002,” Ferguson said. “We didn’t have a gym for four years. We had to play every game on the road. The kids had to practice at the gym at Marshall and had to play their games at the gym in Vaiden.”
He said the district’s official marching band marched for the first time in 2013.
Ferguson said he officially retired in 2013, but stayed on with the district at a much reduced salary, which saved the district money, expanded the vocational programs from one to six, built a new science wing, and put a new roof on J.Z. George and Marshall Elementary with central heat and air.
It’s not the only hard decision that Ferguson had to make. In 2009, he closed Hathorn Elementary School, moving all the students from Hathorn in Vaiden to Marshall Elementary in North Carrollton. Reducing the district from its original four schools – two high schools and two elementary schools – to two J.Z. George High School and Marshall Elementary School.
With the consolidation, the district was able to save more money.
“Looking back, I’m very proud of that decision. It’s probably one of the best decisions we’ve made and the best thing we could do,” Ferguson said. “There are more programs in the district. We have baseball; we have band; we’ve got girl’s fast pitch.” But, he still admits it was his hardest.
“Look at what the state’s doing. The state is now consolidating schools, and we did it on our own 20 years ago,” he said.
Another high point is that buses in the district are now air-conditioned, something not a lot of districts have. They have speech and language classes and a special education program where they are able to help more students in the district than when he first began.
Since the consolidation, the Carroll County School District has seen several successful classes graduate from Marshall Elementary and J.Z. George High School and move on to do great things with their lives and he said it’s something to be proud.
“When I said what Mrs. Laura Davis used to say in the meetings, she’s right. It does take a village to raise a child. I just wished I would’ve had the whole community and not part of the community. We can’t put it on parents alone, they need our help,” he said.
He said he feels that being an educator has been his mission in life and is his calling. Ferguson said he believes that he’s fulfilled that over the last 50 years. Hasn’t always been perfect but he’s never given up.
“I want our children to be all that they can be. That’s my mission in life, I want the best for all the children. Then I want to help the parents. People talk about you’re not an A school district, but it starts in the classroom. I’m not in the classroom. We have to train our teachers, if we want to be an A school district, it starts with our teachers,” he said.
Ferguson said when he was a principal, he was in charge of professional development. Something he still tries to do now. “That’s why we have a literacy coach at Marshall now,” he said. “But, it’s really about leadership. You have to have right people at the helm.”
He said if there’s one thing he wants the district to be known for, it’s that the kids in the Carroll County School District are respectful, caring and hardworking. Ferguson said he’s not sure what he’s gonna do come January, but he wishes the new superintendent well.
“It’s hard to come in to a school year in January. He didn’t hire the people, he doesn’t know anything about them. When I was elected, I started in January, but there was a transition. He (Jim Ray) doesn’t have one. He’s coming Friday and I’m gonna show him around and introduce him to the staff,” he said. “But, it’s hard.”
Ferguson said he hopes the district continues to progress forward and not go backwards and keep striving. The district students, teachers, faculty and staff had a send-off for Ferguson complete with the J.Z. George band Wednesday afternoon in the J.Z. George High School Gymnasium and tonight, the district will have a farewell reception for Ferguson from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the school gym.
