Richland 1 votes to extend Witherspoon’s superintendent contract through 2024

Richland 1 has extended the contract of Superintendent Craig Witherspoon until 2024.

Witherspoon’s contract extension, approved by a 6-1 vote from the Richland 1 school board, followed a performance review. The performance review listed his performance as “exemplary,” an improvement over his 2019 review that determined his performance as “adequate.”

School board member Beatrice King was the only one to vote against the extension. Richland 1 hired an external company to review Witherspoon’s performance.

Witherspoon’s salary will remain the same at $236,240, district spokeswoman Karen York said in an email.

Witherspoon was hired as superintendent in 2015 after being superintendent of Birmingham City Schools in Alabama.

While unpopular with some parents for presiding over budget issues and soaring advertising spending, Witherspoon led Richland 1 as it posted the highest graduation rate in district history for two years in a row and the first Richland 1 football state championship in decades.