Lexington 1 looks for new leader. But the current superintendent isn’t leaving
Lexington 1 is moving forward with plans to hire a new “superintendent-elect” who will serve as the replacement in waiting for current Superintendent Gerrita Postlewait.
On Tuesday, the school board voted to move forward with a search to fill the new position, contracting with DT Strategies of Lexington to find the person who would be the next superintendent of the central Lexington County district.
The district had an open position for a deputy superintendent, but the board voted Jan. 23 to modify that job posting with a plan to create a new position as superintendent-in-waiting until Postlewait retires.
Postlewait was hired in 2022 to replace Greg Little, who left Lexington 1 at the end of the 2021-22 school year for a job with the S.C. technical college system. Postlewait was originally brought on as an interim superintendent that July and hired full-time in October on a five-year contract.
Postlewait indicated last week that the revised position would “make it clear that the person coming in as superintendent-elect would eventually serve as superintendent when I step down.”
The superintendent intends to serve through the end of her current contract in 2027, but told the board she’s aware of the fact she has been working in education for more than 50 years and will likely be winding down her career soon.
“I’m in my sixth decade working in schools and I would be ... pushing the envelope in how far I can go on that five-year plan,” she said.
The planned leadership change comes at a time when the district will soon start work on a five-year strategic plan and act on recommendations from a curriculum effectiveness audit, said district spokeswoman Libby Roof.
“A clear succession plan provides stability during this critical time in our district,” Roof said.
Before coming to Lexington, Postlewait served as superintendent of Charleston County’s schools from 2015 to the end of 2021. She received a contract extension from the Charleston school board in 2018 that would have seen her continue in the job until the end of the 2023-24 school year. But a split school board voted to accept Postlewait’s resignation in December 2021, WCSC-TV reported.
A Georgetown native, Postlewait was also superintendent of Horry County schools for 10 years.
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