Guilford County Schools Superintendent Mo Green told the school board during last night’s meeting that he is resigning to take over as executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.
Emotions ran high among school board members in the wake of Green’s announcement:
Board member Linda Welborn’s voice shook as she praised Green for his “high character” and “passion for children.”
“We have been blessed to have Mo for seven years, and he’s done an outstanding job,” Welborn said.
Board member Darlene Garrett was red-faced when she returned from the closed board session that preceded Green’s announcement. She cried as she recalled being one of the board members who voted against his appointment in 2008 for reasons that included his lack of a background in education.
Garrett said the vote was a mistake, a comment she has frequently made.“He’s been a great superintendent, and I’m really going to miss him,” she said. “It’s a big loss for our community because he is such a great leader and he is a person, as Linda (Welborn) said, of high integrity and moral character.”
Green has been on the job for seven years. The selection of a news superintendent will come at an interesting time for the school board—a partisan election in which district lines will be redrawn.
