The Petal School District Board of Trustees is experiencing a change in leadership and membership, recently seeing the departure of a longtime chairman, the naming of a new chairman and a recently-elected board member.
Bruce Magee, who served on the board for 20 years – including 18 as its chairman – recently decided not to run for another term in last year’s election. Lacey Bolling, who ran unopposed in the election, was sworn in earlier this month to fill the vacancy left by Magee.
In Magee’s stead, board members have elected to name Jerry DeFatta – who previously was serving as vice chairman – to fill the chairman position.
“There comes a time when you have to step down, and I had thought about when that might come,” Magee said. “Knowing that I had good, solid leadership behind me in Mr. DeFatta and other board members like Dr. Chuck Harrell, it was just a good, opportune time to step down.
Magee, who in 2018 became the first Petal School official to be named School Board Member of the Year by the Mississippi School Boards Association, is employed by Richton Tie and Timber, where he has served as Chief Financial Officer since 1992.
“I’ll stay in touch with (district superintendent Matt) Dillon and the district, and I’m sure I’ll be helping with some of the issues going forward, like the (upcoming new elementary school),” Magee said. “And I’ll be attending events and things like that, so nothing will change other than I won’t be at the board meeting every month and be in the know as much.
“But I’ll still be as big of a supporter of the board as I was on the inside, (just now) as a community member.”
Magee said he is pleased with the direction in which the district moved during his two decades on the board.
“It’s a rare occurrence that you find people that work toward a common initiative or goal, like you see at Petal here,” he said. “I was pushed to try to do the best I could as a board member, by what I saw in the classroom and outside the classroom.”
DeFatta, who formerly served as president of the Petal Youth Sports Association and is currently is the executive director of the Southern Miss Alumni Association, has been on the board six years. He was vice chair for approximately four years.
“We’ve got just a tremendous history of leadership,” he said. “Bruce spent a significant amount of time in that role, and Marcus Ware spent several years in that role as well, so I just hope that I can continue the kind of legacy those guys have built for our district.”
DeFatta said one of the main duties in his job as chairperson will be to ensure that meetings continue to move smoothly through the monthly agenda.
“We really (want to) continue to maintain our focus on providing our students, our staff and our administrators with the best tools that are available for them to provide the highest-quality education that we can,” he said. “So we just plan to continue that same track record of good leadership and good support for all of the people that count on us.
“I’m excited to keep moving things in the same positive direction they’ve been going the last couple of years.”
Bolling said she also is excited to serve in her new position.
“With Mr. Bruce being gone, he’s certainly irreplaceable,” she said. “But I have two children in the school system and I have a great desire to make a difference, and continue the greatness that he has done for our district for over 20 years.
“There’s nothing necessarily in particular (that I’m going to jump into); I’m just excited to be able to see what the future holds for our children and our students. I have been a part of several committees – between the primary school, the upper elementary, the elementary and the middle school – and just being part of those committees and seeing what all goes into everything … I just wanted to be a part of it, even closer and more detailed.”
