The Marlboro County Board of Education voted 7-2 to select Dr. Helene Tillar as the new superintendent for Marlboro County School District.

Board members Danny Driggers and Nikki Pruitt voted no.

Board member Dr. Rippin McLeod made the motion for the board to hire Tillar as the new superintendent of the Marlboro County school district. Vice Chairman Michael Toms seconded it.

Before the vote, Driggers made a statement and said he had been honest and forthcoming in all of his nonsupport reasons.

He noted Tillar had commented at the Meet and Greet on July 6 about how she did not get any money from the school district except what was owed to her.

“Anyone can go to the school district, and you can request through FOIA, the exit agreement,” he said. “In that information you get, it tells you the specifics of what happened and how it was done.”

Ultimately, Driggers felt the district was going backward and doing things that should not be done.

“My concern is if you mislead with information to get a job, what would you do to keep the job?” he said.

Pruitt read a statement that she had written.

“I believe it is the will of the people that I represent that we move in a different direction for the leadership of our school district,” she read. “With that being said, we do operate as a board in its entirety. I will respectfully work with the elected superintendent for the betterment of our school system and the future of our Children.”

Board member Reginald Gaymond said he had full trust and faith that the new superintendent would come in and turn the district around.

“I think we made an excellent decision,” he said.

McLeod said he knew for a fact that Tillar would come in and do an excellent job.

“None of us, not even members of the school district, were ever told anything about her departure. And so sitting in that back room, when I thought about who was the best person who could lead our district forward. Her name came to mind, and that’s why I pushed for this.”

He added that board members were supposed to select the best candidate.

“I’m satisfied and I’ll sleep real good tonight because we did select the best candidate of all the candidates we had,” McLeod said.

After the vote, Chairman Michael Coachman made a statement on behalf of the board.

“We’re making the right decision to try to move our district forward,” he said. “We know where we stand at. We know where we’re at now. This board has made a decision to take us where we know we can go.”

Driggers said he did not agree with what had just happened.

“But if Dr. Tillar leads us in the right direction,” he said. “If she comes in and supports the staff, makes sure our education programs are going forward. She will have my full support.”

Coachman said the board looked forward to moving the district forward in a positive direction for the children and staff.

The Board of Education conducted two superintendent searches.

“We feel that the best candidate has been chosen in the best interest of the children and staff of this district,” he said.

Coachman shared a lot of work needs to be done in the district.

For instance, three schools are on the priority list.

Coachman noted the graduation rate was at 69% in 2010 when Tillar was hired.

During her tenure from 2010 to 2018, the graduation rate increased to 83% success rate, schools moved off the priority list, and some exceeded expectations.

“So after two superintendent general searches, we carefully weigh our option to us,” Coachman said. “We felt a sense of urgency to have someone who could turn this district around and help us guide our children to a higher level of education inside the classroom and beyond that the parents and the citizens of this challenge will be proud of.”

Coachman read a statement from Tillar.

“I am honored to be selected as the new superintendent of Marlboro County School District,” she said in the statement. “I have decided to work with the Board of Education, the school, the staff, and the community to continue to improve the quality of education for all our students.”

Currently, Tillar serves as a professional learning specialist for the Midlands Community Development Corporation.

She was superintendent in Marlboro County from 2010-18. She has over 30 years of education experience, including chief curriculum, instruction and assessment officer, director for the Office of Curriculum and Standards at the SC State Department of Education, principal, and director of bands.

Tillar earned a bachelor of science degree from South Carolina State University, a master of education degree from the University of Hawaii, an educational specialist degree, and a doctor of education degree from South Carolina State University.

Tillar is to start work with MCSD on July 20.