Randy Shearouse will retire this year from his current position as a superintendent in Effingham County, Georgia, but he wants one more superintendency before he calls an end to his career.

He also wants to be superintendent in a community with potential, and during his interview last week, Shearouse told members of the Limestone County Board of Education that he believes Limestone County Schools has that potential.

“The sky’s the limit with the opportunities you could have in this community,” he said Thursday. “… It reminds me of the district I’m in, when I came to it.”

Most of Shearouse’s career has been in the Effingham County Schools system. He’s worked as a teacher, assistant principal and principal before taking over as superintendent. He described himself as “fortunate to have been able to love every job I’ve held.”

“You really can make a difference in the life of a child,” Shearouse said. “… There’s no job I feel that can make a bigger difference in the life of a child than a superintendent.”

He said as superintendent, he got to work with principals, teachers, students and the board to build a district to be proud of.

“Folks appreciate working there,” he said. “We have a great retention rate in our system as far as teachers. We have increased our teacher pay so it’s one of the highest in the region. … We have a great reputation as a school district, and it’s not because of me in any way. It’s because we have hardworking folks and kids. People move to Effingham County for the school system.”

Shearouse admitted he’s a competitive person who wants to see a similar kind of district in Limestone County.

“I want to be better than everyone around us, and fortunately, I believe we are,” he said.

Growing the future

To build that dream in Effingham County, Shearouse said he worked with faculty and community members often. He told board members he wants principals and teachers to know they can come to him with any issue or concern.

“Getting them involved and letting them have a voice is key to keeping morale high,” Shearouse said. “If I’m wanting to have some type of initiative and it comes from the top down, that’s just not going to work very well.”

When it comes to students, he said he’s worked to make sure each student has the opportunity and support they need to succeed, from reading recovery programs and literacy coaches in elementary schools to special academies in high school. During Shearouse’s time as superintendent, ECS opened a College and Career Academy for high schoolers and more recently, a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Academy for ninth and 10th graders.

Shearouse said the STEM Academy did undergo some adjustments when it was realized students were going home with hours of homework to do, but he said a more rigorous course schedule was important to make sure all students were challenged before graduation.

He said building the academies also reduced the need for a costly new high school and any associated athletic facilities. In addition to the academies, ECS purchased a 310-acre cattle farm in 2016 to use as an agricultural center so students at all grade levels could get hands-on learning experiences, including field trips for elementary students, student 4-H projects and ag classes for middle and high schoolers.

Penny for your thoughts

Of course, while some of those things saved the district money in the long run, they weren’t free or cheap. Shearouse told board members he’s worked on about $89 million in construction projects for his district, including a new $21-million elementary school.

To pay for it, he pushed for a 1-penny sales tax that would be set aside for education spending. When board member Earl Glaze asked how he convinced voters to support the tax, Shearouse said he made sure voters knew the need within their district.

“I can’t tell anyone how to vote; that would be illegal,” he said. “But I can share the need to vote. … You have to show the folks what the needs are.”

So that’s what he did.

“I spoke to every group I could,” Shearouse told members. “It was spearheaded by the school board, it was spearheaded by the superintendent, so I went to every PTA meeting or PTO meeting I could attend. I went to faculty meetings, Rotary Club meetings, any kind of booster club meetings, any band concert I could go to, to speak on the needs of the district.”

As a result, the sales tax was approved. Shearouse said within two years, they’ll have the new elementary school paid off. He also mentioned plans to seek a $100-million bond referendum that would help pay for another new elementary school, a new middle school and a performing arts center for the school system over the next 10 years.

“You have to do a lot of planning upfront, because it will save you in the long run,” Shearouse said. “… When you talk about facilities, if you’re growing fast, you really need to look at a 10-year plan.”

Potential in Limestone

Shearouse believes the growth in Effingham County is similar to the growth Limestone County could see over the next 10 years.

“As I rode around (Limestone County) today, I was very impressed with the growth in the community, the industries in the community,” Shearouse told members during his Jan. 30 interview. “I believe you’ve got to capitalize on that. There’s so much promise here.”

He told The News Courier after his interview that it’s a “great situation to be in,” but it will be a challenge for LCS to keep up with that growth and keep kids in great facilities.

“You have to be visionary about where you want the school district to go, but the opportunities are endless here in Limestone, as far as possibilities to create a better educational system and build on what we have,” he said.

He told board members he doesn’t plan to come in and completely change the district, but he does want to serve as a visionary in the superintendent role.

“There are great things going on here that can be improved on — we all have things we can improve on — but I don’t think people are going to be like, ‘Whoa, this guy from Georgia is changing everything,'” he said. “… With the industry coming in, you’ve got lots of potential to do great things.”

Up next

Shearouse is the third of five candidates to be interviewed for the role of Limestone County Schools superintendent. Two other candidates — Carlos Nelson of Sheffield City Schools and Alan Miller of Auburn University at Montgomery — will be interviewed Feb. 10 and 11.

All interviews are open to the public and will start at 6 p.m. in the round room of the Limestone County Career Technical Center. Those who wish to provide feedback on a candidate can visit https://bit.ly/LCBOEmembers for links to contact any of the seven board members who represent the Limestone County Board of Education.