Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District trustees could decide the fate of Superintendent Lewis Holloway’s continued employment with the district in a special-call meeting Monday, said board President Eddie Myles.
Myles and other school board members met behind closed doors Monday to discuss misdemeanor charges Holloway faces after he allegedly fired a gun during an Aug. 9 disturbance on Mt. Olive Road.
They took no action following the almost three-hour meeting.
The board placed Holloway on paid leave last week after individuals involved in the incident filed affidavits against the superintendent, which led to a warrant being issued for his arrest on Aug. 11. He was charged with two counts of simple assault by threats and released on a $1,000 bail that same day.
School board members also commissioned the district’s attorney, John Hill, to conduct an investigation of the incident.
Myles said the school board wants to meet with Holloway next week before making a decision on his status with the district.
“We want to make sure that this process is done fairly and right. I think we have a good guy in the position right now and hopefully, with the evidence our attorney has been bringing forward, we will show that,” he said. “I think there’s no option off the table. We’re going to have school; that’s with (Holloway) or without. I really believe this matter should be coming to a close as early as Monday.”
It is not known the details of Hill’s investigation, but school board members received an update from the attorney during Monday’s closed-door session.
Myles said the board has not viewed the affidavits filed against Holloway. After the incident was reported, The Dispatch asked Oktibbeha County Justice Court officials for those document but was denied access by Judge Jim Mills, who said the case is pending before the court.
Monday’s meeting is scheduled three weeks prior to Holloway’s Sept. 15 court date, and Myles said the outcome of a trial — if the case makes it that far in the legal process — could impact the school board’s decision.
“That’s a chance you take. You’re rolling the dice,” he said of the potential board decision being scheduled before the court date. “Despite what we do, everyone has an opinion. As a board, we’re going to make our decision, and we’re going to stand (by it). If they find him guilty — if that happens — we have to come back and make a decision as a board. I think (the charges) were misconstrued … and hopefully the evidence will prove it.”
The other board members have not discussed replacing Holloway and will “only cross those bridges when (we) get there,” Myles said.
Assistant Superintendents Toriano Holloway and Jody Woodrum have led SOCSD in Lewis Holloway’s absence.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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