Greenbrier High post to be filled by retiree

A former Columbia County principal has been brought out of retirement to help run Greenbrier High School, but officials say the move is unrelated to recent complaints from a group of teachers.

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Wanda Golosky, who retired this spring as principal of Euchee Creek Elementary School, agreed to serve as assistant principal at Greenbrier until the end of the school year, said Columbia County School Superintendent Charles Nagle.

Greenbrier Principal Margie Hamilton was the target of a letter in September from a small group of teachers who accused her of poor leadership, unfairness and bullying.

Nagle denied that episode played a role in installing Golosky to work as Hamilton's assistant.

"That was not the thinking behind this," Nagle said. "There's nothing sinister behind it."

Bringing in a retiree to fill the opening is designed to stop the "domino effect" of other positions opening in the system in mid-year when a staffer is hired for another job, Nagle said.

Golosky temporarily replaces Chip Fulmer, who was promoted in October to principal at Greenbrier Middle School.

Fulmer replaced Sharon Carson, who had been promoted in September to director of middle school learning at the central office, an opening created when Mike Lindsay accepted a superintendent's post in Boaz, Ala., in August.

The prospect of another internal candidate in the school system replacing Fulmer, and then creating yet another opening in the middle of the school year, persuaded officials to bring in a retiree to finish out the term at Greenbrier High, Nagle said.

"What we thought we would do is just put one of these experienced administrators in there," Nagle said. "We wouldn't have to worry about training them. They could hit the floor running, doing teacher evaluations and supervision, those kind of things."

The position will then be advertised to coincide with the regular cycle of interviews and hiring in the spring for the start of the 2011-12 school year, Nagle said.