WINTON – The new Superintendent of Hertford County Public Schools is moving forward quickly.

Dr. Michael D. Perry told the Hertford County Board of Education last week that he was working with the district’s leaders to “refine the focus” of the school system.

“Hertford County Schools started their leadership retreat,” Perry reported at the school board meeting on July 16. “We spent a very, very good day just exploring expectations, dealing with data management.

“Our theme for this year is ‘Refining the Focus’,” he continued. “We acknowledge that we have the focus. This year we’re simply trying to refine some things so we can get better at what we do.”

Perry said the district’s administration, including new Hertford County High School Principal James Futrell and new C.S. Brown High School Principal Keisha Peele, had been participating in the leadership focus.

The new superintendent said the entire staff was working with him to provide a refined focus for the district.

Also during his report, Perry informed the board of an issue they had addressed earlier had been handled.

“I would like to share, I believe as a board, not very long ago you passed a resolution stating you were against the Virtual Public School; the charter school that was trying to come into North Carolina,” Perry said. “We received a message just a couple of days ago.”

Perry said the state courts upheld the North Carolina Board of Education’s right to grant charters and that entity had not granted the Virtual Public School a charter.

“We see this as a great win because even though the school would have been situated in the west, they could have gotten students from Hertford County, Dare County, anywhere, and it would have cost us a lot of resources and a lot of money,” the superintendent said.

In other business, the board:

• approved a change in the 2012-13 calendar to move report card pick up day from November 6 to November 8 due to Election Day;
• approved fundraiser requests;
• adopted a list of substitute bus drivers, teachers and cafeteria workers; and
• received budget transfer information.