WINDSOR – Elaine White made her presence felt quickly.

The brand new interim Bertie County Schools Superintendent made several changes to the administration of the district Tuesday night with the approval of the Bertie County Board of Education.

White said it was her goal to make sure there were quality leaders at all schools and a good team at Central Office.

In one of the first major moves of the new administration, White transferred the longest serving principal in the district – Bertie Middle School’s Sandra Hardy – to Central Office to serve as Director of Curriculum.

“When I was at the high school before, she was my assistant principal,” White said. “We have worked well together for 11 years. I don’t know anyone more knowledgeable in the area of curriculum.”

With Hardy leaving BMS, White said it was important to find strong leadership at the school. For that reason, she tabbed Director of Transportation Carson Watford to become principal of the school. Watford has a long history of working in middle schools.

Deborah Carroll had been serving the district as Chief Academic Officer; a position similar to the one Hardy is taking. White said Carroll has been named Principal of Bertie STEM High School.

“We have to have strong leadership at our schools,” White said. “If the schools are not well-staffed, it will be hard to get the district moving forward.”

In addition to those moves, White also made a recommendation to fill the vacant Finance Officer post.

The board approved her recommendation of hiring Pearline Bunch, who has been the district’s Finance Officer previously, to return to that post.

“We needed someone to come in and hit the ground running; someone who is familiar with the district,” the interim superintendent said. “We thought she was a good fit for us at this time.”

The board also filled Watford’s post as Director of Transportation as they placed Finance Technician Vernice Murphy in that job.

In addition, the board named Calvin Moore as Interim Principal of Bertie High School. The board also transferred Assistant Principal Daphne Williams from Windsor Elementary School to Bertie High School. The position at Windsor was not filled Tuesday.

The final position that was filled by board action was the Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent and Board Clerk post. Kimberly Cooper, who served as a Teacher Assistant at Windsor Elementary, was transferred into that job.