Sumter superintendent Wright: I want to stay in Sumter

Sumter School District Superintendent William Wright Jr. says he wants to continue in his role and aimed Wednesday to clarify the motives behind his recent application for another top district position.

In an interview in Columbia with The Sumter Item, in which his attorney, Donald Gist of Gist Law Firm, was present, Wright, who was recently a finalist for a superintendent position in Georgetown, said he wants to continue what he’s started in the district, citing improvements in teacher shortages, student performance and more since he began in July 2022.

“We were not competitive, nor were we clear on pay structure, etc. ALL of these things we have moved progressively forward with. Additionally, we have increased student achievement in the district, made our facilities even more secure and still have managed to increase our financial stability,” Wright said in a written statement given to The Item. “Together, we’ve done some good work in SSD over the past 2+ years. We’ve increased student achievement across many areas, decreased disciplinary incidents, made employee pay much more competitive, and closed the teacher vacancy deficit tremendously. Many of these measures are not the case in rural/suburban districts like ours. Yet, I stand as a superintendent with less than a year left on my contract.”

Wright had been one of four finalists for the Georgetown County School District position, where Bethany A. Giles now serves in the role. A Georgetown Times / Post and Courier article says Giles had been the interim superintendent there and was the only in-house candidate for the post.

“We want to clear up for the world, and particularly for the Sumter community, what Dr. Wright’s commitment is to the community,” Wright’s attorney, Gist, said.

Applying for the Georgetown superintendent position, according to Wright, came after encouragement from a colleague to do so.

“My decision to even become a candidate for the superintendency in Georgetown, SC, was based on one major factor,” Wright said in the statement. “I was encouraged (from my perspective) from a professional colleague to apply for the position (based on messaging) and would have no reason to think otherwise.”

Wright also mentioned a sentence printed in a local Georgetown news outlet with paraphrasing claiming Wright wanted to leave Sumter.

“[U]pon interviewing in Georgetown in a town hall format, a derogatory, divisive statement was placed in the [Coastal Observer] referencing my desire to leave Sumter,” he wrote. “Conveniently, that was the only portion of the statements from me that weren’t contained within quotation marks. That’s because I didn’t say those words.”

Here is the sentence from a Sept. 19 article in the Coastal Observer that Wright told The Item he did not say: “[Wright] said he hoped he was only going to be in Sumter for a few more days because he wanted to come to Georgetown.”

To date, Wright has not had his contract as superintendent of Sumter School District extended. His current contract runs through June 30, 2025.

According to earlier reporting from The Sumter Item, the Rev. Ralph Canty resigned as Sumter School District's Board of Trustees chairman effective immediately in late August, citing visionary issues with Wright.

"Two-years plus into Dr. Wright's administration, and as chair I don't know what that vision is, and I don't know that a board member can articulate that vision," Canty told The Item in earlier reporting. "I don't know what strategy he has for improving our schools.”

Earlier Item reporting also details Wright giving a formal letter to the full board asking for a contract extension. Canty and the board told him at the time that any discussion of an extension will have to wait for his annual performance review in early October.

“I absolutely and unequivocally want to remain as Sumter’s superintendent,” Wright wrote in the statement given to The Item on Sept. 25. “We’ve begun a good work, and I’m not tired yet! I encourage our citizens to ask the people who are actually experiencing the work we’re doing every day. I know that we’re not perfect, but I also know we’re better! I’d be honored to have the opportunity to continue what we’ve started because this is where I’d like to be.”

Included in his goals for Sumter schools is getting new school buildings, recruiting and retaining quality talent and initiating more community-school partnerships.

The next Sumter School District Board of Trustees' meeting is Monday, Oct. 7. Some members of the board held their Finance Committee meeting on Wednesday, which started at 5 p.m. Wright arrived at 5:28 p.m. for the meeting.

Bryn Eddy is editor of The Lexington County Chronicle, a sister newspaper to The Sumter Item, and newsletter editor for both under Osteen Publishing Company.