By Christian Coffman

NATCHEZ —Newly-appointed Concordia Parish School Superintendent Whest Shirley said he is ready to make a positive change for all of Concordia Parish.

The Concordia Parish School Board selected Shirley to lead the school district forward, something Shirley says has always been his goal as a teacher, coach and principal.

“(My wife and I) felt it was time to make a move. Instead of being in charge of 300 kids I’ll be in charge of nearly 4000. Just another opportunity to make a positive difference,” Shirley said. “Concordia Parish is my home. I want to remain here and for the parish to keep moving forward.”

Shirley said he hopes board members felt he was sincere during the interview process since he has been dedicated to the parish his whole life.

“I stressed in my interview that I’m hoping to make a difference and I prioritized everything to say that everything revolves around teachers and the classrooms,” Shirley said. “Teachers make a difference; I’m not as important as that classroom teacher that shuts their door and looks at students waiting to be enlightened.”

In addition to being Vidalia Junior High School principal, Shirley has also been a coach at Adams County Christian School and has worked for the U.S. Postal Service.

He also serves as a member of the Concordia Parish Police Jury, a position he was elected to in 2004.

He was elected as president of the police jury in December 2016, a position he plans to give up when he takes on his new school district responsibilities.

“After we get the negotiations worked out, I’m going to step down as president immediately,” Shirley said. “There’s no way I can do both jobs adequately. Whether or not I’ll seek re-election (to the police jury) is still up in the air.”

Shirley said, for now, he still intends on staying with the police jury, just not as its president.

Previous opinions by the Louisiana Attorney General have concluded that a parish school superintendent can also serve as a police juror

Shirley said his short-term goals will involve placing new teachers and principals into the Concordia school district — including finding a person to fill his soon-to-be-vacant principal’s chair at Vidalia Junior High School — as well as work with schools that are underperforming to develop a plan to improve test scores.

To these ends, Shirley is looking forward to working with the Concordia Parish School District administration, teachers and students to become “the most visible superintendent that Concordia Parish has ever had.”

Shirley said he will miss being around the students, teachers and faculty of VJH, but looks forward to learning more about the parish and its communities.

“I have good intentions of not being in my office all day, on the front lines where the learning is taking place,” Shirley said. “My goal is to start my day at one of our 11 schools.”

Shirley said he will be meeting with school board president Raymond Riley and board attorney Bob Hammonds this coming week to talk about a contract, after which, he hopes to officially become superintendent on July 1.