CISD Trustees accept Norrell’s resignation

Clarendon ISD Superintendent Mike Norrell resigned effective immediately Monday night at a meeting of the Board of Trustees.

Board President Wayne Hardin said Norrell resigned for personal reasons and that his decision to leave was not due to anything illegal or anything involving the school or its students.

“It was a total bombshell,” Hardin said. “No one foresaw this. It was totally out of the blue.”

Hardin said Norrell contacted him about 2 p.m. Monday to tell him he was leaving. Hardin then consulted with the district’s attorney to get the proper notice of the resignation added as a supplement to Monday’s regular board meeting agenda.

Hardin, along with Trustees Reneé Mott, Chuck Robertson, and Robin Ellis, were in attendance that night and unanimously accepted the resignation. Three other trustees were absent.

The board president said Norrell had spoken with campus principals and personnel in the administration office Monday afternoon to make sure the district continues to run smoothly. Hardin will be communicating with the Region 16 Education Service Center to guide the school in finding an interim superintendent after which a search for a replacement for Norrell will begin.

Norrell had been superintendent of Clarendon schools since April 2015.