By Kathryn Schiliro
Managing Editor

Following a closed meeting Monday night, the Morgan County Board of Education approved the hiring of Lydia Norburg as principal of Morgan County Middle School.
Norburg comes to MCMS from Len Lastinger Primary School in Tifton, Ga., where she's currently principal.
She's no stranger to Morgan County, however. She grew up on a dairy farm in Buckhead and attended Morgan County schools until she went to college and then moved to Tifton.
Norburg has 24 years of experience in education–13 years teaching high school French and 11 in school administration: 10 as assistant principal and one, this year, as principal.
"My priority will be to provide strong ethical leadership that will continue the tradition of excellence," Norburg said. "I'm looking forward to returning home and joining the One Morgan team."
The MCMS School Governance Council, made up of primarily of parents as well as school staff, interviewed about 10 candidates for the position of MCMS principal following the resignation of Dr. Joe Hutcheson early this year. The council recommended four to Bennett, who then narrowed the list to two candidates.
"Between those two, we were looking for the best fit," Bennett said in an interview with the Citizen. "One of the things we felt strongly the middle school needed...was someone to work on the relational piece, to pull people together to work as collaborative teams to achieve what we need to achieve for students. We felt strongly we needed, as one of the governance council members put it, 'someone to come in and heal.""
Bennett informed Norburg of the board's decision Tuesday morning, and Bennett said she's eager to begin work in Morgan County as soon as possible. Of course, she's under contract, Bennett said, so if she can't get here in the next few weeks, her official start date would be July.
Her total salary, based on experience, certification level, and including local administrative supplements, is $96,200 with a 12-month contract.
Norburg received her undergraduate degree in French Education from the University of Georgia. She also has Master's and Specialist's degrees in Educational Leadership from Valdosta State University.
"We're excited and I think the governance council's excited," Bennett said of the hire. "I think it (the process) worked well and I think everyone's pleased with the outcome of it."

Printed in the April 19, 2012 edition.