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Gary Billingsley gives a report to the Miller Grove ISD school board during a July 2020 meeting. Billingsley recently resigned to take a new position. File
Will meet again March 22 to discuss vacancies
MILLER GROVE- The Miller Grove ISD school board called a special meeting Thursday to accept the resignations of Ana Billingsley and Gary Billingsley.
The meeting opened with public forum in which citizens were allowed to talk to the board or ask questions.
“I’m just here to see what type of vision that we have going forward,” one citizen said. “We lost a good person and it is going to hurt but we have to go forward.”
Elementary principal Jamie Fox also spoke during the public forum saying “The main thing I want the community and parents to know is there’s not big scandal, nobody’s mad, it’s just a circumstance of someone moving on to to something that is better for their family.”
Fox also spoke on what the Billingsley’s have done in their time at Miller Grove saying, “Gary has loved this place. He has put himself into this place, and he feels like he’s done what he came to do here, and he’s moving to something that gives him more time with his family and what he and Ana feel like is best for his family.”
“Miller Grove was a good place before Gary. Miller Grove will be fine after Gary, but Miller Grove is a better place because of Gary and Ana,” Fox added. “We will carry on. All of our great teachers didn’t leave. All of our great kids and community members aren’t gone, Miller Grove is going to be okay.”
Superintendent Steve Johnson also spoke on Billingsley resignation saying, “I know for a fact he gets multiple job offers every year and he’s just never had the one that he felt was right for his family until now.”
Finally board president Brandon Darrow spoke, saying, “He is a very big planner, he likes to know what’s going to happen in the future and how it’s all planned out and follow it. He was one of the big pushers that we needed to have a long range plan of what we wanted to do and how we needed to do it. We hope not to lose anything or go backwards in anyway. We hope to continue to go forward.”
The board then moved to executive session before returning to unanimously accept the resignations of both Ana and Gary Billingsley. The board will meet again at their regular scheduled meeting on March 22 to discuss further plans on how to fill those roles.