Wednesday evening, the Wayne County Board of Education unanimously appointed Dr. David Lewis, assistant superintendent for accountability/information technology services, as the district’s interim superintendent beginning January 1. Dr. Lewis will be replacing interim superintendent, Dr. James Merrill, whose contract ends at the end of December.
“It is my goal to continue working to bring stability to our district while our Board continues its superintendent search process,” states Dr. Lewis. “There has been a lot of good work that we have accomplished under Dr. Merrill’s leadership, and I look forward to helping continue the work with the Board of Education and our Leadership Team to help see it through.”
Dr. Lewis is a veteran administrator with 29 years of public education experience made up of teaching, school administration, and district leadership. Dr. Lewis has served as an assistant superintendent since 2013. During this time, areas under his leadership have included: accountability, testing, OCR, PowerSchool, EVAAS district administrator, special projects, technology integration/support, program evaluation, student assignment (Regular Ed), district calendar committee, principal evaluation support, NC School Report Card, transportation, school staffing allotments, student services, and athletics. From June 2020 through October 2020, Dr. Lewis served as the district’s interim finance officer.
Dr. Lewis will serve as interim superintendent until a new superintendent can be hired. He will return to his current role at that time. Dr. Lewis says he appreciates the opportunity and responsibilities that the Board of Education has entrusted him with.
“Our district has a lot of work ahead to help reduce debt, develop a balanced 2021-2022 budget, keep schools operating safely for students and staff during this COVID-19 pandemic, and ensuring supports are in place to help students be successful in both virtual and hybrid face-to-face instructional programs,” adds Dr. Lewis. “Our students and staff deserve our district’s very best during this time. It is my privilege to help lead these efforts.”
Prior to being named an assistant superintendent, Dr. Lewis served as executive director for information technology/athletics, director of elementary education/athletics, principal of Rosewood Elementary, principal of Rosewood High, and assistant principal of Goldsboro High. He also taught and later served as an assistant principal at John A. Holmes High School in Edenton, North Carolina. Dr. Lewis holds a Bachelor’s degree in English education, a master’s degree in school administration, and a doctorate’s degree in educational leadership.
