Interim Superintendent Named By Paulding County Schools

DALLAS, GA — The chief financial officer for Paulding County schools, Steve Barnette, will become the district’s interim superintendent on June 1. The move was approved unanimously Tuesday by the Paulding County Board of Education.

Barnette will serve as interim for no more than one year. That will give the board time to find a replacement for Superintendent Brian Otott, who’s retiring on May 31 after three decades with the district. Otott was himself hired as an interim superintendent in 2017, then given the job full-time several months later.

“We are thrilled to make Steve Barnette our interim superintendent and know he will do a terrific job and will have the full support of our board, staff and community,” said board chair Jeff Fuller in a news release from the school district.

Barnette has been the Paulding schools chief financial officer since 2013. Before that, he was a senior leader with several technology companies, according to the news release. Barnette and his family have lived in Paulding County for the last 20 years. His wife Tracy is a teacher at Burnt Hickory Elementary School in Dallas.

The Paulding County School District is the 12th largest in Georgia, with about 30,000 students and 3,600 employees, according to the Marietta Daily Journal.