Nonya Thrasher, who has led Hazlehurst City School District as interim leader since June, is now the permanent superintendent.
The school board voted 3-2 to appoint Thrasher and offer her a one-year, $130,000 contract. Darryl Hilliard Jr., Gloria Sandifer and school board President Paul Rhodes supported Thrasher’s appointment. Corey Murray and Oscar Tanner III voted no.
Hazlehurst City School District Superintendent Nonya Thrasher Credit: Courtesy: Nonya ThrasherRhodes said there was no reason why the board offered Thrasher a one-year contract instead of a longer one.
Thrasher had served as the district’s director of accountability, compliance and accreditation since July 2023. Before working in Hazlehurst, she was superintendent of Claiborne County School District during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With Hazlehurst, Thrasher inherits a district in crisis. The Mississippi Department of Education may take over the district by December if it does not clear outstanding accreditation violations. In March, the state Board of Education rejected the district’s corrective action plan to address those violations.
For nearly a decade, the state Education Department has downgraded the district’s accreditation to probation. The agency previously took over the district from 2008 through 2014.
Before Thrasher took over as the interim leader, district facilities needed maintenance, its dysfunctional special education department failed students, and poor administrative oversight allowed for poor recordkeeping.
The district has received a “C” rating on the state accountability system the past two years. Both its high and middle schools earned “D” accountability ratings in the 2024-25 school year. .
As Hazlehurst schools’ accountability chief and later, interim superintendent, Thrasher reduced the number of accreditation violations from 11 to two since January.
Her predecessor, Cloyd Garth, left the district on June 5. The school board would not confirm if Garth resigned or was fired. He had failed to act on state education department reports that detailed problems in the district’s special education department. The district’s graduation rate for disabled students dropped to 17% last year, the lowest in the state.
Thrasher hired a new special education director over the summer and told Mississippi Today on Tuesday that clearing remaining violations is a top priority. Hazlehurst schools still face another threat: consolidation with the Copiah County School District. Lawmakers have been meeting to discuss school district consolidation ahead of the 2027 session. Consolidation bills introduced last session failed.
Thrasher plans to meet with lawmakers next month.“We want to avoid consolidation if at all possible,” she said.
Rep. Greg Holloway, D-Hazlehurst, looks over a document during a meeting of the House Select Committee on Consolidation at the Capitol in Jackson on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi TodayRep. Greg Holloway, a Democrat from Hazlehurst, the Copiah County board of supervisors, and other local leaders have expressed support for Thrasher. Hazlehurst residents also rallied for Thrasher in recent weeks. District alumni, parents and community members posted messages of support on Facebook and circulated posters and flyers listing her qualifications.
Rhodes said Tuesday community members have recently approached him in Walmart to voice their support for her.
Thrasher said she is heartened by the support as a Hazlehurst resident.
“I’m ready to get the job done,” she said. “I have been overjoyed, overwhelmed and overloved by the community, but I have always worked in this community long before sitting in this seat. Whatever we need to do to move this community forward, I have always been in the forefront to make that happen.”
Rhodes feels optimistic, too. He said he believes Thrasher will help the district better serve students and improve academic standards.
“I believe we reached that point to where we can now move forward, straighten things up and educate our kids,” Rhodes said, “which is the reason why we’re here.”
Hence then, the article about board appoints nonya thrasher as superintendent of hazlehurst public schools was published today ( ) and is available on Mississippi Today ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Board appoints Nonya Thrasher as superintendent of Hazlehurst public schools )
Also on site :