Merging Mississippi school districts choose superintendent

An insider is being promoted to lead a soon-to-be-merged Mississippi Delta school district.

The Greenwood Commonwealth reports the combined Greenwood-Leflore school board voted 3-1 on Wednesday to hire Mary Brown as the district's first superintendent.

The Legislature mandated that the separate Greenwood and Leflore County districts merge July 1.

Brown is currently the Greenwood district's director of curriculum and instruction. Former Greenwood Superintendent Montrell Greene fired Brown after a 2014 radio interview in which she said Greene bullied and harassed her and other employees. Brown was rehired after appeal hearings. By then, Greene had been fired.

Brown is signing a three-year contract beginning July 1 guaranteeing her at least $150,000 annually. Board members say they'll also hire her for the remainder of the current year to prepare for the merger.