Turrentine apparent winner in close Morgan superintendent race

Wes Tomlinson, The Decatur Daily, Ala.
·2 min read

May 25—Eva School Principal Tracie Turrentine, who said last month she would bring a balance of traditional and technology-based learning to her classrooms and combat critical race theory, made history Tuesday as she appeared to be elected as the first female superintendent of Morgan County.

Turrentine, 42, appeared to be the victor over Sparkman Elementary Principal Layne Dillard by 400 votes for the Republican nomination, although provisional ballots remained uncounted.

Morgan County Probate Judge Greg Cain said they will have a total on the number of provisional ballots cast this morning.

No Democratic challenger entered the race.

Turrentine has been the principal at Eva School since 2020, previously serving as the assistant principal at Priceville Junior High from 2016 through 2019.

Turrentine said she supervised the school's curriculum during that time and touted her success with helping them to achieve a B on the state report card in 2016 and an A the next two years.

Turrentine, who grew up in Morgan County, is a graduate of Samford University and has been an educator for 18 years, previously teaching in the Tuscaloosa City school district for 12 years. She is married to Josh and they have two children.

Dillard, 47, has been the principal at Sparkman Elementary School in Hartselle for six years and has spent 25 years in education with 17 of those years as an administrator. She worked from 2010 through 2016 as principal of Whitesburg Christian Academy in Huntsville but has spent the rest of her career with Morgan County Schools.

During Dillard's tenure at Sparkman Elementary, the school improved its state report card grade from an F to a C between 2016 and 2019.

Both candidates made their first bid for office Tuesday, running to replace Superintendent Robert Elliott Jr. who was appointed to fill an unexpired term in September 2020 but decided not to seek election to a full term.

Todd Heflin voted Tuesday because he was concerned about the direction public school systems have gone in the past few years.

"I was looking for someone that will actually look at education and teach our kids and avoid (critical race theory) and all this other noise that's out there," Heflin said. "I wanted someone that's actually worried about teaching math and science."

Heflin said he believes both Dillard and Turrentine to be qualified as superintendent, leaving him to make a tough decision at the voting booth.

"It was hard," Heflin said. "Both candidates are pretty equal from an educational standpoint. One candidate seemed to promote her platform better and was more visible."

Turrentine and Dillard were not available for comment Tuesday.

The superintendent's position has a four-year term and an annual salary of $142,800.

— wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.