Wake school official named Cumberland superintendent

The school board voted 7-2 for Marvin Connelly to take the helm of Cumberland County Schools, effective July 1.

Connelly currently serves as chief of staff and strategic planning in Wake County, and he previously was principal of Knightdale High School and Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle School. He also served in military intelligence with the 82nd Airborne Division while stationed at Fort Bragg.

He earned a bachelor's degree in political science and master's degrees in special education and school administration from North Carolina State University and a doctorate in educational leadership from East Carolina University.

Connelly said he's inheriting a good school system, but he has plans to make it even better. He wants every student to have access to quality instruction, and he wants to get the community more involved in schools. But he said one of his top priorities will be ensuring schools are safe.

"We want to make sure we do security assessments of all of our buildings to make sure the facilities are safe, and then making sure that staff are visible in our buildings to ensure student safety," he said. "We want to ensure students feel safe and they are safe when they come to school."

Board members Judy Musgrave and Porcha McMillan voted against contract for Connelly. Both women later said they preferred other candidates among the 31 applicants for the job but want to work with Connelly to improve local schools.