ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 26, 1996 TAG: 9603260062
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
A former Roanoke City school administrator has been named school superintendent in Columbia, Mo.
Russell Mayo was hired last week to head the 15,000-student system in Columbia, a city that is home to the University of Missouri.
Mayo, 48, worked in Roanoke in the 1980s. He was principal of Patrick Henry High for three years and served as director of magnet schools before leaving in 1989 to become a high school principal in Syracuse, N.Y. In recent years, he has been an associate superintendent in Little Rock, Ark.
Mayo had a controversial tenure at Patrick Henry. It ended in 1987 when a group of teachers petitioned to have him removed from the post. They claimed he had created a repressive atmosphere at the school and transferred teachers who crossed him.
Mayo denied the charges but moved to the magnet program that summer after the teachers complained.
Frank Tota, who was superintendent at the time, said Mayo's transfer was unrelated to the teachers' complaints.
Mayo came to Roanoke from Mathews County, where he had been assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. He taught social studies and was a junior high principal in Chesapeake during the 1970s.
He has a doctorate from the University of Virginia and worked as a graduate assistant during his studies at the school.
Mayo will assume his duties in Columbia in July. He was given a three-year contract as superintendent.
LENGTH: Short : 37 linesby CNB