MAYFIELD, KY - The Graves County School District Tuesday, July 3, announced several key administrative changes for the school year that begins next month.

R.B. Mays, Graves County High School principal for the past three years, will replace Rodney Pearce as the district’s finance director. Pearce will retire at the end of August, following ten years on the job. Matt Madding, a former GCHS teacher and Farmington Elementary School principal for the past year, will serve as interim principal of GCHS. Amy Archer, a teacher and more recently guidance counselor at Symsonia Elementary School, will take Madding’s place by serving as interim principal of Farmington Elementary School. Alison Gregory returns to the district as assistant principal of Graves County Middle School after serving in a similar position the past two years at Murray Middle School. Shelina McClain is the district’s new director of food services. She has taught culinary arts at GCHS in recent years.

“Mr. Pearce has been as a key member of our administrative team and we appreciate his service. He brought a strong knowledge of finance to us,” said Superintendent Pete Galloway. “Over the past decade, he has learned a lot about schools and their needs. We believe both a strong knowledge of budgets and of our district form a crucial combination. That’s particularly so, considering state government’s many cuts to education in recent years and especially since state government is likely to continue making cuts.

“Dr. Mays is very skilled in working with budgets and knows our district very well,” Galloway continued. “We believe he’s a perfect fit for this position that’s even more important now, considering the challenges of the economy. Making the change now provides a great opportunity for him and Mr. Pearce to work together for two full months.”

Galloway praised Madding and Archer for agreeing to fill voids the change has created. He said both are well-respected throughout the district and he’s confident they’ll adapt well with the help of their schools’ teams. He said Madding’s year as Farmington principal and his years as a GCHS math teacher make a good combination. He said Archer’s background as both teacher and counselor also will serve her well.

Both Gregory and McClain will take on new duties. Both have previous work experience in the district.

Pearce served as finance director since 2002. He led the management of an annual budget of approximately $40 million in collaboration with the administration, board of education, a district staff, and the bookkeepers and principals of each school. A native of Poplar Bluff, MO, he grew up in Ypsilanti, Mich. He previously worked in the natural gas pipeline industry.

Besides his time as principal, Mays served as a GCHS assistant principal for five years, three as dean of students and two as athletic director. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and math and a Master of Arts degree in Teaching for secondary teacher certification at Bethel College in McKenzie, TN. He started teaching and coaching in 1992 in Big Sandy, TN. He taught and coached in Kentucky high schools for six years. He completed Rank I certification in school administration at Western Kentucky University as well as coursework toward a doctorate in a joint program with the University of Louisville. He was awarded the Ph.D. in 2011.

Mays also is an ordained minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He earned a Master of Divinity degree in pastoral ministries and a Master of Theology degree in world mission and evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary.

Madding started his career as a math teacher for five years at GCHS. During that time he served one year as the Mathematics Department chairperson and one year as a member of the District Instructional Leadership Team. He also served as little league football coordinator throughout his years of teaching at GCHS. A 2002 GCHS graduate, Madding earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics for secondary education at the University of Kentucky. He later earned a Master of Arts degree in secondary education at Murray State University. He then earned a second Master of Arts degree in school administration at Northern Kentucky University.

Archer has served as a guidance counselor at Symsonia Elementary School the past three years and as a teacher there for four years before that. She began her employment with the Graves County Schools by teaching the 2004-05 year at Farmington. She initiated her teaching career in the Paducah Public Schools from 2002-04. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and later earned two master’s degrees: one in guidance and counseling, the other in school administration. She earned all of her degrees at from Murray State University.

Gregory was hired as the new assistant principal at Graves County Middle School. She was assistant principal at Murray Middle School from 2010-2012 and principal of the LEAD Academy at GCHS the year before that. She served as assistant principal at North Hardin High School during 2008-09, curriculum instruction assessment specialist at John Hardin High School from 2005-08, and a teacher and department chair at John Hardin between 2000 and 2005. At Western Kentucky University, she earned a bachelor’s degree in family and consumer science education, a master’s degree in secondary guidance counseling, Rank I Certification in K-12 principal leadership, and gifted and talented endorsement.

McClain has taught family and consumer science, culinary arts, and similar courses and sponsored the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America club at GCHS for the past 17 years. She has served as thePractical Living/Career Studies Department chair and as a member of the District Instructional Leadership Team for the past six years. For the past three years, she has been the lead teacher of the Business/Information Technology Academy. She earned both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in secondary education with an emphasis in family and consumer science. She subsequently earned aMaster of Arts degree in school administration, all at Murray State University. She is a 1991 graduate of GCHS.