Elkin City Schools' assistant superintendent, Debbie Brown, will serve as interim chief executive of the system, following the resignation of Barry Shepherd.

Shepherd announced last week that he will leave the Elkin school system Jan. 21 to become superintendent in Cabarrus County.

Elkin School Board members voted 4-1 Tuesday night to have Brown serve as interim superintendent.

James Freeman cast the dissenting vote. "I want to express that this is nothing personal against Mrs. Brown. The board has said that it has candidates to consider and I think we should go through an interview process."

The board's choice of Brown followed a closed-door session Monday night in which Chairman Stewart Roten said the board discussed its options.

After a long career in teaching and administration in Elkin City Schools, Brown was hired about a year ago as assistant to the superintendent. "She has been with us about a year and knows the system as well as anyone," Roten said. "She is a product of Elkin City Schools. She has been involved in decision making as Barry has. It will make it an easy transition. He won't have to bring her up to speed on much of anything," the chairman said.

The board discussed others from outside the system who had mentioned an interest in the interim position, he said. "We briefly discussed five retired individuals who have experience and are close by," the chairman said. "Recently we have chosen from within, Tom Caton, principal at the elementary school; Pam Colbert at the middle school." Mark Byrd, the new principal at Elkin High School, came directly from Ashe County schools but had worked at Elkin High School within the last four years. He knew the system, Roten said.

In addition to serving as assistant superintendent for the last year, Brown holds bachelor's, master's and educational specialist degrees from Appalachian State University.

She has served in the district as teacher, building level administrator and curriculum director. "It is an honor to serve Elkin City Schools as I have for more than 25 years," Brown told the board tearing up, following the vote. "I will work to continue the momentum that Dr. Shepherd has started on the building project and provide the children with the schools they need to learn."

In the selection for the long term replacement for Shepherd, Roten said the board will advertise in state wide publications that cater to school systems and superintendents. The board's attorney, Fred Johnson, will help write the job description and facilitate the hiring process, Roten said.

Board members have not talked about the type of individual they want. "We will likely discuss that at the planning retreat," Roten said.

The retreat is planned for the week following Shepherd's departure. It had been scheduled before Shepherd's announcement.

Before the vote, board member Larry Wagoner said he is interested in finding a superintendent supportive of small schools.

Roten said he is interested and believes other board members will be interested in continuity of operations, the building project at Elkin High School and "someone able to carry on the fight against merger. We are pleased with what we have and don't have see any reason to fix what's not broken."