MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Collierville Schools Board of Education has named the district’s current assistant superintendent to the interim superintendent position as they look for a permanent replacement for Dr. Gary Lilly, who is leaving at the end of this semester.
Jeff Jones will be acting Director of Schools beginning Jan. 1, 2024. Jones has served as a deputy to Lilly and the previous superintendent John Aitken since 2016.
In 1995, Jones was a Spanish teacher and athletic coach at Collierville High School. Eight years later, he moved to Schilling Farms Middle School, now West Collierville Middle, as assistant principal, and was named principal there in 2011.
The Board also authorized Attorney Mike Marshall to hire a consultant to assist with a search for a permanent superintendent, whose would begin on July 1, 2024.
“Jeff will be a steady, reliable, and committed steward for the district during this time of transition,” said School Board Chairman Wright Cox in a news release. “He leads with integrity and is ‘all in’ for Collierville Schools.”
Lilly told the Board in August he would step down at the end of the current semester to become Executive Director of the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS).