Phenix City principal, administrator resign

Two Phenix City Schools administrators have resigned.

Westview Elementary School principal Marceda Lewis and early learning coordinator Ronneeke Gamble decided to leave the school system for "personal" reasons, superintendent Randy Wilkes told the Ledger-Enquirer. He declined to be specific.

"I cannot comment on the reasons the administrators are leaving, only to say that I would consider the move as most positive," Wilkes said in an emailed interview. "They both served in their capacities well, which is evident by not only their tenure of 13 years for Mrs. Gamble and 20 years for Mrs. Lewis with PCS but also rising from classroom teachers to leadership positions and maintaining those positions for a number of years."

Wilkes said he is interviewing candidates for those positions and hopes to have the school board approve his recommendations during Tuesday's 6 p.m. called meeting.

Lewis started working with Phenix City Schools in 1998 as a teacher at Central Elementary School. She transferred to Phenix City Elementary School in 2002, when Central Elementary closed. In 2005, she became a reading coach at Meadowlane Elementary School, then in 2011 transferred to Phenix City Intermediate School to continue as a reading coach. She was appointed as assistant principal of Central Freshman Academy in 2012 and was promoted to principal of Westview in 2013.

Gamble came to Phenix City Schools in 2005 as a teacher and girls basketball coach at South Girard School. In 2013, she became assistant principal of Phenix City Elementary School. In 2014, she became assistant principal at Phenix City Intermediate School before being promoted last month to early learning coordinator.

The early learning coordinator is responsible for the school system's pre-kindergarten curriculum, instruction and grant writing and the operations of the Creekside Early Learning Center. The center is housed in the former St. Patrick's Catholic School, which the Phenix City Board of Education bought in April for $1.75 million to open six pre-K classes there when the school year starts next month.

The Ledger-Enquirer didn't reach Lewis or Gamble for comment before deadline.