Wayne County Public Schools has announced that Ryan Nelson’s tenure as principal at Goldsboro High School concluded with his resignation which became effective on Feb. 29.

The announcement was made Tuesday morning in an email from Ken Derksen, Wayne County Public Schools  Executive Director for Community Engagement and Student & Family Support,

Nelson had been suspended with pay since Jan. 4. Goldsborodailynews.com reached out to Nelson on Tuesday but he declined to comment.

According to Derksen’s email, Wayne County Public Schools Superintendant Marc Whichard met with the staff at Goldsboro on Tuesday morning.

““I met with staff this morning so they would be informed about the administrative change, and then discussed with them next steps towards finding a principal replacement,” said Dr. Whichard.

Nelson had served as the principal at Goldsboro High School since July 1, 2019 after working as principal at Greenwood Middle School. He has also served as an assistant principal at Southern Wayne High School, Eastern Wayne High School, and North Drive Elementary.

Wayne County Public Schools plans to begin a search for Goldsboro High School’s next principal.

“As our next steps, Wayne County Public Schools will actively be working to put in place a principal leader to effectively support our Cougar staff, students and families,” said Dr. Whichard. “Our students deserve the best. In addition to posting the job opening, and advertising on national educational job boards and with job recruiters, our Human Resources Department will begin a principal recruitment effort that will specifically target high quality candidates who have the demonstrated ability to lead and advance the academic needle through turnaround efforts.”

The district administration will continue working with the assistant principal, who is the acting administrator, and provide administrative support as needed to ensure staff and students have the support and resources to successfully advance the mission of teaching and learning.