Simmons has been named principal of High Point Central High School in Guilford County. Barnes accepted a position in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system, board Chair Pattie Cotton said this morning. Alice Mba, an assistant principal at the elementary school, was appointed interim principal.

The board will an appoint a successor to Simmons, Cotton said. “We don’t when that will be.”

Cotton said she hates to see Simmons, the principal of Hertford County High School, leave. “Jerry is a product of Weldon City Schools. He is a graduate of Weldon High School. He went away and came back and worked his way up through the ranks.”

Cotton said Simmons’s success demonstrates how effective a small system like Weldon can be. “He’s going to one of the largest high schools on the western side of that district. The same applies to Mr. Barnes. We take pride in knowing we have molded him to go a large district like Charlotte-Mecklenburg.”