DeSoto County Schools

Recognizes Kuykendall 
Every weekday, CNN focuses on a handful of people in the news.

For their column "Intriguing people for February 9th," CNN selected Superintendent Milton Kuykendall. The link to the column is: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/09/mip.tuesday/index.html?iref=24hours

Here is what the article said:

""I'll be honest with you, the state of Mississippi is in a mess," he told WMC-TV. "The state of Mississippi doesn't have any money, and the whole issue is we have to cut." He said he felt that he couldn't ask any school employees to take a pay cut unless he took one himself. "I started first," Kuykendall said. "I cut my salary 10 percent, I cut the principals 10 days (off their work schedule), which is about 4.2 percent, assistant superintendents eight percent, and the directors the same as the principals."

There are 31,228 students in DeSoto County Schools and the cuts, which take effect July 1.  Last November, the Mississippi Association of School Administrators named Kuykendall its 2010 Mississippi Superintendent of the Year. He's been in education for 40 years and started as a teacher and a basketball coach. At the end of the school year, Kuykendall will be inducted into the Mississippi Coaches Hall of Fame. "But now we're looking at one thing- being able to keep the doors open," he said.