The Troy City Schools Board of Education hired Jimmy Matthews as an interim superintendent on Tuesday.

The board took the action during a special called meeting in which members voted unanimously to issue a 90-day contract to Matthews, a retired central office employee.

Matthews will fill the post vacated by Dr. Linda Felton Smith, who stepped aside Feb. 28 for the final year of her contract, leaving the board with a vacancy in the top administrative spot.

“We’ve had a number of applicants to apply, but we’ve decided that it was better to have someone who was already familiar with our system, because in 90 days you can’t really learn enough about our system to be advantageous,” said Roxie Kitchens, board president.

The 90-day interim superintendent will essentially be another transitory position until a permanent replacement can be found.

“Mr. Jimmy Matthews is the most recent retired administrator, who just retired in 2010, and Mr. Matthews is familiar with the Troy City School’s special education program, our disciplinary actions and our budget processes,” Kitchens said. “He will be able to assist Mr. Threadgill and Mr. Helms with all of the major decisions that are going to have to be made over the next three months.”

According to Kitchens, although Mr. Matthews will be the interim superintendent, the three men – Chresal Threadgill, David Helms and Jimmy Matthews – will essentially work together. Kitchens said Matthews is familiar enough with the day-to-day duties of Threadgill and Helms and will be able to assist in whatever capacity is necessary to accomplish the tough jobs that accompany the position of superintendent.

“The three of them, as a team, can make some of the difficult decisions for the betterment of Troy City Schools, for example when it comes to budget cuts,” Kitchens said.

Board members hope to have a new superintendent in place by this summer.