JACKSON – The administrators of Northampton County Schools are settling in.

Five of the schools in the district will have new chief executives as they prepare for the 2006-2007 academic year.

Both high schools will open under a different administrator than they did last year.

Dr. Michael McIntosh, who served as an interim last year, will return to Northampton County High School – East as the school’s principal. He will be joined by assistant principals Keith Bell and Hattie Hunter, both of whom were at the school last year.

At Northampton-West, Willie J. Bell will succeed Charles Chestnut as principal of the school. Chestnut left the district at the end of the year and prompted the hiring of Bell, who comes from Weldon City Schools.

He will have a pair of new assistant principals at the school, as Albert Bennett and Shonda Harris-Muhammed will serve the school as assistant administrators.

Conway Middle School will also have a new principal as Jerry Simmons moves over from Rich Square- W.S. Creecy Elementary School. He replaces Reginald Ennett who served last year, but left the district. He will e assisted by Lacy Faison, who was at the school last school year.

At Gaston Middle School, Martha Paige will remain as principal. She will have a new assistant principal as Brenda Whitted retired from the district. Her new administrator is yet to be named.

Replacing Simmons at Creecy will be Ann Davis, who comes from Weldon City Schools to take the post. Gwendolyn Bowser, who is also new to the school, will assist her.

Former Creecy assistant principal Felisha Wyche will take over as principal of Squire Elementary School. She will replace Shanna Pendergrass who is moving to central administration.

Assisting Wyche will be Danny McCall, who served at the school last year.

Garysburg Elementary School will stay under the leadership of Ronald Owens and Pam Chamblee will continue as principal of Willis Hare Elementary School. Tonya Byrd-Robinson will become assistant principal of Willis Hare.

Mary Harrell will head the county’s new elementary school, Central Elementary. Harrell served as principal of Jackson-Eastside Elementary School last year. That school will merge with Seaboard-Coates to form the new school.

Northampton County will have a full-fledged Alternative School next year at the site of the former Jackson-Eastside Elementary School.

Lucy Edwards, a former principal of Northampton-West, will be the principal of the Northampton &uot;More Than School.&uot;