Arlington Community Schools' past superintendent Jeff Mayo dies after battle with cancer

Arlington Community Schools' most recent superintendent, Jeff Mayo, has died, the district announced Monday. Mayo was battling melanoma, according to a separate post made on Facebook that encouraged those attending Arlington's first varsity football game of the year to wear melanoma awareness pins.

Mayo joined the district as chief of staff in 2014 when Arlington residents voted to create their own municipal district. In April 2020, Mayo was named the superintendent of the district.

During Mayo's tenure with the district, he was named as a finalist for National Superintendent of the Year and Arlington Community Schools was named a #1 Top Workplace by The Commercial Appeal two years in a row. Prior to his time with ACS, Mayo worked for Shelby County Schools, now Memphis-Shelby County Schools, in both classroom positions and administration.

His last role with Shelby County Schools was as the director of Human Resources and Human Capital before his move to ACS.

According to a message from the ACS Board of Education Chairman Scott Benjiman, Mayo announced his diagnosis to families and staff on July 31 and planned to step down from the post "to prioritize his recovery." During a special called meeting on Aug. 14, the ACS Board of Education appointed Dr. Allison Clark, who was the chief of human resources for the district, to serve as the temporary superintendent of ACS.

Clark will only be able to serve 60 days per state law as there was a General School Board Election 30 days prior to Mayo's vacancy of the role.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Arlington Community Schools' past superintendent Jeff Mayo dies after battle with cancer