WACO, TX — The first reported COVID-19 death in McLennan county was a Waco ISD middle school principal.

Waco Mayor Kyle Deaver announced the county's first coronavirus related death at a city council meeting today.

Waco ISD has confirmed G.W. Carver Middle School principal Phillip Perry has died from COVID-19.

Perry has been the principal of G.W. Carver Middle School since May 2019.

“We are very saddened by this news and want to express our love and let the family know that we will be thinking and praying about them in the days to come. I want our students and families to know that we will be providing counseling support as needed from our staff and our student support team. We will be sending out some information regarding these services as soon as we can,” said Dr. Susan Kincannon, Waco ISD Superintendent.

Perry was a 49- year old male with underlying health conditions, according to the Waco-McLennan Public Health District. The principal died at a local hospital this morning.

He previously served as assistant principal there from 2013 to 2015 and then began work as principal of Fred Edwards Academy in Temple ISD in 2015.

After serving with the Marine Corps, Perry went to work for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. His first job in education was in Aldine ISD as a special education teacher at Caraway Middle School. From there, Perry transferred to Lamar Junior High School with Lamar Consolidated ISD, and in 2011, he moved to Waco to become an assistant principal at Waco High School for two years.

Waco ISD announced on March 30 that the principal had tested positive and was hospitalized.