Joyce Carter, USD 428 school board president
At the December 12th USD 428 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Brad Reed submitted his resignation that the Great Bend school board eventually turned into a “leave of absence” immediately. Assistant Superintendent Khris Thexton was appointed interim superintendent, but the school board had a superintendent search item on the January agenda Monday night.
School board president Joyce Carter mentioned she was in no hurry to start their search for a permanent superintendent.
Joyce Carter Audio
Thexton told the board there were three companies to consider to conduct a search for the next superintendent.
Ray And Associates Inc. from Cedar Rapids, Iowa specializes in educational executive leadership searches. McPherson & Jacobson LLC from Omaha, Nebraska handles executive searches for public entities. The final option Thexton brought up was Kansas Association of School Boards, the organization that handled the search for USD 428 that eventually led to the Reed hire.
Joyce Carter Audio
Carter urged board members to think of areas of concern and ways to move forward with the next selection of superintendent. The school board will schedule future meetings to discuss what they want from their next superintendent before listing the job opening.
Although Carter said she was in no hurry, competition can pick up among schools throughout the state for new superintendents during this time of the year. USD 428 extended a contract to Reed in late January in 2014.
Reed’s contract was set to run through the 2017-2018 school year. In the separation agreement, the school district will pay the remaining portion of the 2016-2017 contract of $135,000 and an additional $90,000 payout.