HOLYROOD — Greg Clark, superintendent of the Central Plains USD 112 school district, has resigned.

The USD 112 board of education accepted his resignation May 31, during a special meeting at Central Plains Elementary School in Holyrood.

“I hated leaving,” Clark said in an interview with the Independent-Reporter. “I’ve got great friends here. We’ve got great staff and great students, but I think the time was right and decided to make the move.”

Clark said he accepted a new job May 26 as superintendent of Osawatomie USD 367 in eastern Kansas.

Osawatomie is a 3A school district with about 1,100 students.

“It’s probably the last stop in my educational career,” he said.

Clark served as USD 112 superintendent for eight years.

“That is a long time for a superintendent,” he said. “I think the lifespan is about three to five years for a superintendent in a district, so I feel fortunate. We’ve had a lot of great board members, great administration and great office staff. Diane (Ney), Bobby (Crow) and Mandi (Griffin) have helped me out incredibly. I’ll miss them. It’s been a great ride here.”

Clark is upbeat about the future of USD 112.

“I think there’s going to be some challenges,” he said. “But as long as they keep the focus on doing what’s right for kids, the district will be fine. We’ve got great people here.”

After two separate executive sessions to discuss non-elected personnel (the superintendent search) lasting a total of 35 minutes, the board approved utilizing the services of the Kansas Association of School Boards in the search for a new superintendent.

Gary Sechrist of KASB said the cost to the district for the search would be $3,500.

“There is no charge until there’s a successful search, Sechrist added.

Sechrist said there are also three other school districts currently looking for a superintendent — Republic County, Marion and Burrton.

“It’s been a record-setting year,” he added, noting there have been more than 60 superintendent vacancies this school year.

He said all three of those districts might be drawin the same superintendent candidates as Central Plains

Sechrist said he will be meeting with the board three times during the search, with the May 31 special board meeting being the first meeting.

He planned to post the USD 112 superintendent opening on the KASB website June 1.

“If a Kansas superintendent is looking to be a superintendent, that’s where they go first,” he said.

The applications for the USD 112 vacancy will come through that particular search and belong to th USD 112 board, but will be seen first by Sechrist. Applications are due June 23.

Sechrist will print them off and bring them to the board to review during another special meeting.

At that point, he will start vetting the candidates and making reference calls.

“My job is to make this difficult process as easy as we possibly can for you,” he said.

The board held a special meeting on Monday in Holyrood to discuss the superintendent situation further.

The agenda included board discussion on the topic, as well as an executive session. The board did not, however, discuss the topic in open session. It went into two executive sessions to discuss non-elected personnel (superintendent position). The first lasted 20 minutes, and included the board’s attorney, John Sherman. The second, for an additional 20 minutes, included Sherman and the option to call Sechrist on the phone.

The board’s next special meeting is at 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday, June 9) at CPES, where Sechrist will review the results of an online survey the district placed on its website for patrons and staff. The survey will ask what characteristics the district is looking for in a new superintendent. Sechrist will also present a salary comparison to the board of all like-size schools in Kansas similar to USD 112 to review.

“We don’t get into the negotiation part, but we definitely want the board to have that knowledge,” he said.

Sechrist will also talk about interview questions. The next special meeting with Sechrist is scheduled

The next special meeting with Sechrist is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 28, at CPES.

At that meeting, Sechrist and the board will review the applications and he will make recommendations.

The screening team will be Sechrist and his partners. He proposed the board interviews with the candidates take place later that week.

“Now that’s getting close to the fiscal new year,” Sechrist said. “Even if we interview right now, it would probably be hard for you to have a superintendent in place on July 1. It’s possible. But they probably will not have moved into your district. It would work, but they would be traveling in. So it is a little bit cumbersome, but it just goes with the timing of what you’re doing right now.”

Karen Bonar, Ellsworth County I-R publisher/editor, contributed to this article.