Huntsville School District officials plan to hire a new superintendent for the 2014-15 school year, with the current superintendent stepping into an assistant superintendent role until he retires.
Superintendent Robert Allen intends to retire within the next two years, he said, and longtime Assistant Superintendent Shelby Sisemore is retiring after this school year. Instead of filling the assistant superintendent position, the Huntsville School Board and Allen agreed to have Allen finish his career as an assistant superintendent and to start the search for a new superintendent.
The goal is to hire a superintendent who could remain with the district for a “fair number” of years, Allen said.
Hiring a superintendent takes time, and starting the process now gives the School Board more time for making that decision while also still having the experience of both Allen and Sisemore, School Board President Kevin Wilson said.
“We basically would be in a situation where we will have to fill both positions,” Wilson said. “We just felt this will allow us more time and be the best path. We didn’t want to wait.”
Wilson said the School Board is interested in a leader who will accommodateits students, principals and teachers and continue to build on the district’s academic programs.
Allen, 64, is in his sixth year with the Madison County district of about 2,250 students with campuses in Huntsville and St. Paul. He was assistant superintendent for three years before becoming the district’s superintendent. Allen previously spent eight years as superintendent of the Elkins School District.
Sisemore, 58, has spent 25 years with the Huntsville School District. In Huntsville, he was a coach and history teacher before going to Berryville as an assistant high school principal. He returned to Huntsville as a middle school principal and was once the superintendent for about three years. Sisemore has spent 12 years as an assistant superintendent.
“That role I enjoy,” he said. “It’s more the in-the-trenches worker.”
Sisemore said he reached a point in his career where he could retire and decided it was time.
After Sisemore announced his retirement, Allen began considering the options and offered the School Board the option of making him assistant superintendent.
“I have absolutely no problem with being the assistant superintendent,” Allen said. “I’m in a position where I can do that. It’s not a big issue for me to move back and forth.”
The School Board has not made a final decision about what Allen’s salary will be once he becomes assistant superintendent, Wilson said. Allen’s salary this year is about $99,400, and Sisemore’s salary this year is about $86,700.
The district’s posting for superintendent states the salary for a new superintendent will be $115,000, though that is negotiable.
The superintendent is responsible for the district, especially its finances, and acts as a liaison between the faculty and staff and the community, which is represented by the School Board, Allen said. The assistant superintendent offers support to the superintendent.
The vacancy is posted on the district’s website. Allen hasn’t set a deadline for accepting resumes, but the district hopes to have a new superintendent in place by July 1.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 04/01/2014