FAYETTEVILLE -- A superintendent of a suburban Kansas school district and the principal at Ramay Junior High School were interviewed Tuesday by the School Board to be the next superintendent in the district, replacing Vicki Thomas who is resigning effective June 30.
Douglas B. Powers, the superintendent in Maize, Kan., said he would bring skills in building relationships and communicating with residents to the Fayetteville post. Maize is a suburb west of Wichita. He joined that district in 2009.
"I listen more than I speak. That's critical to understanding a situation first," said Powers, 46, before spending about 90 minutes with the board in an executive session.
Maize has about 7,000 students, compared with Fayetteville's enrollment of about 9,200 students. He said he would expect the job to be fairly similar. "The biggest challenge is being from Kansas" which would require learning Arkansas school laws, some of which would be different, he added.
He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Emporia State University; a school administrator certificate from Pittsburg State University and a doctoral degree in educational leadership from Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan.
Following a short break, the board reassembled in executive session to interview Matt Saferite, 42, the Ramay principal, who was recognized as Principal of the Year by the Arkansas Association of Secondary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals for his leadership at Ramay.
"My biggest strength is to develop people well, regardless of their position, by investing in them to do better at their job and to enjoy it," he said. He would expect a learning curve since he has never been a superintendent before.
"It would be a positive challenge but life is full of challengers. You take them straight on," he said. "I wouldn't consider this position if I didn't already know how good the staff in the district is."
Saferite has spent two decades in administration. He was an assistant principal at Ramay before becoming director of technology programs and management information systems for the district, a post he held for a year. He was the assistant principal at Rogers High School for five years before becoming principal at Ramay in 2006.
He has a bachelor's degree from John Brown University, a master's degree from the University of Arkansas and a doctorate in educational administration from Bethel University in St. Paul, Minn.
Board President Tim Hudson said the board plans to consider whether to interview additional applicants or if they plan to bring anyone back for a second interview during an executive session at its regular meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday. The meeting will be in the Ray Adams Leadership Center.
The board hopes to have the new superintendent on board by July 1.
NW News on 04/23/2014