Administrator Leaving Bentonville School District

Reed

Reed

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

— One of the School District’s top administrators will leave this summer to lead a district in Kansas.

Brad Reed, Bentonville’s director of student services, was chosen Monday as the next superintendent of schools in Great Bend, Kan., according to a news release from that district. He will begin his new job July 1.

Great Bend is in central Kansas, about 120 miles northeast of Wichita. The district has about 3,200 students.

Reed was one of four candidates interviewed for the job. He was the only one of those candidates who isn't currently a superintendent.

“I think that says something about Bentonville,” Reed said. “There was a good feeling that I’m coming from a really good school district, one that knows how to put kids first.”

Reed, who has a doctorate in education administration, has worked in education for 31 years, with 25 of those in administration. Great Bend will not be new to him; he was an assistant principal at Great Bend High School during the 1991-92 school year. He’s also been a principal at three other Kansas high schools.

This will be Reed’s first time to be a superintendent. Though he looks forward to the opportunity, he said he and his family hate to leave Bentonville.

“It’s an outstanding community and School District,” he said. “We have lots of friends here. It’s a bittersweet kind of deal.”

Reed, 53, was hired to be Bentonville’s first director of student services in 2007. He has numerous duties including tracking enrollment, writing policies, handling student discipline and overseeing alternative education programming.

“He has to take the lead on a lot of issues that are really challenging,” said Michael Poore, Bentonville’s superintendent.

Reed has a good opportunity in front of him, Poore said.

“It’s a position he’s wanted for a long time, and he’s familiar with Kansas, so it’s a good thing for him to advance his career,” Poore said.

Reed has applied for superintendent jobs in the past, including the one in Bentonville when it became available in 2010.

Reed’s wife, Sharon, is a physical education teacher at Elm Tree Elementary School. The couple has three children and one grandchild.

School Board politics didn't play a role in Reed’s decision to leave, he said.

During a School Board meeting last week, board member Willie Cowgur suggested some other board members have “hidden agendas” and they are creating a poor atmosphere that could cause the district to lose good employees.

“I think (the board members) are doing a great job,” Reed said. “All seven of them, I think very highly of them. I’ve been very appreciative of everything this board has done for me.”