Superintendent Turnover

By: Carson Blake

The Southern Boone County school district is one example of a local, state, and national conversation, superintendent turnover. Superintendents everywhere are taking their retirements and handing in resignations, finding their contracts not renewed or publicly called to be fired at higher rates previous to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The number is alarming” said Dan Domenech, the executive director of AASA, the School Superintendents’ Association, to the Kansas City Star. Domenech is also quoted in other interviews about what he says is the no-win situation superintendents are confronted. According to the Kansas City Star, it is expected that turnover of superintendents will rise to 100 from 82, “Those are big numbers,” said David Luther, spokesman for the Missouri Association of School Administrators. And while for some superintendents it’s just time to retire, “I don’t think we can ignore that the political climate and the escalating aggression towards public school leaders has played a role,” Luther said. Joplin, Mo. superintendent has recently announced retirement along with Jefferson City, Mo. superintendent Linthacum. Brent Ghan, Depute Executive Director for Missouri School Board Association (MSBA) is keeping his eye on the superintendent turnover rate. “It’s hard to draw conclusions right now. There are higher levels of stress for everyone in education due to the decisions they are having to make from the pandemic and more stressful because of the environment”, said Ghan.

See more in this weeks Boone County Journal