Board to name interim superintendent Monday
Just as the McPherson board of education hired USD 410's retiring Gordon Mohn to meet its needs, USD 410 has asked another recently-retired school superintendent to take the job he's leaving behind.
Mohn confirmed Monday that the USD 410 board had offered the position of interim superintendent to a man who himself is retiring this year, as superintendent of a district in northern Kansas.
The announcement will be made official at the board's next regular meeting Monday.
"We've made an offer, and he's going to return the signed contract, and they'll approve it next Monday night," said Mohn, who didn't identify his successor. "But it's not a done thing until the board approves it."
After 14 years as USD 410 superintendent and three years as principal at Hillsboro High School, Mohn, 57, will retire and become assistant superintendent of McPherson USD 418. As director of special education, Mohn will manage Head Start and other programs in the McPherson district and four other districts in the county.
Mohn's departure at the end of this month means the new USD 410 superintendent will lead the district through four new improvement projects, totaling $6.625 million, approved by a 54 to 46 percent margin in Tuesday's special election.
Mohn, who knows the new super
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intendent personally, said the district will have experienced leadership through the interim.
Experience is exactly what the USD 410 board wants, according to president Rod Koons.
Rather than taking time now to make a formal search for a new superintendent to meet the district's long-term needs, the board chose to fill the vacancy, short-term, with a retired superintendent with building project experience.
"Most retired superintendents have been through at least one bond issue building project," Koons said. "Some [of those interviewed] have done two or three, some have done one, but everyone we've talked to has been through a building project."
Koons added that all of the candidates interviewed for the interim position were in situations similar to Mohn's; they've put in enough years to retire and draw a pension, and are young enough to work for a few more years.
Not only will hiring an interim give the district the experience it needs now, it also will give the board the time it needs to find the ideal superintendent for the future, Koons said.
"We want to do the research to see what the face of our district needs to look like," he said. "Our district understands that we can't keep doing education the same way that we always have."
