Call set to become Hill City superintendent
Pat Call accepts verbal offer from Hill City district
After nearly 20 years as a principal, Dr. Pat Call has decided to become a superintendent.
Last week Call received a verbal offer from the Hill City board of education to become their next superintendent. Although he has not yet signed a formal contract, Call intends to accept the offer, he said.
Call said he will formally present his resignation to the USD 410 board of education before its meeting on Monday.
Hill City, or USD 281, is a 2A school with about 400 students in kindergarten through 12th grade, Call said. The town is located approximately 30 miles northwest of Hays.
Making the decision to leave Hillsboro was a hard one, he said. But he's been a principal since 1985, and being a superintendent is his next step.
"I'd like to have a new challenge," Call said.
To be a teacher, principal, or superintendent in the Kansas school system, you must be certified for your position. Call has had his superintendent's certificate for a few years now, he said.
He's been thinking about being a superintendent for several years, but now is just the right time, Call said. After he saw the opening in Hill City, he applied, interviewed the last week of March, and was offered the job last week.
Call received his doctorate from Wichita State University last year, but that wasn't a primary factor in making the decision — it just gave him a "broader perspective," he said.
Call arrived at Hillsboro in 1994 to become principal of Hillsboro Elementary School. Before that, he'd served as principal at schools in Osborne, Hugoton, and Sylvan Grove.
He has mixed feelings about leaving Hillsboro, Call said. There are many positive about working here — good staff, support from parents. But Hill City also offers many of those positive qualities.
USD 410 Superintendent Gordon Mohn said that Call's departure to Hill City is his gain, but the district's loss.
"He's been really valuable," Mohn said.
Mohn confirmed that the school board has not officially received Call's resignation. But board members will start discussion who could replace him at the next board meeting, which is set for Monday night.
The district could choose to hire a completely new person, or they might decide to promote from within. There are several people within the district who have their administrator's certificate, Mohn said.
The board will look at the options further at Monday's meeting, he said.
