The Lonedell R-XIV School District Board of Education called a special meeting late last week to discuss options related to searching for a new superintendent.
Current Superintendent Fred VanBibber announced in February that he was retiring from school administrative work. His retirement is effective on June 30.
“After some discussion in closed session, the board went into open session and voted to post the position on the school website for 10 school days, per school policy,” Lonedell board of education President Kathy Reed told The Missourian when asked about the meeting. “This will allow ample opportunity for internal or external candidates.”
The issue again will be discussed during the board’s next meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 25.
The board usually conducts its business on the third Monday of each month, but opted to delay getting together by a week.
“This decision was made to allow the (superintendent) posting period to be completed, and the board can then make a decision on any applicants that have applied,” Reed said.
In all, the meeting lasted almost two hours. Besides Reed, board members present were Joe Tharp, Scott Schneider, Maureen Lindsey and Daniel Short.
During the board’s February meeting, members did not make any decisions regarding how to proceed with its search.
The board did discuss the situation at length both in open and closed sessions, but opted to gather more information before giving a green light to find a replacement.
VanBibber is in his fourth year at the R-XIV helm. His salary is $97,850 this year.
During the open meeting in February, VanBibber said advertising options included having the Missouri School Boards Association conduct the search or having the board do all the legwork while utilizing various venues to post the position. Using the MSBA would come with a price tag, the superintendent said, but he did not know how much the expense would be.
Possible websites to post the opening, besides Lonedell’s own site, are the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Missouri Association of Rural Education and DESE.
