Festus R-6 Superintendent Link Luttrell is leaving the district at the end of the school year.
He is retiring from the Festus School District effective June 30 and will start a new job on July 1 as superintendent of Spring Hill USD 230 School District in Spring Hill, Kan.
The move to another state allows Luttrell to work there while receiving a Missouri school system pension.
“I feel the timing is good (to retire from Festus R-6),” said Luttrell, 57, who has worked in the district for 14 years, the last nine as superintendent. “I can retire from Missouri, go across state lines and work in Kansas.”
Luttrell’s is being paid a $214,000 salary this school year at Festus. He said he still is negotiating his salary at Spring Hill.
The Festus Board of Education voted unanimously during a special closed meeting on Tuesday, March 8, to accept Luttrell’s retirement.
“The district’s accomplishments under Dr. Luttrell speak for themselves,” said Todd Oetting, the board president. “I truly appreciate Link’s dedication to the district and its stakeholders and the way he embraced our community over the last 14 years.”
Luttrell said he and his wife, Carrie, considered Spring Hill because they have family members in Kansas.
“The move will put my wife and I within 30 miles of our sons, who both live in that area,” he said.
Luttrell said Spring Hill schools are comparable to Festus schools.
The current student enrollment at Festus is about 3,200, while it’s about 3,700 at Spring Hill, Luttrell said.
“Both had undergone a lot of growth,” he said. "Spring Hill has grown from 2,300 five years to ago to 3,700."
Luttrell listed the following as achievements for Festus R-6 under his leadership: teacher salaries are the highest among Jefferson County public schools, with a current starting salary of $41,200, which will increase to $42,000 next year; student achievement rankings consistently are the highest in the county and among the highest in the state; three ballot initiatives were successful with voters approving propositions in 2015, 2017 and 2019; school buildings were expanded and renovated; a new Tiger baseball-softball complex was built on campus; and technology was improved.
“Since arriving in July 2008 as assistant superintendent, I’ve strived to pedal fast while collaborating daily with all stakeholders in the ongoing pursuit to firmly establish Festus R-6 as a premier district not only within Jefferson County, but also the St. Louis metropolitan region, as well as across the entire state of Missouri,” Luttrell said. “To that end, I truly feel the pursuit has been accomplished and there is no doubt that Festus R-6 has set forth a high standard from which others now strive to emulate.”
Luttrell said the Festus school board already has begun the search for his replacement.
“The board decided to and already has posted internally (for a new superintendent),” Luttrell said. “The board will look at internal applications first. If they do not find what they want internally, they will go on a wider search.”