The Northwest R-1 Board of Education has taken the first step to find the district’s next leader.
School board members voted unanimously Oct. 7 to hire the Missouri School Boards’ Association (MSBA) to help them find the district’s next superintendent, said Lisa Barnhart, the administrative assistant to the superintendent.
Current Superintendent Desi Kirchhofer announced Sept. 20 he will retire at the end of this school year.
Kirchhofer, 50, of Byrnes Mill has been the district’s superintendent since July 1, 2017.
He is paid a $187,170.80 annual salary, Barnhart said.
The board has agreed to pay MSBA 8 percent of the next superintendent’s first year’s contracted salary. However, the fee will not exceed $14,973.66, or 8 percent of Kirchhofer’s salary.
Board of Education president Retta “Susan” Tuggle said the board has not set a salary range for the next superintendent but plans to discuss the topic at the board meeting this evening (Oct. 21).
Tuggle said she expects to hire the next superintendent by a unanimous vote.
“We will go through this process just like when we hired Dr. Kirchhofer,” she said. “I just hope we can find someone to fill his shoes.”
Kirchhofer said he has “hit the rule of 80,” which means his age combined with the number of years he has worked in education qualifies him to retire with full benefits.
Other board action
The board also voted unanimously Oct. 7 to release Denise White, director of finance, from her contact, Barnhart said.
Kirchhofer said White was released from her contact because she is moving.
Barnhart said White has been with the district for two years and was earning a $78,830.60 annual salary. Her last day will be Nov. 12 and the district will post the job opening on Oct. 18.
In addition to Tuggle, school board members include Gary Bonacker, Chris Shelton, Jeff Hanewinkel, Sherri Talbott, Terri Green and Mary Thomasson.