Huntsville School District officials plan to hire a new superintendent for the 2014-15 school year, with the current superintendent stepping into an assistant superintendent role until he retires.
Superintendent Robert Allen intends to retire within the next two years, he said, and longtime Assistant Superintendent Shelby Sisemore is retiring after this school year. Instead of filling the assistant superintendent position, the Huntsville School Board and Allen agreed to have Allen finish his career as an assistant superintendent and to start the search for a new superintendent.
School Board President Kevin Wilson said the School Board is interested in a leader who will accommodate its students, principals and teachers and continue to build on the district’s academic programs.
Allen, 64, is in his sixth year with the Madison County district of about 2,250 students with campuses in Huntsville and St. Paul. He was assistant superintendent for three years before becoming the district’s superintendent. Allen previously spent eight years as superintendent of the Elkins School District.
Sisemore, 58, has spent 25 years with the Huntsville School District. In Huntsville, he was a coach and history teacher before going to Berryville as an assistant high school principal. He returned to Huntsville as a middle school principal and was once the superintendent for about three years. Sisemore has spent 12 years as an assistant superintendent.
The School Board has not made a final decision about what Allen’s salary will be once he becomes assistant superintendent, Wilson said. Allen’s salary this year is about $99,400, and Sisemore’s salary this year is about $86,700.
The district’s posting for superintendent states the salary for a new superintendent will be $115,000, though that is negotiable.
Allen hasn’t set a deadline for accepting resumes, but the district hopes to have a new superintendent in place by July 1.
Arkansas, Pages 16 on 04/02/2014