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Shawnee Mission Schools aims to hire internal candidate as next superintendent

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Shawnee Mission Schools wants to hire internally to replace retiring Superintendent Mike Fulton.

The SMSD Board of Education on Monday night unanimously approved posting the open superintendent job online but said it will be accepting applications from only “qualified internal candidates.”

The public vote to post the job and keep the search internal came after a nearly three-and-a-half hour executive session conducted behind closed doors.

‘Confident’ in finding internal candidate

Board President Heather Ousley and Vice President Mary Sinclair released the following statement after the meeting:

“At our meeting tonight, the Board of Education voted to conduct an internal search to select the next Superintendent. The Board is seeking an experienced leader who appreciates our community and is committed to our District and the Strategic Plan. The Board believes this decision will provide continuity for the work currently being done, as well as stability moving forward, and is consistent with our commitment to providing advancement opportunities for our talented staff. We are confident that we have qualified internal candidates to serve as the next superintendent of the Shawnee Mission School District.” 

Applications for superintendent candidates will be due by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19th, according to the board’s motion.

In a second unanimous vote Monday night, the board also approved adopting a job description that will be posted publicly Tuesday but was not immediately available Monday night.

District leadership shuffle

Fulton announced his retirement last month, effective July 1, after three years leading one of Kansas’ largest public school districts.

Deputy Superintendent Rick Atha also announced his pending retirement last month. He will stay on longer than Fulton and plans to formally step down Dec. 31, 2021.

Meanwhile, the board recently approved the promotion of Associate Superintendent of Leadership and Learning Michelle Hubbard to Deputy Superintendent, which went into effect Jan. 1.

That makes Hubbard, along with the retiring Atha, the district’s second-in-command to the retiring Fulton.

Hubbard spent nearly a quarter century in the nearby Turner School District in Kansas City, Kan., the final seven as superintendent, before coming to SMSD in 2015, hired by former Superintendent Jim Hinson.

About the author

Kyle Palmer
Kyle Palmer

Hi! I’m Kyle Palmer, the editor of the Johnson County Post.

Prior to joining the Post in 2020, I served as News Director for KCUR. I got my start in journalism at the University of Missouri, where I worked for KBIA, mid-Missouri’s NPR affiliate. After college, I spent 10 years as a teacher and went on to get a master’s degree in education policy from Stanford University.

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