Whetzal will be next leader of Superior Schools

Members of the Superior Board of Education interviewed four candidates to serve as superintendent of schools this week: John Whetzal, Nancy Meyer, Kelly Arnberger and Kenneth Heintz.

Monday evening the board voted unanimously to accept a two year interim superintendent contract with John Whetzal to begin July 1 for a salary of $145,000 per year plus benefits.

Whetzal has a licensure with the Kansas State Board of Education in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade district leadership, building leadership, and seventh grade through twelfth grade building administrator, physical science, general science and biology.

He is currently enrolled in an educational doctorate program in leadership at Kansas State University. He holds a Masters of Science degree (2003) from Kansas State University.

The past two years he has served as superintendent of schools at Riverside, Kansas (USD 114), a district of 637 students. His responsibilities there have included being the third through eight grade principal, the transportation director and budget oversight of $5.5 million. Riverside is in northeast Kansas near the Missouri border in Doniphan County.

From July of 2018 to June of 2021, he was superintendent of schools at Barnes-Hanover-Lynn (USD 223- Kansas). There he was the district's test coordinator, the district curriculum director and had budget oversight of $3.8 million. The district had 441 students.

From 2015 through June 2018, he was a crop insurance specialist for north east Kansas, southeast Nebraska and northwest Missouri.

From August 2005 to May 2015, he was the K-12 building administrator at Centralia Public Schools (USD 380) and the professional development chair.

From August 200 to May 2005 he was a high school science teacher at Republic County Public Schools (USD 427), Belleville. He was also the head football coach.

His teaching career began in Oklahoma as a science teacher. He taught in two different schools between 1995 and 1999: Lawton Public Schools, Lawton, Okla., and Anadarko Public Schools in Anadarko. He was the head football coach at both schools.

In the past three years, he has had extensive experience with facilities. In 2019-2020 Linn suffered a multimillion dollar tornado loss on Memorial Day and school started at the regular scheduled time. Under his leadership chronic absenteeism dropped from 34.8 percent to 18.2 percent since 2021. Math assessment score from 15.8 percent (below state average) to 30.14 percent (above state average) in 2021 - 2022. In 2017, he was recognized as the top individual insurance salesman for stand alone polices for Farm Credit Services of America in Kansas.

Though the years he has received the Kansas Governor's Academic achievement award multiple times.