Clarke Community School District is looking for a new curriculum director.
Lance Ridgely, the district’s curriculum director, accepted the position of East Union (EU) Community School District superintendent Tuesday, June 16.
His resignation was approved during a Clarke Community School Board meeting Thursday, June 25.
In a resignation letter to the school board, Ridgely stated, “Thank you for the opportunity to serve the Clarke schools this year as your curriculum director. My time with the district this year will add a valuable chapter to my educational experience. Clarke is headed in a positive direction and I’m proud to say I’ve been a part of the positive changes that have been made.”
Ridgely stated he was resigning from his position effective June 30.
Ridgely was in the Clarke school district for one calendar school year.
Superintendent goals
It was no secret his career aspirations were to be a superintendent one day. In April 2014, Ridgely was named one of the top three candidates in the search for the Clarke superintendent position. The position was awarded to Steve Seid.
When the curriculum director position opened up at Clarke last summer, Seid recommended Ridgely to fill the administrative position starting Aug. 12.
The contract last August was only a one-year contract. At Clarke, Ridgely’s annual salary and days were prorated for the 2014-15 school year based on $80,000 and 240 days.
By the time this article is published, Ridgely will have stepped into the East Union position held since 2008 by superintendent Pam Vogel. His superintendent duties were scheduled to start July 1.
On Tuesday, June 16, Ridgely tweeted, “Excited to be given the chance to serve the East Union Schools as Superintendent! Looking forward to getting to work, #GoEagles.”
The East Union School Board made their superintendent decision during a work session, in which it discussed the three finalists for the position with the superintendent search firm Leadership Associates.
“He’s a very personable individual. He basically has a plan in place of what he would do in the first 90 days,” said Mark Weis, EU high school principal. “I think he was a candidate that everyone all the way around felt was a good fit for East Union.”
Send off
During Clarke’s board meeting, Ridgely thanked the board members for the opportunity to serve the district, even for a short period of time.
“I won’t be that far away, so I’ll be keeping an eye on things and hope you guys have a successful move forward,” he said.
Clarke School Board President Gerard Linskens replied, “Thanks for all of what you’ve done Lance, and we wish you well there.”
• Originally posted at Osceola Sentential-Tribune — Creston News Advertiser staff reporter Ian Richardson contributed to this story.
