HAVEN, Kan. — Haven USD 312 will be looking for a new superintendent. Clark Wedel announced he is resigning from his current position. The matter will be a part of Monday’s USD 312 board meeting.
Wedel has been the superintendent of the Haven School District since 2015, coming to the district from Moundridge where he was the high school's principal.
“This is something I have been considering and mulling over for quite some time,” Wedel said. “Probably my biggest thought is that I’m retirement-age eligible through KPERS, so it’s something that I can do.”
Wedel says leaving a job is never easy and, while he is looking forward to some downtime, he says he probably won't sit still for too long.
“It will certainly be a challenge to walk away from this district,” Wedel said. “As I said to the board, this has probably been as rewarding as a professional job I’ve had in my career.”
Wedel came on board shortly after USD 312 residents passed a major bond issue. He says good management by the district and a supporting board allowed the district to make a number of improvements.
“We took that bond election and put it into place and that allowed us to do a huge amount of updates,” Wedel said. “When you have bond money, it allows you to pad your capital outlay budget a bit and we were able to do that.”
Wedel says that the other improvements came thanks to a school board that was thinking of improving a number of facilities.
“When you have a school board that supports that, that makes it all possible,” Wedel said. “It’s been great to work with a school board that I would say we think a lot alike, and so we’ve been able to make a great number of updates.”
Wedel was also faced with a shrinking school district, which forced some tough decisions that included closing Mt. Hope Elementary School and the elementary school in Partridge.
A special meeting will be held on Tuesday with the Kansas Association of School Boards to discuss what direction the district will go to find Wedel's replacement.
Wedel’s last day with USD 312 will be June 30.
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