NICKERSON, Kan. — Nickerson USD 309 will be looking for a new superintendent. In a meeting filled with continued dissension Monday night the Board decided not to renew Dr. Dawn Johnson’s contract. Her last day will be June 30.
The vote came after discussion on renewing Johnson’s contract came to a head. Things got heated enough that two members of the board left their seats. At that time the decision came not to keep Johnson on board past the end of her current contract.
Johnson's departure is part of the ongoing division among the board and others that resulted from the failed bond issue. At that time Johnson was pushing for a smaller version of the proposed bond issue. That was met with a divided board although the larger version of the bond passed on a split vote. The bond issue was then soundly defeated in the next election.
Further tensions mounted as two members stepped away from their seats leaving the board with two vacancies. Several attempts to fill those vacancies have been rejected by the current five member board. Two of those applicants were rejected again Monday night.
Johnson became the Superintendent of the district in 2016 after three years as the Assistant Superintendent. She also taught in the Nickerson School System from 1999 through 2004. She was then deployed to serve her country in the Army. She recently became a Lt. Colonel after taking a year away from the school district to attend military school in Washington D.C.
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