Longtime Keene ISD Superintendent Wanda Smith, after which the district’s high school is named, announced plans to retire at Monday’s school board meeting.
At 71, this is Smith’s second time to retire. The first was in 2006 after 27 years in KISD. She returned in March 2011 as interim superintendent when then-superintendent Darlene Callender left after 18 months with the district. She was named the lone finalist for the superintendent position earlier this school year and at the time said she was not sure how long she would stay.
“I don’t think I’m every ready to leave,” she said on Tuesday. “I love it. But I think it’s time I do some other things in life. And I think it’s time for Keene to find a really good superintendent and to hopefully keep that superintendent for several years.”
Trustees at Monday’s meeting said they would not pursue hiring a search firm to seek out the next superintendent, Smith said. That decision is partly because of finances, she said.
“It’s going to be handled by the board, but I will help them at times,” she said, adding, “They feel they know the town more than somebody [a search firm] coming in would.”
