TR R-X hires new superintendent

The Twin Rivers R-X school district will have a new superintendent in July.

Board members have hired Dr. Ben Johnson to replace Jeremy Seibert, who put in his notice in March. Johnson currently works as assistant principal at Charleston Middle School.

Interim Superintendent Mike Stevenson said Johnson’s contract starts on July 1, but the two are working together in the meantime. Stevenson signed a three-month contract to fill in during the search.

Johnson has been in education for 15 years. This includes 10 years as a classroom teacher and five as an administrator. Prior to entering education, he served as a police officer for the city of Cape Girardeau while also serving in the Air National Guard.

In a letter to the district, Johnson said he enjoys sports, writing, reading, meeting new people and “collecting ideas that help promote positive progress.”

He is married to Brandy Johnson and has two kids: 16-year-old Noah and 13-year-old Mackenzie.

Johnson earned a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Missouri, and a specialist in educational administration and a master’s degree in educational administration from Southeast Missouri State University. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Murray State University.

“I strongly believe in creating and maintaining a high level of academic, emotional and character growth for all students and will work hard with our leadership team to implement strategies and programs that serve our students well in all of those areas,” he wrote.

In his letter, Johnson said he plans to work with the school board to address budget concerns — especially when budget cuts at the state and federal level will likely affect schools. He also said he wants to reach out to the community for input on the issue.

Twin Rivers has many things to be proud of, he said, and he plans to promote that. One strategy, he said, is to create a webpage called One School Atmosphere of photos and recognition of staff, students and past graduates.

“We should be proud of our school and want to share that with as many people as possible with the phrase ‘We are Twin Rivers Royals, and This is What We Are About,’” he wrote.

Bids

Board members requested Stevenson to put out bids for work to the central office building in Broseley during Tuesday night’s meeting.

Stevenson said they’re looking to add a pitched roof over the current flat one.

Based on the cost of bids put in, Stevenson said, they may discuss the alternative of moving central office personnel to an area in the high school.

Staff

Stevenson said the board approved the absorption of a position.

He said one of the current IT members will return to the classroom as a teacher. The IT department will now have one full-time and one part-time member.

Stevenson said they didn’t eliminate the position, but are leaving it vacant for the time being.

Other business

Stevenson said the board tabled topics relating to salary schedules, leave days and policies during Tuesday’s meeting so they can be brought up when Johnson has taken over.