The Merrill Area Public Schools Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday night to accept the resignations of Superintendent Wally Leipart and Assistant Superintendent/Director of Curriculum and Instruction Michele Jahnke. The resignations are effective immediately.
The board also discussed the process for refilling the positions. The board decided to first deal with the superintendent position and wait until the new superintendent is on board before beginning the process of hiring a new Director of Curriculum and Instruction. The board will not use an outside consulting firm, as has been done in the past. Instead the district’s human resources department will be charged with conducting the superintendent search. A committee of community members will be assembled to help with interviewing the candidates.
The superintendent position is expected to be posted next week, with the interviewing process to begin in early summer.
In the interim, Prairie River Middle School Principal Gerald Beyer has been appointed to serve as Director of Curriculum and Instruction. He will perform the duties of that position while continuing to serve as PRMS principal.
MAPS Director of Special Education, John Sample, is serving as interim superintendent.