Over 30 years in education will come to an end in June for Kevin Clark. The Deweyville Independent School District superintendent announced to the school trustees in Deweyville his plans to retire earlier in April.
When he took the position of Deweyville superintendent 21 months ago Clark indicates his intentions were to be there for at least five years. Clark gives his reason for retiring in June as being philosophical differences between the school board and Clark’s future plans as well as the commitment it would require over the next three years. He added it is kind of bitter sweet that he is leaving in three months. Clark has 31 years in the Teacher Retirement System, and he meets the rule of 80 so he can retire with full benefits. “We’ve got things setup for whoever does come in. I do know there’s a lot of work to be done, but we’re on a good path,” Clark explained.
Since taking the job as superintendent of the Deweyville schools Clark has balanced the budget, corrected several staffing issues, and pointed the district ship in the right direction. Asked about his biggest accomplishment as the head of education in Deweyville, Clark stated the answer is obviously the district recovering from the catastrophic flood of 2016.
The ramifications from the flood were totally unforeseen. Not having a building for elementary school students and staff was a huge hurdle for Clark. He feels very good about the new temporary structure being used for the Deweyville Elementary School which doubles as the school administration building. The Texas Education Agency, State Senator Robert Nichols, and State Representative James White have all been very helpful according to Clark, but he does not believe any of them anticipated the resiliency of the Deweyville community. Clark pointed out, “Our students did stay, our teachers stayed, and we are moving forward.”
One year since the Sabine River flooding, the enrollment in the Deweyville schools is almost back to what it was prior to the disaster. Many of the families for the staff and the students are either back in their homes or are getting their houses rebuilt.
Clark reminds there is still a lot to be done especially in the next three years. The nice current elementary school structure was funded by FEMA and is only temporary. Deweyville has three years to lease those buildings. In the course of that time the school district must determine where to build a new elementary school, what type of structure will be built, and what grades will be housed in the new facility. The district will need to continue to work with the state legislature in Austin to make sure the funding is there for that project. “Those are going to be the biggest hurdles coming up in the next three years for the district,” Clark concludes.
The next three months for Deweyville trustees will be spent finding a replacement for Clark when he steps down in June. Clark will be attending to finding other matters to occupy his interest at that time.
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