Dr. Paula Little, beginning July 1 of this year, will see the word “interim” dropped from her current title and will become permanent Clinton County Schools Superintendent, after being hired for that top school district position by the board of education at a special meeting last week.

The appointment came as no surprise to most residents, as the long-time educator and administrator has been serving as Interim Superintendent since last fall, following the resignation of Dr. Tim Parson.

Parson served less than two years at the helm before announcing his resignation as schools chief.

Little had also been an applicant for the position three years ago when the board hired Parson on a split vote of 3-2.

Dr. Little was appointed by the board to serve as Interim Superintendent until a new permanent replacement could be found. She was one of seven overall applicants for the job following Parson’s departure.

A search committee, assisted by KSBA consultant Tim Eaton, was formed and reviewed the seven applicants for the superintendent’s role, narrowing the field to three applicants for the full school board to interview.

When finalist interviews were conducted, however, the Board of Education interviewed only two applicants, including Little, as one of the three had already accepted another position elsewhere.

The Board of Education held a call meeting last Wednesday, May 18, to discuss, and eventually appoint, a superintendent. Board members had said earlier the field had been narrowed down to one applicant.

The board, with all five members present, entered into an approximate 40 minute executive session to discuss personnel. They called in Dr. Little for a brief discussion prior to returning to open session.

No action was taken during the closed portion of the meeting.

When the board returned to open session, board member Gary Norris made the motion–seconded by board member Ronald Albertson–to hire Dr. Little as superintendent. The length of her contract was set at four years, beginning July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2026. The motion passed by unanimous vote.

On a separate motion, the board voted 5-0 to approve the contract for the new superintendent, which had been reviewed by board attorney Winter Huff, and authorized board chairwoman Leslie Stockton to sign all documents necessary related to the contract.

The one hour session was then adjourned.

Dr. Little began her lengthy career in education–all in Clinton County Schools–in the classroom–and graduated to administration, including holding the positions of Instructional Supervisor for several years and at her time of being appointed as Interim Superintendent, was serving as Assistant Superintendent.

(A separate feature article on Dr. Little will be published in a later edition of the Clinton County News.)