Olathe Public Schools Superintendent Marlin Berry has accepted an offer to become superintendent of Rogers Public Schools in Arkansas, the Rogers School Board confirmed Thursday.
According to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Berry will replace 17-year Superintendent Janie Darr when she retires this summer.
The Rogers Board of Education voted 7-0 to approve his contract on Thursday.
Berry was reportedly the Rogers School Board’s top choice to fill Darr’s position, and he traveled to Arkansas for two face-to-face interviews before they offered him the job. During this time, he toured local schools and met with fellow educators in the area.
“There are some wonderful facilities here in Rogers, some wonderful programs, some wonderful teachers doing some really neat things,” he said in an interview with the Gazette. “So that was exciting to see.”
Berry, a Kansas native, served as the superintendent of Kansas’s second-largest school district for six years; in 2013, the Kansas School Superintendents’ Association honored him as the Kansas Superintendent of the Year for his “strong and focused” leadership of Olathe Public Schools.
Olathe Public Schools said in a news release that the Board of Education accepted his resignation Thursday night and that he will stay on until June 30.
“It was a very difficult decision to leave a district that has been home to me for so long,” Berry said in the news release. “I truly appreciate the opportunity I was given to lead such a wonderful school district and it has been, without a doubt, one of the best experiences of my life. I will always cherish my time here in Olathe and for that, I thank you.”
“We are saddened to see Dr. Berry leave, but wish him the best of luck in the future,” Board President Rick Schier said in the news release. “We are incredibly grateful for his years of service and all that he has done for the district and its students and staff.”
The board said it will now work on finding an interim superintendent.
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