Iola High’s vacant principal position didn’t take long to fill. This week the USD 257 school board promoted IHS assistant principal Stacey Fager to fulfill the roll of building principal.
Fager, in his fifth year as assistant principal, will succeed David Grover, who recently accepted the superintendent position at USD 268-Cheney.
Classifying the hire as an administrative transfer, the USD 257 board was not required to publicly list the position.
Iola school board president Tony Leavitt said looking in-house for Grover’s replacement was a priority.
“It’s important we have consistency within the district and the person that we put in that position understood the district,” he said.
Fager’s annual salary as IHS principal will be $80,500.
Hired on as assistant principal the same time as Grover became principal, Fager has first-hand experience with all policies and initiatives implemented in the last five years.
A Pittsburg State graduate and a native of St. Paul, Fager said not only is he familiar with the district, he also knows the lie of the land throughout all of southeast Kansas.
Superintendent of Schools Brian Pekarek said a desire to fill the position from within USD 257 coupled with budget constraints made it an easy decision to go with an administrative transfer.
“This will make it easier for us to eliminate an administrator,” he said. “Right now we have 10 administrators in the district and the goal is to get that number to nine.”
Although specific plans are yet to be determined, Pekarek said the board will look at combining an administrator position, possibly having one principal to preside over two elementary buildings. Or, the assistant principal slot could be cut, he said.
“It’s a decision the board will be making sometime this spring,” Pekarek said.
