At the most recent Highland School Board meeting, the path to fill the soon-to-be vacant superintendent position became a little more clear. Superintendent Chris Armstrong announced his retirement recently, and the board is exploring their options to fill the position. Board President Kevin Engel believes the district would be better off with a full-time superintendent, but admitted it makes more sense financially to seek a sharing agreement with a neighboring district or seek an interim superintendent. According to Armstrong, there are three districts who have shown an interest in sharing – Lone Tree, Columbus Community, and Central City – as well as one individual interested in serving on a one-year interim basis.

At the meeting, Armstrong offered his advice on the search, “If the board wants to go in a sharing direction, or at least explore that, my recommendation would be that the board form a committee of three people to start having discussions with these neighboring boards that have interest. You could have a chance to hear what they’re thinking, have a chance to speak with the superintendent involved, and have a chance to get a feel of ‘Yeah, this feels like a viable option,’ or ‘I think we need to go a different direction.’” Board members Mike Golden, Rachel Longbine, and Nate Robinson volunteered to be the committee and were unanimously approved by the board. They will begin discussions with the neighboring school boards immediately.