As the School District 38 Board of Education continues its search for a new superintendent, an interim has been selected to finish the role for the remainder of the 2023-2024 school year.

The D-38 board had its regular meeting Feb. 26 at the district learning center in Monument where directors appointed assistant superintendent Amber Whetstine to serve as the interim superintendent from April 1 through June 30.

Meanwhile, the search for a permanent replacement to Dr. K.C. Somers, whose resignation from the position is effective on March 31, continues with the analysis of data gathered from the stakeholder community survey.

The results and feedback of the two-week survey was presented to the board of education March 5 during a work session also at “Big Red.”

Prior to Whetstine’s appointment, board president Tiffiney Upchurch said since the district was going to need someone leading the executive team until the final candidate for superintendent is hired in July, and since Whetstine was already performing duties in the roll, it made sense to have her serve as acting superintendent.

“She’ll do an excellent job,” Upchurch said. “I’ve been thrilled with everything with her at the helm so far, and I know we will be keeping our foot on the gas pedal. We are going to continue pushing and working on our goals and staying focused for our students, our vision, our mission, our staff and our taxpayers.”

Whetstine said she was grateful for the trust and confidence from the board to serve in the capacity.

“We will continue working diligently to uphold our vision of elevating every student, every day, and advancing the initiatives outlined in our strategic plan,” Whetstine said. “Our entire team is committed to supporting you as a Board of Education.”

As for the stakeholder community survey, Upchurch said 692 parents filled out the survey for a total of 69% of responding community members, while former parents or others accounted for 16%. Those respondents who were staff members in the district made up 14%, and nine students completed the survey as well. Presently, the district is accepting applications for new superintendent candidates.

The district has also made a call to members of the community to serve for the search committee which will be meeting with Dr. Walt Cooper, of the search firm McPherson and Jacobson, LLC. Based on the results of the survey, Cooper will work with the committee to develop 6-9 questions to be asked in a public forum, April 4.

At the forum, the district’s finalists will be presented in a panel, allowing any one from the community to submit questions through a QR code for the finalists.

“There’s an opportunity for everyone, more voices to be heard and then from that on April 5, we as a board will be interviewing the finalists as well,” she said.

The total report of data from the stakeholder community survey is available on the D-38 website, in the Board of Education page, click on “Board Docs” and the March 5 work session.