The Maize School District has a new superintendent as of Wednesday, July 1.
Chad Higgins comes to Maize from Moundridge Schools where he served as superintendent the past six years.
He’ll be leading a growing district, where voters recently approved a $70 million bond issue for school and facility renovations.
Outgoing Superintendent Doug Powers says while there is community support, the district still faces ongoing economic challenges.
“It’s tough to be a leader when you’re having to manage decline," he says. "You know as the new superintendent comes in and new board comes in, the challenges that we’ve faced in the past I don’t think just go away because the calendar changes and there’s new leadership.”
During Powers’ six years at Maize, a task force studied options for changing the way students are placed in middle and high schools.
Powers says no policy changes were made last year in part because the bond issue election would determine the future of school buildings.
Powers accepted an assistant superintendent position with a school district in the Kansas City area.
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