Trish Bennett, Editor
CIRCLEVILLE – The Circleville City School District has contracted for an interim superintendent upon the retirement of Kirk McMahon effective Dec. 31.
McMahon, who has spent many of his 31 years in education in the Circleville district, announced his decision to the Board of Education in September that he would be retiring at the end of the calendar year.
“I just felt like it was time, and the end of the calendar year seemed to make sense,” McMahon said. “I’ve been eligible to retire for a year and a half, but I wanted to see the construction project through. Now that it’s done, I just think it’s time to move on.”
According to Todd Stevens, president of the Circleville City Schools Board of Education, the district has signed a contract with John Edgar to serve as interim superintendent from Jan. 1 through June 30, 2016, while a permanent replacement is found.
Edgar, a Circleville resident, served as superintendent of the Logan Elm Local School District twice during his career in education for a total of 17 years.
“When Kirk announced he was leaving, we tried to decide our best option,” Stevens said. “Do we rush and try to get someone to replace Kirk right away, or do we take our time and find the right fit? We knew there were a couple of retired superintendents in the county, but John already lives here and is familiar with our community, so we asked him if there was an interest, and there was.”
Stevens said the interim contract includes five days between now and the end of the calendar year for Edgar to work with McMahon to get a feel for the current status of the district and its operation.
Edgar said he will work with McMahon to schedule those days over the next two months so he will be ready to hit the ground running on Jan. 1.
“For me, it’s just learning to get adjusted to what they’re doing and how they’re doing it,” Edgar said. “My intent is to support everyone and help the kids finish up a good school year.”
Edgar said prior to his stints at Logan Elm, he worked in the Circleville district for about 10 years, teaching at the high school and then serving as principal at two of the elementary schools.
In addition to serving as interim, Edgar said he has offered his services in the search for McMahon’s permanent replacement.
“I told [the board] I could be helpful with that, but I don’t know if the decision has been made,” Edgar said. “That’s for them to decide.”
Prior to being named superintendent of Circleville City Schools, McMahon served as assistant superintendent for one year under former superintendent Sam Lucas. He served eight years as principal of Everts Middle School and previously taught in and out of the district during his 31-year career.
Stevens said he is sorry to see McMahon go but fully supports his decision.
“I think he was a big asset and quite a leader for our district,” Stevens said. “Great things don’t always last forever, though, and he just believes it’s time. It will be weird not to have him here, but I understand. He will be missed.”
McMahon said he is most proud of the strides his staff has made in the past several years, and he knows the school board will choose a replacement who will continue the fine tradition at Circleville City Schools.
“It has been a good run, and I’ve enjoyed working with everybody,” McMahon said. “We’ve done a lot of good things together.”
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
