Mike Richie, District Administrator
October - Spirit Article
The 2022-23 school year is off to a great start! At this time, I am announcing to the community that I will be retiring as the District Administrator from the Tomorrow River School District on June 30, 2023. This will be the second time during my career that I have retired.
I came to the Tomorrow River School District as an interim in January of 2019 after serving over 20 years as a District Administrator in previous school districts. I came to the district when Mike Toelle was diagnosed with leukemia and I was to be here one semester. It has been five school years and it is now time for new leadership.
I would like to thank the wonderful people of this community and all school staff of this great district for the opportunity to be part of the Tomorrow River success story! Also, a big thank you to the school board for serving on the board, working collaboratively with me and supporting many great programs and initiatives in moving this district forward. At the conclusion of this school year, I will have served as a District Administrator for a total of 25 years.
The school board has hired a search firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates to assist them with the search to hire a new District Administrator. Established in 1987, Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) is one of the oldest and largest search firms having assisted more than 1,600 school boards select exceptionally talented leadership in school systems across the nation.
Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates works with boards in an effort to assist them in making the best possible leadership decisions, assisting with searches nationwide. HYA is committed to stakeholder/community engagement throughout the search. Initial individual and focus group interviews are scheduled in order to learn about the strengths and challenges of the District as well as the desired characteristics of the new superintendent.
Information regarding the search for a new District Administrator is posted on the district website at: https://www.amherst.k12.wi.us/. This website will be updated on a regular basis and new information will be posted as it becomes available. The search for a new District Administrator will take approximately four months, and the new District Administrator will be announced/approved in January or February with a contract beginning on July 1, 2023.
In addition to having a search firm work with the district, the district will also be creating a school culture/climate survey. This survey will be sent to all district residents, school district employees and students in grades 6-12 by early November. School Perceptions will be working with the school district in developing this survey. This survey will help the board and new District Administrator define the strengths of the school district and identify areas where the school district can improve.
We are asking for maximum participation in completing this survey. Please complete the survey once you receive it. Your feedback and thoughts are extremely important to us and will only help make this school district even better!