Leyton Board Approves Interim Superintendent

The Leyton Board of Education met before a packed house Friday. The agenda focused on filling the district superintendent’s seat, and making plans to fill to board positions.

Leyton School District Superintendent Chris Leary was put on administrative leave recently. During the same period, two board members resigned. Friday’s meeting was held with four board members present: board chairman Susan Ernest, Dave Wiedeman, Ryan Borges and Roland Rushman.

The board accepted a proposed contract for Charles Bunner to serve as the interim superintendent. Bunner is a former superintendent of Sidney Public Schools, and other school districts in the region. Ernest said if Leary returns to his duties as superintendent, the contract with Bunner will be null and void.

The board then discussed how to fill the open board seats. Ernest said by state statute the district has two choices: appoint two people to fill the two positions, or accept applications. The applicants will then be interviewed in open session. Board member Dave Wiedeman supported the application option, saying that way the public can see the process in open session.

The application will be available on the District’s website under the Board of Education drop-down tab.

The board also discussed scheduling board training, especially in consideration of new members entering the board. Ernest said the Nebraska Association of School Boards offers training that the district can share some of the incidental costs with neighboring districts. The board also considered a training session on the Open Meetings law. The board decided to postpone Open Meetings training to March. Ernest said the Open Meetings session will be open to the public.