Rangely Supt. will resign at end of year

RANGELY — Rio Blanco County has lost two school superintendents in two weeks.
Last week, Rangely Superintendent Dwayne Newman submitted his resignation at a school board meeting Jan. 26. The week before, Meeker Superinten-dent Dan Evig gave his resignation, saying he was retiring at the end of June.
Newman said he would be leaving at the end of June as well.
“I’ve put in my resignation,” said Newman, who is in his first year as superintendent in Rangely, after spending five years as principal of Meeker High School. “It’s personal.”
Newman, who oversaw the passage of a $15 million bond issue for school improvements during November’s general election, said he felt good about where the Rangely district was headed.
“That is the hard part of leaving,” he said of the good things happening in the district. “There has been a lot of movement in the district, as far as achievement and instruction and, certainly, with the bond. I think I’ve got them started on a good road.”
Newman divided his time between serving as superintendent and principal at Rangely Middle School. Amy Ward is assistant principal at the middle school and, in addition, teaches a couple of classes, Newman said.
“We did about an 80/20 split with my time,” he said.
Newman said he didn’t know what his next career move would be.
“I’m not sure yet,” he said.
But by submitting his resignation now, he said the district should have plenty of time to find a replacement.
“The timeline hasn’t been set, but that’s why I put it (his resignation) in this early, so it can get circulated through the state,” Newman said. “This was the best process. They (the school board) know what they are looking for. I think the board and the staff have bought in to where the district is heading. I think they will find someone good to continue.”
Matt Scoggins, school board president, said the district will receive help in finding a replacement for Newman through the Colorado Association of School Boards.
“They offer a superintendent search service, and we had used them (when Newman was hired),” Scoggins said. ‘I’ve already contacted Bob Cito with CASB, and we will work with them again. We will use the same basic process we used with Dwayne.”
There is a fee for the service, but Scoggins expects the amount will be reduced because Newman was on board for only one year.
“It was several thousand dollars last time,” Scoggins said. “But it will be reduced this time, since we are going back in. There’s kind of an unwritten guarantee that everything works out over time, so I think the fee will be limited.”
Scoggins thanked Newman for what he accomplished during his year as superintendent and wished him well.
“He needed to (resign), just to take care of some personal matters,” Scoggins said. “He will make a great superintendent one day. He had the makings here. We are really pleased Dwayne will stay with us through June 30 and help us through this transition, so that those ideas (Newman initiated) aren’t dropped and they get shared (with his replacement). We hope to have that continuity.”
Scoggins said no timeline had been established yet for finding a new superintendent.
“But the sooner the better,” he said.