Olathe superintendent Marlin Berry is headed to Arkansas

Olathe superintendent Marlin Berry will be leaving to lead Rogers Public Schools in northwest Arkansas.

The Olathe school board accepted Berry’s resignation Thursday night.

“It was a very difficult decision to leave a district that has been home to me for so long,” said Berry, who has been superintendent since 2010. “I truly appreciate the opportunity I was given to lead such a wonderful school district and it has been, without a doubt, one of the best experiences of my life.”

The Rogers school board met Thursday and voted unanimously to accept the terms of his contract, which will pay Berry $215,754 per year through June 2019, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported. The contract takes effect July 1.

Berry was one of 61 people who applied for the Rogers job and one of four finalists interviewed last week.

“We are saddened to see Dr. Berry leave, but wish him the best of luck in the future,” Board President Rick Schier said in a statement Friday.

“We are incredibly grateful for his years of service and all that he has done for the district and its students and staff.”

Olathe schools leaders will now work to choose an interim superintendent and announce plans to find the next superintendent in the coming weeks.

Maggie Kolb, communications director for the district, said Barry was “tied up in meetings,” all day on Friday and unable to answer questions about why he is leaving Olathe.

Berry will be leaving a district with 30,000 students, four high schools, nine middle schools and 35 elementary schools. A fifth high school — Olathe West — is scheduled to open in 2017.

Olathe is the second biggest district in the state and the largest in the Kansas City area.

Rogers, in the northwest corridor of Arkansas next to Bentonville, is a growing community of 60,000 residents. The district has 15,077 students, three high schools, four middle schools and 15 elementary schools.

Like Olathe, it is a district with some award-winning schools. Two of the high schools there are on U.S. News and World Report’s list of Best High Schools in America.

Berry, who received his doctorate in education policy and administration from the University of Kansas, serves on the board of the Kansas School Superintendents Association and is chairman-elect of the Kansas Council of Superintendents.

He came to the Olathe School District in July, 2007 as assistant superintendent and has served more than 35 years in public education, as a senior high principal and as an English and journalism teacher. Before Olathe, Berry had been superintendent of schools in Abilene, Kan. and in Lindsborg, Kan.

He was named Kansas superintendent of the year in 2013.

This story was originally published April 7, 2016 at 11:26 AM with the headline "Olathe superintendent Marlin Berry is headed to Arkansas."