North Kansas City superintendent Todd White will take post in Blue Valley

North Kansas City superintendent Todd White told his staff Wednesday that he will be retiring at the end of the school year and taking an assistant superintendent post in the Blue Valley school district.

The North Kansas City school board will be meeting to determine its next step, a district spokeswoman said.

North Kansas City, with an enrollment of 19,200, is the largest Kansas City area school district on the Missouri side of the state line.

The district grew by more than 1,000 students since White took the top post in 2009.

During his tenure, the district became one of the first in the area to start a one-to-one distribution of computer laptops to all its high school students. The district played a key role in starting a Northland CAPS — Center for Advanced Professional Studies — program modeled after the Blue Valley CAPS program.

The district also raised its state report card score to 92.1 percent of possible points earned from 78.6 percent.

“I saw an opportunity to work in a great school district and to work with (Blue Valley superintendent) Tom Trigg,” White told The Star. “I’m sad to be leaving North Kansas City. When you invest in something and leave pieces all around and build relationships, it’s hard to leave.”

White, 53, was earning a salary and benefits of $265,828 as North Kansas City’s superintendent.

At Blue Valley, White will oversee facilities and operations and serve other oversight duties in administrative services, Trigg said.

“We are extremely pleased to have Dr. White join our team,” Trigg said in a written statement. “His experience and skill sets are an extremely good match to the position.”

This story was originally published May 13, 2015 at 11:41 AM with the headline "North Kansas City superintendent Todd White will take post in Blue Valley."