Lee’s Summit chooses its new school superintendent from a tiny Missouri district
Lee’s Summit school officials announced Monday they have named the leader of a district outside St. Louis as their next superintendent.
David Buck has led the Wright City school district since 2015, a district less than a 10th the size of the Lee’s Summit district.
The school board chose him from among four finalists during a specially called closed session on Friday. He will be introduced to the community at the next public meeting set for Jan. 23.
His contract will be voted on then, district officials said. Details, including salary, were not available. Buck is to begin his duties July 1.
Buck emerged as a finalist for the job as part of a national search aided by McPherson & Jacobson, a search firm based in Omaha. Criteria for the job included a requirement that candidates have experience as a superintendent. The qualifications were developed through online surveys and 17 meetings involving parents students, teachers, administrators and members of the community.
“The community asked us for a leader who will build unity throughout the district, continue and expand upon the equity work the district has already started, be a champion for our educators and lead other major (district) initiatives that promote student success,“ school board president Julie Doane said in a statement released Monday.
“I’m proud of our process, and I believe Dr. Buck will do great things.”
Buck will fill a vacancy left when former superintendent Dennis Carpenter resigned in July.
Carpenter abruptly left the district with a $750,000 buyout after weathering criticism from the school board and the community when he proposed districtwide diversity training.
At meetings, Carpenter pointed out that the district lacked diversity among its administration and faculty. And some board members promised to work on hiring more faculty of color and follow through with equity training.
But members of the search firm said only five of the 24 applicants for the job were people of color and only one of them had experience as a superintendent. Some parents expressed concern that none of the finalists were people of color.
Buck comes to Lee’s Summit from a district about 50 miles west of St. Louis in Warren County. The district has 1,614 students, of whom 20% are minority. By comparison, Lee’s Summit has 18,000 students, of whom 25% are people of color.
In Wright City, nearly half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. And, according to state test scores, 44% are proficient in math and 58% in reading. Like Lee’s Summit, Wright City schools have scored above 90% on Missouri’s Annual Performance Report for the past six years.
During Buck’s time in Wright City, student academic performance moved from the bottom 4% of the state to the top third. The district implemented programs that emphasized student mentoring and therapy in schools.
In addition to his five years as superintendent, Buck spent seven years as assistant superintendent for the district. He is one of four Missourians to complete the National Superintendent Certification from the American Association of School Administrators.
A statement from the Lee’s Summit district said, “Buck believes in ‘proactive and collaborative’ leadership and that the core mission of schools must be to meet the diverse needs of students.”
And he emphasized in conversations with district officials that addressing safety, health and social needs of students is a key to ensuring all have access to an excellent education.
“My personal mission is that every kid grows up to be an adult we all would be proud to call a neighbor,” Buck said in a statement.
Buck also told Lee’s Summit officials and members of the search team that he is committed to following through with the equity plan the board approved last February. He is also on board with the district’s proposed bond issue in April that does not increase taxes.
He will visit the district on Thursday to collaborate with board members and participate in Educational Equity Consultants training.
Before joining the Wright City district, Buck spent three years as a high school principal for Warrenton High School in the Warren County school district and three years as principal of Fatima High School in the Osage County school district.
He taught in the Osage County district in Westphalia, Missouri, and worked as a coordinator and in teaching roles for the Missouri Scholars Academy.
Buck is an alum of University of Missouri, where he earned his educational specialist degree and his master’s degree. He earned his doctorate from Missouri Baptist University and got his bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Southeast Missouri State University.
When he begins his tenure in Lee’s Summit, Buck will take the helm from current Interim Superintendent Emily Miller. She will return to serving the district as assistant superintendent of operations.
This story was originally published January 13, 2020 at 6:48 PM.
