Finalists announced for LS school district superintendent
Four finalists have been selected for the position of the The Lee’s Summit R-7 Board of Education school district superintendent. The candidates are David Buck, who is the superintendent of the Wright City School District; Emily Miller, interim superintendent of the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District; Scott Spurgeon, who is the superintendent of the Riverview Gardens School District; and Jami Jo Thompson, who is the superintendent of the Norfolk School District in Nebraska.
The district’s 2020-21 superintendent is set to be named at the Board of Education’s Jan. 23 meeting. The new superintendent will begin on July 1.
The finalists will interview with district and community representatives, as well as the Board of Education, during the week of Jan. 6. Those interview teams include parents and community members, students, teachers, support staff and administrators selected to represent the community.
Information about each finalists:
▪ David Buck has served as superintendent for Wright City School District, approximately 40 miles west of St. Louis, since 2015. His previous district-level leadership experience includes serving as assistant superintendent for Wright City School District.
He has also worked as a high school principal and coordinator for the Missouri Scholars Academy and as a teacher. Buck earned his doctorate degree from Missouri Baptist University, educational specialist degree and his master’s degree from the University of Missouri and bachelor’s degree in education from Southeast Missouri State University.
▪ Emily Miller has been the interim superintendent for the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District since July 2019. Her previous district-level leadership experience includes serving as assistant superintendent of Operational Services and assistant superintendent of Special Services for the Lee’s Summit School District, director of special education for the Santa Ynez Valley Special Education Consortium (California) and director of special education for the Harrisonville Cass School District.
Additionally, she has worked as a special education teacher, process coordinator and teacher. Miller earned her doctorate degree from St. Louis University, a master’s degree from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in education at George Mason University.
Miller’s related experiences include earning MO-CASE Recognition and serving as acting MO-CASE treasurer and as a MSBA (Missouri School Boards’ Association) School-Based Mental Health Clinic Team member. She is also active in several local and state organizations.
▪ Scott Spurgeon has been the superintendent for the Riverview Gardens School District in St. Louis since 2013. His previous district-level leadership experience includes serving as superintendent of Belleville High School District (Illinois), associate superintendent for School Leadership and Curriculum in the Rockwood School District (St. Louis) and assistant superintendent for the Northwest R-1 School District (Missouri).
He has also worked as a middle school principal, alternative high school principal, elementary school principal and teacher. Spurgeon earned his doctorate degree from St. Louis University, educational specialist degree from Oklahoma State University, a master’s degree from Northeastern State University and a bachelor’s degree in education from Northeast Missouri State University.
▪ Jami Jo Thompson has been the superintendent for Norfolk School District in Norfolk, Neb., since 2013. Her previous district-level leadership experience includes serving as director of Student Programs for Beatrice Public Schools (Nebraska) and as special education and staff development coordinator for Beatrice Public Schools.
Additionally, she was a special education teacher in the Beatrice School District. Thompson earned a doctorate degree, specialist degree, master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The superintendent search is being conducted by McPherson and Jacobson, a national superintendent search firm based in Omaha, Neb. The consulting company has worked with the board members on application vetting, community engagement and information gathering.
The superintendent search’s community involvement phase included an online community survey, Nov. 12 through 18, as well as 17 stakeholder meetings. Judy Sclair-Stein and Jeanette Tendai of McPherson and Jacobson met with parents, community members, students, staff members, principals and other district administrators during November. Feedback from the survey and meetings is available at the district’s webpage.
“We were pleased by the level of community engagement throughout this process,” Sclair-Stein said. “The people attending the feedback meetings were eager to share their love for the community and their schools. At every session, attendees were passionate about the amazing learning opportunities happening for students in Lee’s Summit.”
Nearly 300 individuals participated in the online survey. Approximately 200 people attended one of the four community meetings in addition to staff members and students participating in small-group sessions with the consultants.
Information about the finalists is being released to the community to allow time for the finalists to notify their school boards and communities about their selection.
Anyone interested in sharing their thoughts about the superintendent search or candidates is welcome to contact the Board of Education members at this webpage.