The new leader of Edinburgh schools wants to focus on increasing student enrollment and funding for the school district.
Doug Arnold started his new job this month after being hired as the school district’s new superintendent, replacing William Glentzer, who retired at the end of last year.
Classes start Aug. 1, and Arnold plans to spend his first few months at the school getting acclimated with students, teachers and staff. He plans to be a visible presence in the schools and around the community, whether that is greeting students as they arrive for classes, attending sports games or going to community events, he said.
After teaching taught in a variety of school settings, Arnold said his preference is for smaller school districts in rural communities because of the connections and relationships they foster.
“I like it because you get to know the community and know the students,” he said.
Arnold was considering retiring as he was reaching the end of a contract at Maconaquah schools, a community north of Kokomo, where he had been a superintendent for eight years. But when he saw the opening in Edinburgh, he felt it was a good fit for himself and his family, he said. The move to Johnson County also allows Arnold and his wife to be closer to relatives that live in Indianapolis, he said.
The school board received about 20 applications for the job, and narrowed the group down to six candidates, with assistance from the Indiana School Board Association, school board president Justin Lollar said.
After interviews with the candidates, they narrowed that group down to three, then selected Arnold and did another interview with him before offering the job, he said. The school board hired Arnold in May to a three-year contract, with an annual salary of $106,000.
Arnold’s lengthy experience in school administration was a key factor in selecting him, Lollar said.
Arnold has worked in education for 43 years, and his past roles have included working as both a principal and superintendent. Arnold has bachelor’s, master’s and specialist degrees in education from Indiana University, and a doctorate degree in educational administration from the University of Cincinnati.
“We wanted someone with experience and a strong background in financial and curriculum issues,” Lollar said.
“We want him to come in and get acclimated to the district and give us his perspective of how things look and how we should be proceeding forward.”
Finding funding to cover all the schools’ needs will be the biggest challenge, as it is with schools across the state, Arnold said.
One of his priorities will be finding ways to increase enrollment, which state funding is tied to, Arnold said. Last school year, Edinburgh was the only public school district in the county to experience a drop in enrollment, with 817 students last fall, compared to 856 students the previous year.
He wants to school district to do a better job of promoting the opportunities available for students, he said.
