Madison Superintendent To Step Down Next Year
Superintendent Has Served Since 1999
Updated: 11:27 am CST January 9, 2007
MADISON, Wis. -- The Madison Metropolitan School Board has to begin the process of searching for a new superintendent after current Superintendent Art Rainwater announced he will be retiring at the end of the 2008 school year.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportThe district released the news during a Board of Education meeting on Monday night."Certainly it's something that I've thought about for a while," said Rainwater. "When I took the position, I pretty much had in mind how long I believed I could do it and I'll be 65 years old by the time I retire -- 43 years doing this -- and I believe it's the right time for both myself and for the district."Rainwater came to the Madison school district in 1994 when he was appointed deputy superintendent. He then became superintendent in February 1999. He announced he will step down on June 30, 2008, WISC-TV reported.Board members said that they weren't surprised at his retirement, but felt there would be challenges ahead in finding a successor."He'll be a hard person to replace. He's been in this district a long time and has been in education for 40 years so I don't think you can just replace that with just anybody," said Board of Education President Johnny Winston Jr. "I think it is going to be really important that the board put together a process that ensures our community to have the best superintendent that it possibly can have."John Matthews, executive director of Madison Teachers Inc., the teachers' union in the city, said in a statement that he and Rainwater collaborated to foster an improved relationship between the union and the district administration."Art took over at a very difficult time," Matthews said. "We developed plans to enable the union and the school board/district to work together whenever possible and the means to solve problems when the parties experienced bumps in the road."Rainwater said that he felt it was important to give the board this much time to find a replacement.During the next 18 months, Rainwater said that he weigh on the budget plans, building a new school and the "High Schools of the Future" project, WISC-TV reported. Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportThe district released the news during a Board of Education meeting on Monday night."Certainly it's something that I've thought about for a while," said Rainwater. "When I took the position, I pretty much had in mind how long I believed I could do it and I'll be 65 years old by the time I retire -- 43 years doing this -- and I believe it's the right time for both myself and for the district."Rainwater came to the Madison school district in 1994 when he was appointed deputy superintendent. He then became superintendent in February 1999. He announced he will step down on June 30, 2008, WISC-TV reported.Board members said that they weren't surprised at his retirement, but felt there would be challenges ahead in finding a successor."He'll be a hard person to replace. He's been in this district a long time and has been in education for 40 years so I don't think you can just replace that with just anybody," said Board of Education President Johnny Winston Jr. "I think it is going to be really important that the board put together a process that ensures our community to have the best superintendent that it possibly can have."John Matthews, executive director of Madison Teachers Inc., the teachers' union in the city, said in a statement that he and Rainwater collaborated to foster an improved relationship between the union and the district administration."Art took over at a very difficult time," Matthews said. "We developed plans to enable the union and the school board/district to work together whenever possible and the means to solve problems when the parties experienced bumps in the road."Rainwater said that he felt it was important to give the board this much time to find a replacement.During the next 18 months, Rainwater said that he weigh on the budget plans, building a new school and the "High Schools of the Future" project, WISC-TV reported. Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.Copyright 2007 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
