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Dr. William Nicely started July 1 as Kearney School District’s superintendent, replacing Dr. Chris Belcher. Belcher served four years as superintendent before taking the same job in Columbia. Nicely had been superintendent in Leeton School District for five years before coming to Kearney.

The following is a question-and-answer session with The Kearney Courier Editor Kevin M. Smith and Kearney Superintendent Bill Nicely.

Q: Tell me a little bit about your background: your family, places you’ve lived, jobs you’ve had, hobbies, anything interesting about yourself.

A: I began teaching in 1983 in Louisburg, Kan., and I taught science there — chemistry and physics mostly — for nine years. During that process I had helped the district with school improvement initiatives on the Kansas side and acquired a taste for school-based leadership, which caused the decision to move into administration — and ultimately led me to Sedalia, where I was the high school assistant principal for two years then the high school principal for an additional five. From that point, I went to Leeton and was there for five years.

The nice thing about that is I was able to live in Sedalia and commute, so from the standpoint of keeping the family in one location during the school-age years of my son — I have one son who will turn 18 next month — I was able to do that while still changing positions …

Really, this is the fourth district, really the fourth education job I’ve had, so I do not have a history of moving around from job to job to job. I decide on a location and am thankful enough to be accepted, and I try to make the very best of it. I fully commit to a school district and community. Incidentally, that makes it difficult to leave.

Q: Tell me about your family.

A: Only one child, Marshall … he will be a senior and will graduate from Smith-Cotton High School (in Sedalia), that’s one of the things we decided as a family as I pursued this position. He started in kindergarten in Sedalia and it was important to him, and consequently important to us, that he graduate with all his friends in his class.

For us, this is going to be a bit of a transition because I’ve got a rental place here in town, and Marshall will remain back in Sedalia with Joan, my wife, who works at a community college. She will spend a little bit of time in Kearney, also. I’ll spend a lot of time in Kearney, and Marshall won’t spend very much time in Kearney. Joan will join me at the end of next school year, and we’ll certainly be looking for a place to live …

Normally when a superintendent moves to a new community, a superintendent packs up and comes, and it’s a big whirlwind transformation for the entire family and it’s very hectic and chaotic — and that adds to the stress of learning the new job. In a way, this is going to work out very good because I can commit myself learning everything there is to know about the district, the community, without the additional stressors of a family transition. While I will miss them throughout the week, at the same time there’s going to be some benefits.

From the standpoint of activities, we’re big boaters, we enjoy getting on the water and fishing and skiing and tubing. We like to camp — pretty much anything outdoors. In addition … I bicycle, am an avid runner and I enjoy outdoor sports. I’m not very good at outdoor sports. … My son and I have been riding dirt bikes since he was 8. I grew up riding dirt bikes as a kid and kind of got him into that. It’s a great father-son activity.

Q: You mentioned what gave you the “taste” for leadership in Louisburg, tell me a little bit more about what about that got you interested in wanting to continue on the administrative side.

A: Originally, when I went to college … my degree is, technically, in biology … I always wanted to work in the Department of Conservation. I was kind of steered toward education through a number of courses that I had … and really developed a love of teaching, so was lucky enough to stumble into the educational field, but I unequivocally made the right decision.

I’m one of those people that are extremely lucky to really enjoy what they do. What educators do at any level is they work tirelessly on behalf of kids. The concept of moving into administration, in order to make a greater impact on children, is one that really led me in that direction. And I felt like I was good at it, bringing teams of people together to make decisions that will impact kids in a positive way. And then monitoring and collaborating with those teams to ensure those programs are successful.

Q: What do you like least about working in education? Administration?

A: I’m going to rephrase that question, because there’s not much that I don’t like about education. The farther one moves up the ladder in administration, the less contact there is with children. And that’s what I miss. It’s important for me, as a superintendent, to get out to the buildings and see what kids are doing and see what kids are learning. That’s ultimately my motivation for this area, this job.

Q: What attracted you to apply for the Kearney superintendent position?

A: A number of things. This district has an excellent reputation, and the last four years Dr. Belcher has worked hard to create an environment where academic performance and achievements in the priority. That is very close to being inline with my beliefs. So right away, one takes a look at the various positions that are open … and right away Kearney was a consideration because of that. …

I wasn’t really out there looking for a job … I noticed Dr. Belcher had been appointed superintendent at Columbia, that sparked my interest because I was well aware of this district’s reputation. In addition to that, proximity, close to my family and my folks. … I grew up in Shawnee, Kan., and my folks live in Bonner Springs, Kan., now. I have family — I have three brothers, they all are located now around the Kansas City metropolitan area. My wife’s parents live in Overland Park (Kan.). There were lots of reasons to consider “coming back home,” so to speak.

Q: What do you look forward to the most in Kearney (does not have to be school related)?

A: I sure enjoy the challenge of a new position. And the great thing about the school business is no matter where you go, educators are good people. The employees of this district … They’re good folks, they’ve got big hearts, they care a lot about kids. The challenge, for me, is to become acquainted with the culture of the school district and the culture of the community so I can be effective. I look at those challenges in a positive way. They motivate me.

Q: What are your goals as Kearney superintendent?

A: I first and foremost want to continue the track record of high-performance student achievement, and continue and expand upon all of us as educators exhibiting an ethic of care and compassion for kids. I’m looking forward to working with the administrative team and district staff members so the programs we implement have a positive impact on kids.

I’m also looking forward — my family is looking forward … to becoming active members of the community. There are really just a handful of components that make up a community, and schools are a big part of it. Obviously, you have municipalities and there are churches and businesses and residents and all kinds of things. But the great thing about the school district is it’s a slice of Americana because every family within the district boundaries is in some way touched by the school system. They either have kids that go through the system or grandkids, so that’s a unique characteristic to school systems. It’s important that it functions well in the community — that means I function well in the community also.

Q: How do you plan to accomplish those goals?

A: It ultimately comes down to collaborating with staff members and for that matter, community members, to create programs that will allow for achievement. And then following through on those programs. Sometimes in public education we get a bad reputation because we implement all these programs and then we just kind of move on to the next one. That’s the perception sometimes. So it’s really important that initiatives are implemented in a very strategic and tactful way. After that, really monitor progress to make sure their success ultimately leads to student achievement.

Q: Anything else you want to say or add?

A: This is an extremely difficult time for public schools, and it is for many businesses and individuals, because of the economy. District funding is, in a lot of school districts, very tight. The state of Missouri is no different than any other state. That’s going to create challenges.

Missouri schools went through a period where funding was good, and local revenues were up and state revenues were up. That’s simply not the case anymore. We’re going to experience an extremely tight budget this year. So one of the big challenges for me is to accomplish all the things I previously described within the confines of a tight budget.

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