By Sylvia Maria Gross
Kansas City, MO – Kansas City's new school superintendent has taken office and says he doesn't plan any major changes until a permanent replacement is named.
Superintendent John Martin replaces Anthony Amato, who stepped down from the position last week. Martin headed Grandview's school district for nine years, before he became a deputy superintendent in St. Louis. He says he'll immediately try to fill vacant administrative positions, using his network and maybe calling on retired school officials to fill the spots temporarily.
"The new superintendent that comes in behind me probably will want to fill those top level positions on his or her own," Martin said.
The school board will also be conducting a more informal search this time around. School board President David Smith says they're looking to recruit national or regional candidates.
"We're basically dealing with personal relationships - those individuals who might not have been looking, but with the right opportunity will be interested," Smith said.
The school board hopes to have a new superintendent in place in the next six to nine months.