The Fayette Board of Education adopted a resolution last month to establish a leadership succession plan for the district’s superintendent. Current Superintendent Brent Doolin provided verbal notice that he would retire on October 1, 2028.

While that is an unusual time for a transition, Doolin explained to this newspaper that he will invoke Missouri’s Rule of 80, which allows retirement when an employee’s age and years of service add up to 80. For Supt. Doolin, that points to October 1, 2028.

This also gives nearly two years for the board to perform a search and selection process. Typically, school employment contracts begin on July 1 and expire June 30 the following year. The resolution states that the Board of Education desires to establish clear expectations that support a seamless and professional transition of leadership, and the incoming superintendent would work collaboratively with Mr. Doolin up to his stated retirement date.

However, this could also mean that the district hires a new superintendent to begin on July 1, 2028, and pays both salaries for three months. According to DESE, the Fayette school district pays a yearly superintendent salary of $95,950, not including retirement contributions, health insurance, mileage, or other compensations. That equates to $7,995.83 per month, but could be higher two years from now.

The resolution was adopted with a unanimous 7-0 vote during the closed portion of the board’s regular meeting held on August 19.