The Patoka School Board has hired a new superintendent but he’s not an unfamiliar face. Justin Venhaus has worked his entire career at the Patoka School. He will move from Principal to Superintendent to replace the retiring David Rademacher. Venhaus started working at Patoka right out of college, spending his first six years as a history teacher. He was hired as Principal two and a half years ago.
Rademacher says he’s excited for Venhaus who had not initially put in his application for the Superintendent’s position but became a candidate after an earlier candidate turned down the offer and the board restarted the search. The two will work together for the next two months in the transition. Rademacher feels Venhaus will do a great job and is very thorough.
Venhaus wants to take a step back to look at the revamp of the curriculum after changes were stalled by COVID-19. He is thrilled to be named the new superintendent in the district where he has spent his entire career. Venhaus says he’s never applied elsewhere and it’s very special to become superintendent in a school where he really cares about the staff and community.
In other action, the board set High School Graduation for Sunday, May 15th, at two pm. Grade School promotion will be on Tuesday, May 24th, at 7 pm.
The board approved a $20,000 summer maintenance project to replace windows and four to five doors.
The board was told the new solar array has cut utility bills by more than $25,000 last year.
The board also extended the transportation contracts for another year and approved an upgrade in their wireless network. 75% of the cast will be covered by E-rate.
