The Holden R-III School District and the Holden community  suffered a tragic loss as district superintendent Scott Slava died at Western Missouri Medical Center Friday morning at the age of 50.

He became ill in his office and was transported to WMMC where he died of an apparent heart attack.

Slava joined the Holden R-III School District in July  2005. Prior to coming to Holden, he served as superintendent of the Jefferson County North School District in Kansas for eight years. He was recognized as Kansas Superintendent of the Year in 2003. He had been in education for the past 27 years serving as superintendent, curriculum director, principal, teacher and coach.

Slava had described himself as a hands-on, aggressive administrator who strives for excellence and places the needs of the students first. His self characterization was affirmed by many members of his staff.  Slava’s resounding message was “It’s ALL about our students!”  He called the students “his kids” and the staff “his family.” He encouraged regular communication with his staff by meeting monthly with various staff advisory committees. He had an “open door” policy with his staff and patrons and always made himself available and was always ready to listen.

In his relatively short time with the Holden district, Slava had worked diligently to meet the needs of the students.  Under his leadership, the district has made great strides in student performance, exceeding state averages in several critical areas.  Slava was also very instrumental in the passage of the November 2006 school bond issue for the new addition to the high school building which is currently under construction. He was a charter member of the Holden R-III School Foundation which was established in 2005. This year, the foundation accepted donations and the district matched funds to help complete the new track at the high school. 

Slava was very visible both in the school and in the Holden community.  He made it a point to visit each school building regularly, be in the classrooms, be at the buses and go to the students’ activities – the games, concerts and celebrations. He was a member of the Holden Chamber of Commerce, Optimist Club and Lions Club.  He also regularly attended St. Patrick Catholic Church in Holden.

He was most proud when it was time to recognize the students and the staff.  He loved to recognize the students for their academic excellence at the academic award programs and graduation.  He always encouraged the students to keep working hard.

One of Slava’s favorite times of the school year was recognizing his staff at the end-of-the-year luncheon.  He always started by recognizing the students’ achievements for the year.  He got great pleasure from recognizing the staff for their dedication and loyalty to the district. Slava recognized the staff with the “Shining Apple” awards and congratulated them for their outstanding service in education.

School board president Jeff Miller said of Slava, “I have never met a man so dedicated to education.  Scott has brought a form of leadership to this district that is irreplaceable. This is a huge loss to the school district and the community. On behalf of the school board, our sympathy goes out to Scott’s family.”

Miller added, “The board will be meeting with a representative from the Missouri School Board Association  during our regular monthly board meeting to explore our options for the superintendent position.”

Slava is survived by his wife, Janine, and two children, Jordan, 19; and Griffin, 10.

Funeral arrangements have been made with Williams Funeral Home of Holden, MO.  A Rosary will be held Wednesday, July 18 from 6 to 6:30 p.m. followed by visitation from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.  The funeral will be held Thursday, July 19 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Holden.  Burial will be Friday in Kansas.

Holden Intermediate School principal Mark Hedger was appointed as the Holden R-III School District interim superintendent during executive session of the school board meeting held Monday night at the intermediate school library.

Hedger’s appointment was in response to the death of Scott Slava Friday which left the superintendent position vacant. 

The interim leader will serve until the board can hire two retired superintendents to finish the 2007-2008 school year.  The board was told by Dr. Paul James, Missouri School Board Association superintendent search program lead consultant, that they must hire two separate  retired superintendents due to the retirement system’s stipulation that retirees cannot work more than 550 hours per year.

Dr. James was on hand during the executive session to explain to the board their options and give guidance on the hiring process.

The district will begin a regular superintendent search in the Fall to employ a  replacement for the position to  begin with  the 2008-2009 school year.

Hedger has been with the district one year, coming from a superintendent/principal position with the Gasconade C-4 School District in Falcon, MO.

Also during the executive session, hirings of  Margaret Maxwell, cook and Ruth Walter, auxiliary services secretary, were approved.  Requests for releases from their 2007-2008 teaching contracts from Penny Turner, eighth-grade math; and Diane Keane, sixth-grade language arts, were denied.

Prior to the closed session, the board held an abbreviated meeting to take care of normal school business.

School board president Jeff Miller started the meeting with a few moments of silence in honor of the passing of Superintendent Slava.  He then asked all those gathered to keep the Slava family in their prayers and to do what they could to keep Slava’s commitment to education alive in their thoughts.

Written reports were submitted concerning discipline, the at-risk program, transportation, food service, auxiliary services as well as a transportation handbook update.

Present to deliver a construction update on the new HHS renovation project was Wade Lininger of Sam A. Will & Associates Architects, who said that due to soil problems and 20 inches of rain, the completion of the administrative offices of the school is approximately a week to a week and a half behind.  He stated that crews would be working late and some Saturdays to try and cut into the lateness.  He said that the delivery of needed materials was very important to the completion of the project.

Lininger also told the board that approximately 60 percent of the building had been turned back to the school for cleaning.  He said that they would see a lot of construction being completed in the next couple of weeks.

During his report, the board also discussed the possibility of hiring a construction consultant to see the project to its completion.  It was decided that they would consult legal consul for ways to proceed.

It was also reported during the meeting that Johnson County, who had said they would pay the first installment of the AECI monies in December, would be disbursing the yearly amount soon.  According to district officials, they will receive $88,541 plus $2,288.51 in interest, for a total of $90,829.51.

In final items during the regular session, contracts were awarded for milk, bread and fuel.  Sunnyside Dairy of Harrisonville was given the milk contract while Interstate Brands Corp. of Columbia, MO was awarded the bread contract.  MFA Oil Co. of Warrensburg received the fuel pact. 

By Steve Sullins
Editor

An open house co-hosted by H.O.P.E. Coalition and the Missouri Career Center to promote a new job referral program is slated from 10 a.m. - 12 noon, Thursday, July 26 at the H.O.P.E. Community Center located at 212 W. Second, Holden.

The event will mark the kickoff of a new service aimed at helping the locally unemployed to find a job. Through the S.H.A.R.E. (Sharing How Access to Resources Empowers) network, H.O.P.E. has gained the designation as a Career Center Access Point. With that has come training, software and computer equipment to assist the unemployed or underemployed in Western Johnson County in job securement.

“We are really looking forward to kicking off this program in Holden,” said H.O.P.E. executive director, John Roberts. “We know there is a great need for this service.  So often individuals want to find employment but either don’t know how to go about it or simply don’t have the means to travel to Warrensburg or other areas to obtain help. With this program, much more accessibility is available to those in this part of the county,”  he concluded.

Roberts went on the say that people wanting assistance should call the H.O.P.E. office and speak to job referral coordinator Gayla Morris about setting up an appointment.

“People can walk in as well, but the process of getting on line and entering the necessary data can take 30 minutes or more, so we ask that an appointment be madeso that Morris will have ample time to give each individual adequate time,” he said.