Photo by Holly Allen – Interim Superintendent Brad Neuenswander will take over the role full-time at Jefferson West beginning July 1.
by Holly Allen
When Brad Neuenswander took on the role of interim superintendent of schools at Jefferson West this past October, he had no intention of making it a permanent arrangement. Happily settled in as founding director of the Center for Evaluation and Education at the University of Kansas, his contract as interim was meant to be merely a stopgap until USD 340 could find a suitable replacement for the position following the termination of Jason Crawford. However, as the search ramped up, and he was asked to consider filling the role himself, Neuenswander began to notice a change.
“All of the sudden I found myself thinking beyond June. I was inadvertently using language such a ‘we’ versus ‘you’ in discussing things the district needed to do,” he stated.
Though several candidates for the job were considered — some recruited by Neuenswander himself — ultimately the board asked him if he would reconsider taking on the job, having realized that, as a 17-year resident of the district and a parent to two Jeff West graduates, along with an extensive background in education, Neuenswander was perhaps uniquely qualified to hold the position.
“A year earlier or later, serving as interim would not have been possible in my schedule, and I wouldn’t have considered doing it for any district but my own,” he said. “As the board asked me to stay, I began to realize the coincidences and timing which led me here were perhaps out of my hands.”
After much consideration and conversation with his wife, Julie, an audiologist at Topeka Ear, Nose, and Throat, Neuenswander agreed to accept the position full-time.
With projects to complete at KU, he will fulfill his part-time interim contract with USD 340, which runs through June 30. Beginning July 1, he will step in to the position in an official capacity.
“Although I really enjoy what I do at KU, I just feel that I can make more of a difference here,” he stated. “As I work toward retirement, what better place to finish out my career than here? This job is different because it’s my community. I have a personal drive to help do the most good possible.”
The job description of a superintendent of schools is not a new concept to Neuenswander, whose father served in that capacity for 28 years. Raised in Cheney with five older brothers, he attended Baldwin High School and graduated with a business degree from Baker University, were he also played football.
His first real job was as a stockbroker, but he quickly realized the fit was off. He confided in his dad, who encouraged him to follow his dream of becoming a teacher and coach. His first posting in that capacity was at Norton. It didn’t take him long to see he was capable of more.
“I’ve got administration in my blood — though I loved the classroom, I realized as a principal, I could affect the whole building,” he said.
He returned to his roots, serving as principal and athletic director at Cheney one year and then on to Kingman for two more before the superintendent there, along with his father, encouraged him to work toward the credentials required of a superintendent.
He served in that capacity at Ellis for three years, and then back at Cheney for six before a call came which would change his trajectory.
On the line was Dale Dennis, at the time the Deputy Commissioner of Fiscal and Administrative Services, who asked him to consider a posting at the state department, where he then served as Director of School Finance and as the Deputy Commissioner of Education for 12 years.
During his time working for the state at Topeka, Neuenswander and his wife, no longer bound to live near a particular school district, finally got to choose one for their children to grow up in. Their extensive research narrowed the search to just two districts — Jefferson West and Silver Lake.
“This district had everything we wanted for the kids, and we felt really good about the community,” he stated.
The Neuenswanders have lived in four houses within the Jeff West district in their 17 years here. Though remodeling is a hobby of theirs, he insists their current house in Lake Ridge Estates, Ozawkie, is their forever home.
Both the Neuenswanders’ daughter, Olivia, and son, Quinn, are graduates of USD 340. Olivia is now a graphic designer in Seneca. Quinn lives at Ozawkie and works in concrete construction.
Several years ago, when a call came from KU, searching for someone from outside the university with an unbiased lens to start up a new center focused on assisting local school districts, Neuenswander jumped at the chance.
Though a fluid position, his main objectives at KU were to lead school districts through comprehensive needs assessments to develop strategic plans for the future.
“I have so appreciated the freedom to build and develop I have been afforded in this position,” he stated. “That said, I feel like I got that phone call from (school board president) Dave Jensen for a reason, and at just the right time. There’s a little fate in this, and it feels right.”
Neuenswander acknowledges there is work to be done at Jefferson West in rebuilding the trust which had come unraveled over the past couple of years. He has high praise for the teachers and faculty whose leadership he credits with holding the district together through all of the “white noise” to continue in service to the students.
“I want to start by trying to calm the anxiety which might still exist. I hope to earn the trust of the faculty and the community, and I hope that, as a familiar face they have known over all these years, I have a jump start on that,” he said.
Neuenswander says he admires the school board for recognizing his predecessor may not have been the right fit for the district, and for quickly taking steps mid-semester to correct the issue and move into transition mode to find a better fit.
Though only a couple meetings in, he sees real promise in the newly-seated school board, which this year boasts four new faces.
“It takes time for a board to build chemistry, but what I’ve seen so far has been very positive,” he stated. “I really like how it is coming together and hope they feel comfortable and confident their voices can be heard in this space.”
Neuenswander will need the new board on his side, working as a team alongside faculty and community to continue to navigate the issues the school district currently faces, including the development of a facilities community to oversee the need for an early childhood education space, among other things.
“I think of this town as a little diamond in the rough. We may be the best kept secret in the county,” he stated. “My number one goal at the moment is to create a culture of community pushing toward a common purpose. I know we are still healing, but you know me, and I know you, and together, we can do amazing things.”