On June 30, 2013, Superintendent Jeff Swensson will officially resign from his post. Swensson, who has been superintendent since 2010, said he will spend the remaining period of his employment working with the same energy that he has had since he started.

“I love what we do (and) I will be as enthusiastic now as I was during the last few years,” he said. “Our district is in phenomenal shape, so the opportunity exists to find the next (superintendent) because this is a relay race with no finish line… As my friend Mayor Brainard says, ‘A city is never finished.’ I would say, ‘A school district is never finished with its ultimate task: the education of its youth.’”

Some students, however, were very surprised by the announcement. According to senior Victoria “Tori” Mullen, she found it “shocking.”

“I feel like he hasn’t been superintendent for a long time and it was just kind of sudden,” she said.

According to Swensson, the Board of Education will announce its procedure for selecting the next superintendent, but he stressed that he does not believe he should play a role in the selection process. This process, he said, will depend on whether or not the board decides to search outside of the school district for candidates.

As for now, Swensson is not prepared to announce his future plans, but he said that he will announce them as the end of his term nears.

In addition to his resignation, Swensson has completed his work on the Performance Qualified School District (PQSD) legislation, which has been submitted to the Indiana State Senate as Senate Bill 189. According to Swensson, the bill is currently in the Senate Education Committee and he is optimistic that the committee will vote to send the bill to the floor.

“Hopefully, by April we would have a law… (that) would open unbelievable positive doors,” he said. “(The law would come into effect) on July 1, 2013.”

This law would provide “regulatory relief” for the district, leveling the playing field with charter schools in terms of academic outcome and potential for excellence.

“I believe it is our responsibility to build upon 125 years of excellence,” Swensson said.