By Wayne Laepple
MILTON — William Clark, superintendent of the Milton Area School District for the past six years, was hired Tuesday for a similar position in the Manheim Central School District in Lancaster County.
He was selected from three finalists as the new leader of the 3,000-student district. He will earn $140,000 at Manheim. His salary in Milton was $113,190.
“I’ll have to be determined,” he said after the board voted to hire him during its meeting Tuesday night.
“The district is undergoing multiple changes in administration and on the board.”
In addition to Clark, the district also hired an assistant superintendent and two elementary principals on Tuesday and expects to hire another principal next month. Getting everyone moving in the same direction will be his initial challenge, Clark said.
Clark plans to work at Milton until Jan. 22 and will take up his duties at Manheim Central on Jan. 25. He said he hopes his children will be able to start the second semester at Manheim.
Clark praised the leadership at Milton, both administrators and board members, for their vision and ability to see programs through.
During his tenure, he said, the district reduced its dropout rate significantly while raising test scores. The district is phasing in Learning Focused Schools, an all-grades program to boost student achievement.
“This all shows we are serious about education,” he said.
Clark said whoever succeeds him at Milton will find a leadership team, teachers and board members ready to work together to move forward.
Manheim Central has about 25 percent more students than Milton, but its budget is much larger, at $42 million, than Milton’s $26 million.
“There are more programs, and the district is bigger,” Clark said. “You need more money to do things, and it is a wealthier district.”
The decision to move on wasn’t an easy one, he said, but the opportunity for professional growth coupled with being closer to family were important factors.
