COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Former Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Brian Yearwood was a finalist to lead another school district.
Garden City Public Schools in Garden City, Kansas, shared on its Facebook page on Sunday that Yearwood is one-of-two candidates up for the superintendent job. A short description on its page does not directly mention Columbia Public Schools by name, though it mentions that he served as superintendent at Missouri’s fourth-largest school district.
The district later wrote on its social media that it unanimously picked Terry McCarty as its superintendent at a special meeting held on Tuesday afternoon.
The district hosted a community forum on Monday night, according to its social media. Video from the district’s YouTube page showed Yearwood was asked what his most vocal critic would say about him as a school leader.
“They would say he doesn’t have much patience for red tape that slows down the process of getting things done to benefit scholars. I’ve had to sort of temper because there, there, there are rules you must follow,” he said in the video. “And again, I’m not talking about circumventing rules or doing anything. That’s not it. But sometimes, when we know something is great for a scholar or scholars or school, sometimes the process gets bogged down.”
CPS announced in November that Yearwood would step down immediately “to spend time with family in Texas,” previous reporting indicates. Yearwood announced in August that he had been diagnosed with cancer. That diagnosis was not mentioned in his resignation letter.
A separation agreement between Yearwood and the district stated that he would receive $667,268.90 on Jan. 1, in addition to unused paid leave days. The district would also pay for Yearwood’s insurance through COBRA until June 30, previous reporting says.
The agreement states Yearwood agreed to the mutual public statement between the two and cannot make any further public statements.
He was hired in 2021 and was under contract through June 2027 until the separation agreement was signed.
CPS is paying the Missouri School Boards’ Association $20,000 for its next superintendent search. There have been 22 applicants for the CPS position, according to information at a board meeting last week.
Garden City Public Schools announced in a Jan. 17 social media post that it is looking to hire its next superintendent by February.
ABC 17 News has reached out to the school district and its board of education’s president and vice president.
Check back for updates.