MACOMB, Ill. (WGEM) -
The Macomb School District now knows who it's next superintendent will be, and he's a familiar face.
Tuesday night the School board unanimously voted to hire Doctor Patrick Twomey as the new superintendent. Twomey currently serves as the superintendent in Havana, but he has a long history with the Macomb School District. He says he's excited to be back.
The school board meeting lasted less than five minutes, but it took members several months to search for new Macomb Schools Superintendent Doctor Patrick Twomey. "It's like coming home for me," he said.
It was a superintendent search unlike any other in district history, where parents and members of the community were very much a part of the process. School board president Robert Shouse says he thinks it worked. "It was a very different process, and I wouldn't change it for anything," he said.
Mother of three Ericka Hendrickson says she was happy to give her input and was pleased with the board's decision. "We found someone that is really in tune to communicating not only with his staff but with the public and with the parents and with the children," she said.
Twomey says he's excited to get to work on July 1st, and says he's ready for the challenges it may bring. "Cutting back in transportation is a problem, particularly in rural school districts like this where there's a lot of bussing that happens and so I know that one of the challenges up front will be a financial one," Twomey says.
Board members say they're ready too.
"He brings a certain level of excitement to the district and a lot of good ideas," said Shouse.
Current superintendent Alene Reuschel is retiring at the end of the school year.
