Joe Sabo

NAPPANEE — After 16 years of leading Wa-Nee Community Schools, Superintendent Joe Sabo announced earlier this week he will retire following the end of this school year.

School board member Eric Brown, the sole remaining member who voted to hire Sabo as superintendent in 2001, reluctantly moved to accept Sabo’s retirement.

“I wish we had you for at least a few years more,” Brown said.

In education 43 years, Sabo served Wa-Nee Community School Corporation for a total of 24 years as a principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent. In his retirement announcement, he noted Wa-Nee Schools is now, “poised to provide even greater learning environments and opportunities for students.”

“We could not have had a better leader for the past decade and a half,” School Board President Don Lehman said. “During Joe’s tenure, we experienced unparalleled successes in academics, extracurricular activities and athletics. He will be greatly missed and very difficult to replace.”

Lehman noted the school board has already started the search for Sabo’s successor.

“Wa-Nee Community Schools is working with the University Superintendent Search Team, a free search service offered to Indiana school corporations by a group of professors from the four state universities’ education programs. We will accept applications until Oct. 17, then conduct interviews. After concluding the thorough vetting process, we hope to name the next superintendent by Jan. 1, with an official start date of July 1, 2017,” Lehman said.

He added, “We are determined to find the very best superintendent. Consequently, we’ve opened up this process to any candidate who meets our stated qualifications.”

Lehman pointed out, “choosing a superintendent, the leader of our schools, is the most important job the school board performs.”