Green to leave GCSC

Bob Green

The Greencastle Community School Board will soon begin the search for a new superintendent.

Superintendent Bob Green accepted the same position for Collinsville schools in Illinois. The Collinsville School Board voted unanimously to hire Green Thursday evening.

Current Collinsville superintendent Dennis Craft will retire in July.

News of Green's departure began circulating locally after the story of the Collinsville School Board's decision was posted on a suburban St. Louis news website early Friday morning. The Greencastle School Board was notified of the move Friday afternoon with an e-mail from assistant superintendent Dawn Puckett.

Green has not officially spoken to the board.

Mike Dean is the only school board member to have served throughout Green's tenure. Recalling the superintendent's time at the helm of Greencastle schools, Dean called Green "very professional."

"He was a master at finance, at budget and a very, very strong leader," Dean said. "Bob was very good at putting people around him to do the right job at the right time. Again, that comes with leadership skills."

Green was hired by the board in Feb. 2002 and started his tenure on July 1, 2002. He had previously spent eight years as the superintendent of the Loogootee School Corporation in Martin County.

"I had been here about six months when we did a new search," Dean recalled. "I was actually on the committee that interviewed the prospects when we hired Bob."

Green is a native of Campbellsburg and a graduate of West Washington High School. He also holds degrees from Indiana University and Oklahoma State University.

In a 35-year education career in Oklahoma, Kansas, Indiana and soon Illinois, Green has served as a social studies teacher, assistant principal, principal, human resources director, assistant superintendent and superintendent.

Dean said one of Green's biggest assets has been his ability to keep things running smoothly in challenging times.

"He was very articulate in situations that weren't so rosy. He found ways to get through them," Dean said. "In all these budget crises we've had in the last two or three years. I know he has put a lot of work on himself. He cut administrative costs -- I mean secretaries and administrative things the office was doing -- instead of teachers' salaries just to keep the teachers where they're at.

"There's one other thing that impresses me about Bob," he continued. "In his contract, he had about five different areas where he could receive bonuses. About three years ago when the economy went south and the state started cutting, he said, 'I don't want my bonuses. I'm waiving them.' He hasn't taken one since then, and that says a lot about him."

Dean said a search for Green's replacement would begin within the next 30 days.

"He will be very hard to replace," Dean said.