By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

USD 489 Superintendent Dean Katt has announced his intention to leave the Hays school district at the end of the school year.

Katt plans to accept a job with the Independence, Mo., school district in human resources, pending Independence Board of Education’s approval Tuesday night.

“I plan to … work here through the end of June,” Katt said. “Hays has been very good to me. It’s been the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. It’s the best job I’ve ever had, but also the hardest.”

Katt took the position as interim superintendent in September 2013, following the retirement of Will Roth.

During his tenure, the district has worked toward a bond election that is likely to occur this fall and corrected years of a mismanaged district budget, inheriting a budget crisis he called “self-inflicted” in his first month on the job.

“A lot needed done, and I think we did a pretty good job with a great team of people working here,” Katt said.

Katt spent a portion of his youth in Ellis and is a graduate of Fort Hays State University. After teaching in Deerfield and serving as principal in Holcomb, he also has worked as superintendent in Scott City and Ottawa.