By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
Prior to the start of the Hays USD 489 Board of Education meeting Monday, the district will host a farewell to outgoing Superintendent Dean Katt, set to begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Toepfer Board Room, 323 W. 12th.
Katt has served the district in the role of superintendent since September 2013.
“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 said when announcing the retirement.
He will serve as a human resources officer in the Independence, Mo., school district next year.
In a column penned by Katt last month, he commented on accomplishments made by the district during his tenure.
“I am proud of the accomplishments the district and students have made over the past three years,” he said. “There is something truly special about the students of USD 489.”
“The students continue to perform over the state standards for academic testing. We have seen the HHS journalism team repeat in state titles, DECA competing at the national level, outstanding performances from all of the students that participate in music and visual arts programs, incredible performances from all of the USD 489 athletes, too many National Honor’s Society students to mention individually, FFA placing at the national level, the HHS News Team taking home state accolades, two Hays Middle School students qualifying for the National Social Studies Bee, and a Hays Middle School student winning an international award for the Lion’s Club Peace Poster Contest. This list could go on and on, but these few accomplishments attest to the talent that lives and breathes in Hays.”
Katt will be replaced by John Thissen, who will begin serving as district superintendent on July 1. The Board of Education unanimously voted to approve the hire on May 27.
Thissen currently serves as superintendent at Herington USD 487.
“I am excited and eager to work within the Hays community,” Thissen said. “My experience with Herington’s community revealed how significant a group of people’s combined foresight and effort placed into the betterment of a service organization can create varied tendrils of growth for a town.”