Tonganoxie selects Prairie View administrator as latest schools superintendent
An administrator with ties to the area will be the next superintendent for Tonganoxie schools.
The Tonganoxie School Board has unanimously approved the hiring of Chris Kleidosty as its next superintendent.
Kleidosty, who graduated from Valley Falls High School in neighboring Jefferson County, comes to Tonganoxie from Prairie View USD 362 in La Cygne. He served as superintendent the past nine years in that Linn County district.
Board president Dan Hopkins, in a written statement, welcomed Kleidosty to USD 464.
“Mr. Kleidosty’s experience as a superintendent in a high-performing district, his leadership qualities, his skill in community building and his enthusiasm for learning impressed the board members,” Hopkins said in the release. “One of the qualities that elevated him in the process was a stated goal of ‘building trusting professional relationships with all stakeholders.’
“We had several very qualified candidates. It is a testament to the quality of the administrators we have in Kansas.”
Kleidosty was one of three finalists interviewed during three separate special meetings on separate nights last week in executive session.
Hopkins declined to say who the other two finalists were because of a confidentiality agreement board members made with McPherson and Jacobson, the consulting firm the board selected for this year’s search. Hopkins said there were about 25 candidates overall.
Kleidosty has worked in school districts of varying sizes.
Before his time at Prairie View, he served two years at Rural Vista USD 481, which includes Hope and White City high schools. Both are Class 1A high schools.
From 2002-05, he was principal at Marysville High School (3A). He also taught science and coached at Washburn Rural (6A) in Topeka and Atchison Middle School.
Prairie View, like Tonganoxie, is in 4A for its high school classification.
Kleidosty has a bachelor’s in secondary education and master’s in educational leadership from Kansas State University.
Joining him in Tonganoxie will be his wife, Angie, and three children, Dylan, Sam and Claire.
“We are pleased to welcome the Kleidostys to Tonganoxie and look forward to a successful future with them,” Hopkins said in his release.
Kleidosty was selected after a search process that involved input from district stakeholder groups. This is the first time the district has used the recruiting firm McPherson and Jacobson for a superintendent search.
The board approved a two-year contract for Kleidosty, which begins July 1.
His annual salary will be $132,000, with a monthly stipend of $500 to cover personal cellphone charges, mileage and professional dues.
Kleidosty replaces Lyn Rantz, who resigned to take an administrative position at Topeka Collegiate.
A meet and greet with Kleidosty will take place at 5:30 p.m. July 11 at the Tonganoxie Elementary School library.
The reception will take place in advance of Kleidosty’s first school board meeting with the district starting at 6 p.m.