Hunter Announces Retirement As Van-Far Superintendent

School Board To Begin Search For Replacement

The Van-Far School District will be in the market for a new superintendent as Dr. Stephen Hunter announced last week that he will be retiring at the end of the current school year.

Hunter submitted his resignation at the Van-Far school board meeting last Thursday, Sept. 20. His last day with the district will be June 30, 2018 despite having another year on his current contract with the school district.

Hunter told The People’s Tribune in an interview that he just decided it was time and that nothing in particular led to his decision. He noted that it was just a matter of having enough years invested to make the choice.

Hunter has spent the past 26 years in education with the last six of those years with Van-Far.

He noted that the decision is a bittersweet one and that he will miss a great deal about being in the education field and the Van-Far district itself.

“It’s always hard when you love the kids and you have a love for what you do,” Hunter said. “You love to see kids succeed. That’s what it’s all about.”

He added that he has a lot of special memories at Van-Far and will miss the students, parents and staff members.

“This is a good community with good kids and a lot of pride,” he said. “It’s what keeps your drive to do the job.”

Hunter said he doesn’t have any plans for retirement at this time but is looking forward to having time to himself.

He noted that he wanted to give the board plenty of time to find a replacement so he gave as much notice as possible.

Hunter said the board will begin advertising the position soon and then narrow a field of candidates for interviews prior to making an announcement.