It was about 5 years ago that Dr. Allen Bourff took over as superintendent of schools for the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) District. Coming to HSE from Richmond, Indiana, Dr. Bourff has led the local school staff and provided support for the school board since January of 2015. Now, Dr. Bourff has made an important personal decision. He will be retiring from his post.
The superintendent’s retirement has been rumored throughout the community for many months, but the word is finally official as of Monday. His retirement will be effective July 1st, 2021.
I have dealt with Dr. Bourff as a volunteer journalist in Fishers. I can say that he and his staff have been very responsive when I ask for information or request a podcast interview with a school staff member. I have tried not to wear out my welcome, but every time I have requested a podcast interview with Superintendent Bourff, he has made an appearance on the podcast.
A few years ago, the school board was unhappy with some of the stories I had written. The board members themselves never talked to me about it, but they had Dr. Bourff ask for that meeting with me. We had a very good and open discussion. I made it clear I was here to serve this community and the board has the same responsibility. I explained clearly why I felt the need to write the commentaries about board actions (and inactions) at that time. After that discussion, I am certain Dr. Bourff reported back to the board on the essence of our discussion and I never heard anything more about that issue. Dr. Bourff showed me in that instance what a top-notch professional he is.
Dr. Bourff has always been straight with me in our discussions and I have tried to do the same. When I informed School Board President Michelle Fullhart & Dr. Bourff of my intention to end the news blog last March, they were very kind and complimentary about my volunteer work.
As we all now know, the pandemic wrecked my plans to change to focus of the news blog. When I had plenty of time to think and reflect while recovering from by bout with COVID-19, I made the decision to continue blogging about local news as best one can, while being careful not to expose myself to COVID once again.
The HSE School District has grown to become the 4th-largest in the state. It has been led by Allen Bourff for the past five years. Superintendents must often make hard decisions so I would suspect not everyone in the community is sorry to see him go. Looking at the big picture, Allen Bourff, in my view, has been a good superintendent for local schools here in the Fishers area.
HSE schools will have a new superintendent in the coming months. She/he will have some big shoes to fill.
School Board President Michelle Fullhart says the board has hired a consulting firm to begin the search for Dr. Bourff’s successor. The new superintendent is expected to be named in the spring of 2021.