USD 480 Approves Larkin As Superintendent

On Thursday, May 30 the Board of Education in USD 480 approved Paul J. Larkin for the Superintendent position. For the past three years, Mr. Larkin has been serving in USD 480 as Director of Human Resources and most recently as the Deputy Superintendent. Prior to coming to Liberal Mr. Larkin was the Principal of Augusta High School for eight years. Mr. Larkin earned his Bachelor???s degree in Industrial Technology from the University of Nebraska, where he was also a member of the track team. His first educational position was in Mason City, Iowa where he taught Industrial Technology and coached football and track. During his time in Iowa he earned his Master???s Degree in Building Level Administration from Drake University, in Des Moines. During his time in administration, Mr. Larkin has developed a reputation as a strong leader committed to academic excellence.
???I???m very excited to accept the Superintendent position and feel that continuing with the efforts that began with the previous two Superintendents???, Mr. Welch and Dr. Stout, along with the Board of Education will be of the highest priority.??� Mr. Larkin stated. ???We have got a lot of great things going on in the Liberal School system, and we will continue to improve on those.??�
The Larkin family, his wife Mary, and their two children, Nolan and Megan are all a part of the school system. Mary is an instructional coach at McKinley elementary. Nolan will be a senior at Liberal High School and Megan will be a sophomore. Both children are very active in sports and other activities.