Our Viewpoint Editorials
Dean serves district well as superintendent

When the Jasper Independent School District needed him, Bill "Butch" Dean was more than ready to answer the call.

Dean stepped in to become the interim superintendent of schools for Jasper a year ago after the district struggled to find a replacement for Dr. Eddie Dunn.

Dean was named the sole finalist a year ago for the position and served the district well for the last year.

Now, Dean is retiring for a second time from the school district and his tenure of service should be strongly commended.

Dean, who had served as financial director for the district for years, was tabbed to lead the district a year ago and led the district through some changes in principals at schools and through some rough math TAKS waters.

"We are very pleased with the way things are running and a lot of that credit goes to the board but mostly it goes to Mr. Dean and his staff," said school board president Eddie Hopkins at the time that Dean was named the sole finalist for the position.

It was long known that Dean's tenure as superintendent was not going to be longterm. It was meant as a stopgap measure to get the district through the year.

He did the job well.

Now, the district is faced with the challenge of finding a new superintendent on the heels of a crucial school board election that comes in May.

When Dunn resigned the post two years ago, everyone thought it would be difficult to fill his shoes. Now, the district has the difficult decision of filling the shoes of Dean and his outstanding work for the district.

Filling these shoes just might prove to be a bigger challenge than before.