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Burlington USD 244 board holds repeated executive sessions in superintendent search
Summary
The Burlington USD 244 Board of Education met in a special session Jan. 29, 2026, and recessed into multiple executive sessions under the Kansas Open Meetings Act to continue its superintendent search; no appointment was recorded and the meeting adjourned at 9:34 p.m.
James Higgins, president of the Burlington U.S.D. No. 244 Board of Education, called a special board meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Thursday at the district administration office. The meeting’s sole listed agenda item was the superintendent search.
Board members recessed into executive session at 6:04 p.m. after a motion by Bob Plummer, seconded by Ron Hess, to discuss matters "pursuant to non-elected personnel exception under KOMA related to the superintendent search" for 120 minutes; the motion carried with six yeas and one member absent. Selena King joined via Microsoft Teams at 6:16 p.m., and the board returned to open session at 8:04 p.m.
After a brief return to open session, the board voted unanimously to take additional executive sessions to continue the search. At 8:24 p.m. Lucas Allen moved, and Ron Hess seconded, a 30-minute executive session under the same KOMA personnel exception; the board returned at 8:54 p.m. At 8:55 p.m. the board again recessed into a 30-minute executive session on a motion by Lucas Allen, seconded by Johnny Hernandez; it returned at 9:25 p.m. The board then took a final 5-minute executive session at 9:26 p.m., moved by Lucas Allen and seconded by Johnny Hernandez, expressly including Board Clerk Christy Hess in that session; the board returned at 9:31 p.m.
The minutes record that Donalyn Biehler, who had been included in executive-session participation, left the meeting at 8:09 p.m. The record lists votes for the motions: the initial 120-minute recess was carried 6–0 with one absence; later motions carried unanimously with recorded yea votes.
The minutes do not record any formal appointment, public discussion of candidate names in open session, or other final action on the superintendent search. President Higgins adjourned the special meeting at 9:34 p.m.; the minutes include signature lines for Higgins and Clerk Christy Hess.
The board cited the non-elected personnel exception under the Kansas Open Meetings Act (KOMA) for each executive-session motion. The minutes do not specify next procedural steps or public timelines for an appointment.
