Longtime Brownsburg superintendent retires amid board concerns

The longtime superintendent of Brownsburg Community Schools retired suddenly Monday following a clash with the district’s school board for the past several months over “administrative concerns” about the role.

Jim Snapp, who led Brownsburg schools for 14 years, said in a statement Tuesday that his decision to retire was difficult but he believes stepping down is the right decision.

“It has been the joy of my professional life to lead the school corporation that did so much for me as a student many years ago,” Snapp said. “I have had the distinct privilege of serving alongside the most incredible, dedicated people I have known — doing remarkable things for our students — which is more than I ever could have imagined when I started in this profession nearly 40 years ago.”

Snapp retired following a meeting where the school board outlined administrative concerns about in his superintendent role.

In a joint statement from Snapp and the school board, the school board did not further explain what those concerns into Snapp’s leadership stemmed from nor what those issues entailed.

The school board met on Jan. 5 in an executive session to “discuss job performance evaluations of individual employees.”

Snapp’s retirement package includes 185 sick days and 26 vacation days, as well as health insurance until he reaches 65 years old.

The district’s school board announced Kat Jessup and Shane Hacker, both assistant superintendents for the district, will share Snapp’s duties as interim superintendents.

Snapp’s departure comes after some other school districts outside Marion County have also made leadership changes in the middle of the school year.

Most recently, Rich Arkanoff retired abruptly from his post during an investigation by the district’s school board into his potential wrongdoing.

In September, Yvonne Stokes resigned from her top post in Hamilton Southeastern Schools.