Edwardsville school board hires a new superintendent

The next superintendent of Edwardsville Community Unit School District 7 will be Patrick Shelton, an assistant superintendent in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, near Kansas City.

The Edwardsville School Board unanimously voted in approval of the contract Monday night, without any public discussion. The contract is for three years, but the board did not disclose Shelton’s salary during the meeting.

A copy of the contract was not made available to the Belleville News-Democrat on Monday night. Superintendent Jason Henderson, who gave his resignation in November, made $150,000 in 2020. He worked in the district for two years.

Before moving to western Missouri to work as an assistant superintendent for one year, Shelton was educated and worked in the St. Louis area. He previously worked in a district in Chesterfield, Missouri and earned his master’s in education administration and doctorate in educational leadership from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

His salary for the year is at least $130,868, according to the Lee’s Summit administrative salary schedule.

Shelton attended Monday’s board meeting with his wife and one of his children. He briefly addressed the board, telling them that his family considered Edwardsville “home.”

Henderson’s tenure ends June 30, with Shelton starting July 1. Shelton said the two started conversations about the transition Monday.

“I’m probably more excited than you are,” Shelton said to the board.