This summer, Superintendent of Clinton Schools, Dr. Jeff Holmes is set to retire and his successor was the topic of a recent forum of candidates for the Clinton Board of Education.

Kurt Nettles, currently serving as Superintendent of Lexington Schools, has been named to the post, and will take over this summer and candidates for the Board of Education elections this April addressed issues they'd like see the new leader tackle.

Chris Hammer says it is the Superintendent's job to tackle the finances and take the lead on several issues. He feels Nettles is going to need to focus on the present but also come up with a solution for the future.

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According to incumbent candidate Russell Long, he hopes the new Superintendent comes in and keeps his word he will not make immediate changes, and learn about the district first. Long points to the curriculum as an area of emphasis.

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For candidate Evan Severson, he feels the new school leader's focus should be establishing relationships with community members. He hopes Nettle's then focuses on the schools and what is going well and not so well.

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Incumbent candidate Nancy Stokowski is pleased the new Superintendent is making an effort to be involved in the community by simply residing here and also being involved in what is going on already within the school district.

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Mitchi Tucker is a former educator in the Clinton district, and she feels the new Superintendent needs to understand what is going on by meeting the staff at each building. She says she has seen too many administrators say they would not change anything and then make major changes.

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Candidate Mike Walker says voters are concerned about where the new Superintendent will reside. He feels Nettles living in the district is very important but says how he handles the finances is going to be important as well.

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Each candidate had two minutes to address the issue. Hear the entirety of the Candidates forum hosted by the Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce and WHOW/WEZC/dewittdailynews.com in it's entirety below:

[audio:3251515949-32415MeettheCandidatesForumSeg1.mp3]Segment 1[/audio]

[audio:3251515531-32415MeettheCandidatesForumSeg.mp3] Segment 2[/audio]

The election is April 7.