The new Lone Grove superintendent will not need any help in finding his office when he takes over leadership of the school district on July 1.
Following an executive session that lasted 16 minutes, the Lone Grove School Board voted unanimously for Assistant Superintendent Richie McKee to take over from Superintendent Meri Jayne Miller, who is retiring in June.
“Congratulations Mr. McKee,” School Board President Darryl Howard said during the special meeting Friday. “I am proud to have you on board and look forward to Lone Grove continuing to prosper and grow.”
McKee, who was at the meeting with his wife Brooke and son Deakin, thanked the board and said he was honored and thrilled as he looked forward to his new job. McKee was hired on a two-year contract.
McKee came to Lone Grove in 2008 as a science teacher and coach. He became an administrator in 2018, serving as a middle school principal, and moving to the high school as an assistant principal in 2021. Since 2023, McKee has served as the assistant superintendent. He has also served as an adjunct professor at Southern Nazarene University since 2023.
“Mr. McKee, his dedication to the Lone Grove school district is unquestionable,” Howard said. “He has come up through the ranks, knows the system and knows our district. We feel he is the best one to lead us going forward and we are excited about that.”
Howard said the board is looking forward to the continuity that comes with hiring McKee as he grows and prospers with a great support staff.
“Lone Grove school district is in good hands,” he said.
McKee said he has benefited from serving as the assistant superintendent over the last two years.
“Obviously, working for Mrs. Miller has been an incredible experience,” McKee said. “She has taken and just plugged me right in to where I have been right alongside her, learning from her a district perspective versus a building perspective.”
During that time, McKee said he had received a bird’s eye view of how decisions impact the whole district in comparison to the decisions made as a building administrator.
“It has been a steep learning curve, but I am so thankful that I have had her to learn from,” he said. “She has been incredible here for as long as she has been here and will certainly miss her. But I am honored that the board and Mrs. Miller thought enough of me to give me the opportunity to carry and build on the great things that Lone Grove has going.”
Professionally, as a teacher and administrator in education, McKee said he has enjoyed seeing student growth, knowing they have a strong foundation of education when they graduate that prepares them for the future.
“I look back on the people that have impacted me the most in my life outside of my family, if I list my Top 10 people, nine of them will be educators,” he said. “Coaches, principals and teachers that I have had along the way. Just seeing how much they have impacted lives and seeing what they have gone through, those were my role models.”
McKee said education is also his family’s business, listing his mother, father sister and uncle as educators. There was a value in the importance of education as McKee said it is the most rewarding job you can have.
In terms of taking over as the new superintendent in July, McKee said Lone Grove presented a great opportunity.
“It wasn’t something I would have considered without the board being so wonderful and such men of character and previously, we have had women on the board that were women of character,” he said. “Having an administration team that is first rate, it is as soft a landing as a superintendent can have.”
McKee also praised an incredible administration staff and an outstanding core of teachers.
“That is what you hope for in the position of superintendent and it is the reason I want to be at Lone Grove,” McKee said. “I came here 18 years ago and never had any intention of being anywhere else. It is certainly set up for success.”
