Dorchester Times: The Reason Behind Superintendent Schrunk's Resignation

Saturday, December 17, 2022

The Reason Behind Superintendent Schrunk's Resignation

It seems like just yesterday we were breaking the news that Daryl Schrunk had been selected as the new superintendent of Dorchester Public School.

Now, nearly seven years later, we're announcing his upcoming departure, set for the end of June. (See our Dec. 17 News Round-up.)

Throughout his tenure here, Superintendent Schrunk made it his mission to grow the student body and boost community engagement. He was well received in our town, and his leadership will be missed in the school district and at the school itself.

Schrunk recently reached out to the Times to let our readers know the reason behind his resignation. He told this blog that he accepted the superintendent position in Randolph, Neb. to be closer to his family -- and that's the only reason he's leaving DPS.

Schrunk shared with us a communication he sent the DPS board and staff after he had applied for the Randolph position. It read as follows:

"After much prayer and consideration, Lynelle and I have decided to apply for a position closer to family. We wanted to be upfront with everyone so that you heard it directly from us. I am applying for the Randolph Public School Superintendent position.

"Randolph is less than 25 minutes away from Matt, Amber, and Charlotte, our granddaughter (currently 2 hours away). The location is less than 1 1/2 hours away (currently 3 hours 15 minutes) from my aging parents, who reside in LeMars, Iowa. It puts us 3 hours away from Kayla and Andy (currently 4 1/2 hours).

"We are very, very happy at Dorchester and will only seek opportunities that would bring us closer to our family. We decided it best to especially let the DPS board and staff know throughout this process, as we know how rumors spread. Our decision is solely based on getting closer to family."

The Times staff has always appreciated the communication we've received from Superintendent Schrunk during his time at Dorchester. We thank him for his leadership and we wish him and his family the best in their next chapter.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Village Dweller checks all reader comments to determine if they are appropriate for print.

Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."