‘Intermediate Assistant principal’ combines two WS R4 admin jobs

Willow Springs R-IV School District is quietly reducing its administrative staff for next year. A February 12 announcement about leadership in the middle school introduced the promotion of Chris Cochran from assistant principal to the principal role and debuted Mr. Casey Yardley as the school board’s choice for middle school assistant principal. 

 

Follow up inquiries by Howell County News confirm that Yardley will serve as what sitting superintendent Dr. Marty Spence termed, “Intermediate Assistant Principal.” 

 

Yardley was offered the middle school assistant principal role after a unanimous vote during the closed portion of the Feb. 9 meeting of the school board, according to the meeting minutes. He was recommended for hire after the board conducted interviews for the elementary school assistant principal position, Spence explained in an email to the News. 

 

“The head principal is primarily the academic leader of the building, while the assistant focuses on student discipline and creating a positive learning environment… Based on projected enrollment and past discipline numbers, administration proposed a new format to best serve students and teachers. The change of format negated a need to hire another assistant principal,” wrote Spence.

 

Yardley comes to Willow Springs from Eminence School District, where he served as a physical education teacher and athletic director. His role in Willow Springs will be primarily serving grades three through eight. 

 

“The district is not seeking any additional administrative hires at this time,” Spence concluded.

 

Spence confirmed the assistant principal role in the high school will be a dual role as well. Dustin Forrest was approved as high school principal in December 2025 following the retirement of current principal Nick Schmitt. Current Athletic Director Robert James will serve as both assistant high school principal and AD, Spence said. 

 

Another member of the administration team, Career and Technical Education (CTE) Director Josh Owens, resigned at the end of 2025, effective at the end of the school year, and there has been no announcement about replacing that position. 

 

For the 2025-2026 school year, the combined salary expense of middle school principal, middle school assistant principal, and elementary school principal is $227,653, according to salary records obtained by the News. 

 

Next year, the salary cost after reducing those three jobs into two is $149,715, a reduction of more than $77,000 in salary expenses. Actual cost reduction in the district may differ based on benefit costs and the distribution of any extra duty pay. 

 

Combining the AD job with the assistant principal job will cost $93,662 in salary expense next year, compared to the $171,217 salary cost for two positions this year, another savings of over $77,000.

 

Since the beginning of the school year, the school district has been warning of impending budget cuts and staff reduction. As previously reported by the News, last year’s administrative team, made up of 14 administrators and directors, earned salaries of more than $1.1 million. Unlike spending on certified employees, spending on administrators and directors was not drastically over budget. 

 

Final personnel decisions are usually made by April.