The Issues and Challenges of Rural Western and Midwestern Superintendents During the 2024-2025 School Year

This qualitative study examines the current state of the superintendency by giving voice to school district superintendents across four states. Data were collected from publicly available superintendents in New Mexico, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Kansas, using an open-ended questionnaire (n=137).

The superintendents were provided with an incentive for participation through an UNM WeR1 grant. Second, a smaller group of superintendents volunteered to participate in semi-structured interviews to explore the themes identified by the larger group (n=18). The major findings from these superintendents included a teacher shortage of crisis proportions, an ongoing fiscal strain, and continued governance conflicts. A key uniqueness of this study lies in the voices of superintendents which are often unheard and unrepresented in the research.