Shipley

ADAMS TWP — A new superintendent for the Mars School District is expected to be approved by the school board Tuesday evening.

Board President Dayle Ferguson said Friday afternoon that Wesley W. Shipley is the final candidate in the district's superintendent search, which has been ongoing since Jim Budzilek left in October.

Shipley is the superintendent of the Shaler School District in Allegheny County.

Retired Mars Superintendent William Pettigrew has been the interim superintendent until a new one is hired.

The school board will vote on Shipley's hire at its 7 p.m. Tuesday meeting, which will be in the administration office adjacent to the primary center.

Ferguson said Shipley has 25 years of public education experience, including four years as the superintendent in the Shaler district.

He also has been an assistant superintendent at Shaler before being promoted, and he was a program director and elementary principal at the Freeport School District.

Shipley also was an assistant middle school principal at the Burrell School District, and was an elementary teacher in the Deer Lakes School District.

Ferguson said Shipley distinguished himself from among the job's 30 applicants.

“He is an innovative leader who is passionate about mission of public education,” Ferguson said in a letter.