Martinsville Superintendent Waggoner to Retire June 30, 2027

Martinsville Board of Education | August 20, 2026

Article Summary: The Martinsville Community Unit School District #C-3 Board of Education voted 7-0 on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, to accept a retirement letter from Superintendent Robert Waggoner effective June 30, 2027. The board acted within six minutes of returning from a closed session, and the written minutes record no discussion, no successor plan and no search timeline.

Superintendent Retirement Key Points:

The motion to accept the retirement letter was made by board member Hollingsworth and seconded by board member Baird; all seven members present voted yes.

Earlier in the same meeting, the board voted 7-0 to designate Waggoner to five separate district roles for the year, including Title IX Grievance Officer and District Foster Care Liaison.

The board was in closed session from 6:33 p.m. to 7:26 p.m.; the retirement vote was one of six personnel votes taken in open session afterward.

The minutes contain no retirement letter, no statement from Waggoner or any board member, and no reference to a superintendent search.

MARTINSVILLE — The Martinsville Community Unit School District #C-3 Board of Education on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, voted unanimously to accept a retirement letter from Superintendent Robert Waggoner effective June 30, 2027, setting up a leadership change at the top of the Clark County district.

The motion, made by board member Hollingsworth and seconded by board member Baird, carried 7-0 on a recorded roll call, with Baird, President Connelly, Hollingsworth, Kannmacher, Maxwell, Parcel and Wilhoit all voting yes. Waggoner was present at the meeting, which was held in the Martinsville Jr.-Sr. High School Media Center beginning at 6:00 p.m.

The vote came at the end of a compressed sequence of personnel business. The board voted 7-0 at 6:33 p.m. to go into closed session on a motion by Hollingsworth, seconded by Baird, and voted 7-0 to return to open session at 7:26 p.m. on a motion by Hollingsworth, seconded by Parcel. Illinois public bodies cannot take formal action while in closed session; any action must be taken after the body reconvenes in public. All six of the board’s personnel votes — five hires and resignations plus the retirement acceptance — were recorded in the six minutes between the 7:26 p.m. return and adjournment at 7:32 p.m.

Named to Five District Roles Hours Before

The retirement acceptance followed a separate 7-0 vote earlier in the meeting that placed Waggoner at the center of the district’s compliance structure for the coming year. Under the board’s annual resolutions, approved on a motion by Hollingsworth seconded by Kannmacher, Waggoner was designated the district’s Title IX Grievance Officer — Title IX is the federal law barring sex discrimination in education programs — and was separately appointed Grievance Officer, designated Non-Discrimination Coordinator, designated District Liaison for Homeless Children and designated District Foster Care Liaison.

The minutes do not state whether those designations are tied to the 2026-27 school year, whether they lapse on Waggoner’s retirement date, or whether the board will need to reassign them before then. Two other administrators were named in the same resolution package as the district’s two complaint managers for sexual harassment or sexual discrimination complaints: Mr. Todd Evers and Mrs. Sheri Cooper, identified on the meeting agenda as the JH/HS principal and the elementary principal, respectively. Both were present at the meeting.

What the Record Does Not Say

The public record of this decision is thin. The retirement letter itself is not reproduced in the meeting materials, and the minutes do not state when it was submitted, how long Waggoner has served as superintendent, or whether he will remain in the role for the full 2026-27 school year. No board member’s comments are recorded, and no statement from Waggoner appears. There was no public comment at the meeting; the minutes record the public comment opportunity as “None.”

The minutes likewise contain no reference to a superintendent search, an interim appointment, a search firm, a timeline or a transition plan. Waggoner delivered one of three administration updates that evening — listed in the minutes only as “D3. Superintendent Waggoner,” with no content recorded — and the minutes do not indicate whether the retirement was addressed in that report.

The board’s closed session was noticed on the agenda for two purposes: to consider information regarding collective bargaining matters and the appointment, employment, resignation, compensation, discipline, performance, evaluation, retirement or dismissal of specific employees and possible litigation of the school district; and to consider the purchase or lease of real property for the use of the public body. The minutes themselves do not restate a purpose for the closed session. No action on real property appears in the minutes.

Because no formal action may be taken behind closed doors, any subsequent step toward hiring a successor — approving a search, naming an interim or appointing a new superintendent — would have to be voted on in open session. The board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Sept. 24, according to the dates and events read into the record.