By Jolene Farley
Daryl Williams, Dell Rapids, brings plenty of experience to the job of interim superintendent for the Hills-Beaver Creek School District.
Williams is filling in until a replacement is found for Tom Knoll, who is leaving the district for a superintendent job in Hayfield, Minn.
Williams began his career as a teacher and then became principal in the Franklin, S.D., school district in 1966. He landed the job of Ellsworth superintendent in 1970 at the age of 27.
"I have worked in districts the size of Ellsworth with 400 students, to Willmar with 4,600 students," Williams said.
Williams also worked in private industry for four and one-half years for two-way radio and cellular phone company E.F. Johnson Company.
When Williams heard there was an opening for interim superintendent at H-BC, he contacted the district. He had been waiting for an opening within driving distance of Dell Rapids, S.D. "Being 40 miles away and having been a superintendent as recently as July 2000, I thought I could help out," said Williams.
He doesn't anticipate any difficulties with his new job. Williams says the job of an interim superintendent is to "keep the ship afloat" until a new superintendent is found. He said the Hills-Beaver Creek district has good people to rely on and support him.
In addition to his duties as interim superintendent, Williams plans to continue working for the consulting firm Midwest Management Resources, which helps school districts, counties and churches with studies, construction management and policy development.
Williams and his wife, Dianne, recently moved to Dell Rapids, where more of his family also lives. They have two adult children, Darrin, an accountant with Ernst and Young of New York, and Kelli, a fifth grade teacher.