Ridder hired as interim superintendent for St. Louis school district

Outgoing Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Norm Ridder will take over the top role at the Mehlville School District in St. Louis.

Ridder starts July 1 as interim superintendent for the over 10,000-student district. The nine-year leader of SPS - which counts some 25,000 students - will succeed Eric Knost, who is leaving Mehlville to become superintendent of the Rockwood School District in Eureka, according to news release from the districts.

Last August, Ridder informed the SPS school board he would end his tenure on June 30. The executive was passed over for two state jobs: state commissioner for the Nebraska State Board of Education and a similar position in Wyoming.

Meanwhile at SPS, Liberty Public Schools Superintendent John Jungmann officially takes over the top role at SPS July 1. His chief financial and operations officer at the 11,500-student Liberty district, Carol Embree, also is moving to Springfield to take the same role for SPS, a job being vacated by Steve Chodes, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.