Doss retiring as Lanphier High School principal on Feb. 27

Curdis "Artie" Doss, the longest-serving high school principal in Springfield, is retiring on Feb. 27.

The announcement was made Tuesday during a teachers' institute at Lanphier High School, where he has been principal since 2010. The retirement was officially accepted at Tuesday's District 186 board of education meeting.

Doss has been with the district since 2000. He was named acting principal at Lanphier less than a month before the start of the 2010-11 school year after he earlier dropped out as a candidate and has stayed on since.

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Feb. 27 is Doss' 60th birthday and when he is eligible for retirement.

Superintendent Jennifer Gill said following Tuesday's board meeting that an interim principal will be named "in the next few weeks" to serve out the school year and before the hiring process opens.

Doss, said Gill, who served alongside him as a principal, was "District 186 through and through."

"It's a bittersweet moment," said Gill. "We're so happy for him that he's reached this milestone and wish him the best.

"It's hard to see people you've worked alongside your whole career leaving and moving on to other possible opportunities, but it's one of those things, too, you're proud of the work that he's done. You're proud of how he walks tall for Lanphier and always has. He knows every student in that building. His Lion's pride is undeniably strong."

Doss' departure comes as Lanphier is about to open up its $93.2 million reconstruction to students and teachers on Jan. 16.

The high school will open the new Lober-Nika Gymnasium with a boys basketball game against rival Lincoln on Jan. 12.

Work, Gill said, will continue into the summer with construction of an auditorium, a band and choral area, and rooms that will service the auditorium for set designs. Several classrooms also will be added.

The Edison wing and the old Lober-Nika Gymnasium will be torn down.

Doss, who is also an ordained minister, began in District 186 as a special needs teacher at Southeast High School in 2000.

Before taking over at Lanphier, Doss was principal of Douglas, Springfield Learning Academy, and Alternative-to-Suspension centers, according to State Journal-Register archives. He was also an assistant principal at Southeast High School.

School board president and 1996 Lanphier graduate Micah Miller said Doss has navigated highs and lows during his tenure.

"I hope he's able to enjoy retirement," Miller said. "Right now, Lanphier is going through a physical change and the time is perfect for a spiritual change and also a change in leadership. I'm looking forward to the future for the Lions."

Gill said Doss' wife, Cheryl, planned to retire at the end of the school year. She became the district's coordinator of Project SCOPE (Serving Children of Parents Employed) in 2021.

"We'll miss their support and their love of our students greatly," Gill said.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Lanphier High School principal Artie Doss is retiring February 27