I’ll have more to say later about Rod Schroder, who today announced his retirement as Amarillo Independent School District superintendent.

Today, though, I want to say that AISD’s loss is huge. Schroder devoted 40 years to public education and served the school district with utmost distinction and honor. He’ll be missed greatly.

Now, about his successor.

I’ve long been a fan of nationwide searches for a job this important, this critical. A lot of public institutions in Amarillo and the Panhandle seem to flinch at the notion of looking outside the region — or even outside existing staff — to find chief executive officers.

Schroder was promoted from within AISD when he took the helm. Yes, he’s done a great job.

What’s more, there might be a capable assistant superintendent already waiting in the wings. The board of trustees will make a key decision in fairly short order on how to proceed.

My own recommendation is that it put the word out through professional journals, websites and other outlets to let the U.S. education network know that this job is about to become vacant.

A national search gives the school board a wide range of options, giving trustees a healthy list of candidates from which to choose. They’ll bring new ideas, fresh perspectives and perhaps an innovation or two that no one here has considered.

Good luck, AISD trustees. You’ve got a big void to fill.

Let’s get busy.