Former Sciotoville Community School Administrator Dennis DeCamp is walking into, well, a hornet’s nest.

DeCamp is set to take over the duties as superintendent of the Dawson-Bryant School District on Jan. 1. That’s when current superintendent James Payne will vacate the position to become the superintendent of the Lawrence County Educational Service Center.

DeCamp has several things working against him and he hasn’t even been on the job one day.

First, he’s replacing a popular superintendent who has set the bar high and is a tough act to follow.

Second, many people in the district were hoping the next superintendent would come from within.

Third, the vote for approving his contract was 3-2, not exactly a ringing endorsement of support from his future bosses.

All of that does not even include some criticism DeCamp has received for unspecified allegations about his personal life that was a point of discussion in Tuesday’s board meeting.

But despite all that, board members, administrators, teachers and community members should welcome the new hire with open arms. All parties seem to agree on DeCamp’s qualifications and that should be enough.

The Dawson-Bryant School District has a good reputation in the area. But the division that exists now can clearly be a hurdle for DeCamp and something that could hurt the progress of the district.

Now that the decision has been made to hire DeCamp, it’s time for the Coal Grove community to put their differences aside and get to the business that everyone is interested in … educating the young people of the district.