Red Oak ISD's Scott Niven on Monday signed a three-and-a-half-year contract to become the next Allen ISD superintendent, effective Jan. 2. The Allen ISD board of trustees approved a contract on Nov. 28 to hire Niven, who has served since 2007 as superintendent of the district 45 miles south of Allen. Niven will make an annual base salary of $275,000 with Allen ISD, according to the document signed Monday. The contract is slated to end on June 30, 2020. The board named Niven—who, prior to his Red Oak superintendent role, had served as superintendent of Liberty-Eylau ISD near Texarkana—its sole finalist for the superintendent position Nov. 7. Allen ISD had been searching for a new superintendent since Lance Hindt announced in July he would leave for the Katy ISD superintendent job. Jenny Preston has served as interim superintendent during the transition. She said Monday she has "full confidence" in the board's decision to hire Niven for the role. Niven's tenure was marked by a “strong college- and career-based program,” according to a Red Oak ISD release, including forming a partnership with Texas State Technical College and expanding the number of dual-credit hours available from six to 160 hours. Niven earned his doctorate in education in 2012 from Texas A&M University-Commerce. Niven also has a master’s degree in education from Texas A&M University-Texarkana and an undergraduate degree in business administration and accounting from the University of Arkansas. He is a certified public accountant. Editor's note: This story has been updated with details of the superintendent contract.