School board finds new superintendent

Newton has a new superintendent, but citizens won’t know who it is until later Friday.

After a day of interviews and tours through the campuses, the Newton Community School District Board of Education offered a contract to its preferred candidate Thursday night after a closed session discussion. Three applicants made it into the final round of interviews.

The school board chose between Nicole Kooiker, superintendent of Ottumwa Community School District; Chad Straight, superintendent of Belle Plaine Community School District; and Thomas Messinger, superintendent of Red Oak Community School District.

Kooiker has served Ottumwa for the past four years. Prior to that, she worked as superintendent of schools at West Marshall for three years, as a middle school principal of Southeast Polk for three years, associate middle school principal at Southeast Polk for three years and middle school principal/K-12 curriculum director at West Hancock for two years.

Straight has been working in Belle Plaine for six years. Before he earned the title of superintendent, he served as a middle school and high school principal at Boyer Valley for nine years and as a high school language arts instructor and coach at Logan-Magnolia Community School District for five years. His tenure as a language arts teacher and coach extends beyond that.

Messinger currently resides in Red Oak and has served the town’s school district for the past five years. Previously, he worked as a high school principal for the Burlington Community School District and has experience as an activities director, assistant principal, math teacher and coach.

Replacing the resigning superintendent

The current superintendent, Bob Callaghan, announced late last year he would be resigning from his position. Effective June 30, Callaghan will no longer serve as the lead administrator of the school district. His decision was controversial at the time and perplexed some in the community.

Others thought the exact opposite. Nevertheless, Callaghan highlighted in his resignation letter the district’s accomplishments under his leadership: passing a $26.9 million bond, scoring highly on the Iowa School Performance Profiles and working toward a High Reliability School certification, among others.

School board — which unanimously accepted his resignation letter — received its fair share of public scrutiny before and after Callaghan’s announcement in October. Years prior, the school board voted 4-3 to not renew the superintendent’s contract.

Members of the school board had heard complaints about Callaghan’s job performance in 2018. Emails obtained by Newton Daily News at that time revealed teachers in the Newton Community Education Association were urged to share their opinions and question his leadership to board members.

Deb Rose, the president of NCEA, also included a list of talking points encouraging teachers to disclose how the school district leadership has had a negative impact on classroom activities. Complaints cited increased class sizes, decreased building budgets and lack of new textbooks, and more.

The timing of Callaghan’s announcement during a school board election cycle was also peculiar. By the time the letter was accepted after a prolonged quarterly review held in closed session during the board of education meeting, there was still one week left until Election Day.

A candidate forum organized some time before the announcement indicated voters were frustrated with school board’s dealings with the superintendent and his contract. By then, voters did not know if the governing body accepted or denied the renewal of the contract once again.

School board incumbents and newcomers were directly questioned about the perceived lack of transparency surrounding the superintendent’s contract. Since Callaghan was reviewed by the school board in closed session, the public cannot be present during those meetings.

A very close school board race ensued, resulting in the election of Mark Thayer, who publicly expressed his disappointment with the board’s closed session practices. Thayer unseated Ann Leonard, the vice-president of the school board. She was one of the four who voted against the contract renewal.

Using a superintendent search firm

The board of education wasted no time in deciding its next move. About a month or so after accepting the resignation letter, the school board discussed its options moving forward. The consensus was to use a superintendent search firm in order to find a suitable candidate.

It did not take much to convince the board to move in this direction. During a culture work session in November, Dr. Jim Verlengia, a leadership development specialist of Drake University, strongly recommended a search firm to assist in the interview process and generate a qualified candidate pool.

Verlengia suggested the board allow multiple firms showcase their services through scheduled presentations. Not long after, the board did just that. A long night of presentations from three search firms led to NCSD Board of Education to vote 6-1 to appoint Grundmeyer Leader Search as its lead consultant.

Grundmeyer Leader Search was chosen above firms McPherson & Jacobson, LLC and Ray and Associates, Inc. Pitching itself as a confident enterprise, Grundmeyer Leader Search said 98 percent of the superintendents it has helped hire in the past five years are still currently employed with their districts.

We understand how to lead a successful search process,” Trent Grundmeyer, founder, said in a letter to the school board. “As partners, we can facilitate a thorough and effective superintendent search to ensure the best leader is hired to take your district to the next level.”

The next step was for the school board — and general public — to identify qualities and skills of the new superintendent. Results from surveys indicated board members wanted a superintendent who effectively works with administrators and possesses strong communication skills.

Those were only a few skills though. Members also wanted someone who fosters community for teachers and staff, meaningfully engages with families and the community, has the ability to lead school improvement efforts, effectively manages district resources and hires and develops effective staff.

Also, the board wanted a superintendent who can bring out the success in others, demonstrate collaborative leadership and is approachable, accessible and welcoming. The survey also identified the strengths and weaknesses of the school district. Many praised the facilities and the spirit of “Red Pride.”

Others drew positive attention to the caring and dedicated staff, as well as the community and parent support. Class sizes, college credit offerings and successful programs like Capturing Kids’ Hearts were also pluses. The state of communication and culture in the district, however, were seen as downsides.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com