North Tama Superintendent David Hill.

This story has been updated.

The Union Community School District Board of Education announced just before noon today, Thursday, April 7, the names of the three finalists in its search for the district’s next superintendent.

The finalists are David Hill, John Howard, and Mark Taylor.

According to a school board press release, as superintendent of the neighboring North Tama County Community School District, “Hill has improved the district’s financial position, implemented numerous programs to increase student achievement, and maintained a climate of culture, respect, and cooperation. He has most recently led the district through a comprehensive facility study and the development of a long-term facility master plan. Before that, Hill was a PK-5 Principal in Union CSD. He began his career in education as an ag teacher in the Benton CSD.”

“Howard is the current 7th-12th grade principal in the Independence CSD. His leadership has encompassed all aspects of school administration, including student achievement, discipline, curriculum and instruction, budgeting, strategic planning, facility management, human resource management, organizational change, and parent relations. He has also done substantive work in providing mental health counseling within the school day. Howard previously served as a principal and curriculum director at Saint Edmond Catholic Schools in Fort Dodge.”

John Howard.

“Taylor currently serves as the North Hill Elementary School principal in Burlington, Iowa. He is also the Title I director and autism committee chair, as well as a participant on District SIAC, teacher leadership, and professional development committees for multiple elementary buildings. Taylor is credited by many as a relationship builder through his student-centered approach to instruction and timely and meaningful professional development. He also spent 10 years in vocal and instrumental music education.”

Formal interviews are scheduled on-campus on Monday, April 11.

The day will consist of a board interview, interview with two mixed interview teams comprised of teachers, support staff, students, parents, and community members, and a community/district tour.

Following the last interview on April 11, the board will review input data from all interviewers and will tentatively select the next superintendent.

Announcement of the next superintendent will be tentatively be made public on Wednesday, April 13, or Thursday, April 14.

The new superintendent will begin serving the Union Community School District effective July 1, 2022.

Previous reporting

As part of Union Community School District’s ongoing search for a new superintendent, members of the school board were provided with an overview of the recently completed stakeholder survey as well as a brief introduction to the candidate pool by representatives from Grundmeyer Leader Services during an April 4 board meeting.

It was elbow-to-elbow around the conference room tables in the district office board room Monday evening with all board members present as well as Grundmeyer consultants Kevin Fiene, Roger Wilcox, and Shanlee McNally who began the public portion of their presentation with the survey results.

The district received 206 responses to the stakeholder survey which closed on March 13 and was conducted by Grundmeyer. Responses came from mostly those who self-identified as parents but also included 47 self-identified teachers.

Survey respondents were asked to identify points of pride as well as challenges or areas for improvement for the district.

Points of pride listed by survey respondents included Union’s small class sizes, a skilled and caring faculty/staff, strong community support, a focus on student achievement, and opportunities for students.

Current challenges identified by survey respondents included retaining staff, a lack of mental health resources, bullying, communication, and lack of strong leadership.

The survey also asked respondents to choose from a list what they consider to be the top three most important professional as well as personal qualities/qualifications in a superintendent.

The number one professional quality selected by those who completed Union’s survey was ‘recruits, hires, supports, develops and retains effective staff’ – garnering 49 percent; number two was ‘promotes a community of care and support for students’ – garnering 39 percent; number three was ‘builds school and community relations’ – garnering 33 percent.

The number one personal qualification was ‘is approachable, accessible and welcoming’ – garnering 65 percent; number two was ‘demonstrates ethics and integrity’ – garnering 45 percent; number three was ‘follows through on tasks and responsibilities’ – garnering 40 percent.

Finally, survey respondents were given the chance to provide advice for the next Union superintendent. One such comment was shared with the board during the public portion of Grundmeyer’s presentation.

“We have a wonderful Knight community of teachers and support staff who deeply care about the success and wellbeing of our students,” the survey comment began. “We need to do all we can to maintain those quality, caring individuals to rebuild the strong Union reputation we have prided ourselves with in the past.”

Candidate pool

The consultants then turned to the candidate pool for superintendent – 17 individuals submitted applications for the position and all but one were in-state. The consultants shared that the pool was “not very diverse.”

The vast majority of the candidates are male – with all but two identifying as such – and almost all identified as white.

Two of the candidates have a doctorate as their highest degree attained while two listed a Master’s as their highest degree attained.

Previously, the board chose to move the superintendent hiring process up by a week which led to the elimination of formal screener interviews. Following the public presentation, the board entered into closed session with the consultants to review the candidate pool and work to narrow the pool to at least three or four finalists.

The names of the finalists for Union superintendent are tentatively set to be released Thursday, April 7.

Finalist interviews are set for Monday, April 11, in La Porte City.

This story will be updated as more information is released.