Tagged: Keokuk School Board

The Keokuk School Board voted unanimously, Thursday night, to offer its superintendent job to Tim Hood.

Hood served as superintendent of the Creston Community School District for about 13 years.  Creston is about 200 miles west of Keokuk.

He also served as superintendent at the Earlham Community School District (Iowa).

Keokuk School Board President Tyler McGhghy says Hood is a perfect fit for the district.  He mentioned his work ethic, his devotion to technology and his handling of open enrollment.

The Keokuk School Board could announce the district’s new superintendent as early as Thursday night during a special board meeting.

The panel met behind closed doors for about one hour Tuesday night.

President Tyler McGhghy says the board used the meeting to talk about the details of a potential contract with the firm helping the district, Cedar Rapids-based Ray & Associates.

He says at this point, the maximum starting salary in a potential deal is $155,000.

McGhghy says the meeting was also used to discuss the six interviews conducted over the weekend.

Administrators within the Keokuk School District spent more time in the classrooms, last year, as part of a program aimed at observing teacher and student performance.

The 2011/2012 school year marked the second year for the eWalks program.

Business Manager Greg Reynolds says the program requires administrators to conduct brief, unannounced visits into classrooms throughout the district.

The Keokuk School Board could hire a new superintendent as early as this weekend.

The panel will interview six candidates during special meetings on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

The school district will not identify the finalists.  The meetings will also be off-limits to the public per agreements between the candidates and the firm handling the search process.

The district received more than 40 applications. 

The Keokuk School Board will get some help in its search for a new superintendent.

Doctor Lora Wolff is stepping down June 30 to take a teaching position at Western Illinois University.  The school board officially accepted her resignation Tuesday night.

Shortly after that vote, the board agreed to hire Ray & Associates to assist in the search process.  The Cedar Rapids-based firm already handles Keokuk’s contract negotiations.

The Keokuk School Board has signed off on the district’s roughly $32-million spending plan for the upcoming school year.

One of the highlights is the fact that the property tax rate will drop by 73-cents, or nearly 4%.  The district’s share of property tax bills are not expected to fall by 4%, though, because of the residential rollback.

The budget also includes an expansion of Keokuk’s preschool program for 4-year-olds.  The addition of a second classroom will allow an increase in enrollment from 30 to as many as 80 preschoolers starting in the fall.