Posted on

Charles City school superintendent resigning; taking position in hometown Oskaloosa

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Superintendent Mike Fisher will be leaving the Charles City Community School District to take on the same role in Oskaloosa, the local school district announced Thursday.

Fisher, who will have been with the Charles City district for four years, will officially announce his resignation at the Board of Education meeting Monday night, the school district said.

The school board will begin the process of searching for a new superintendent at Monday night’s board meeting.

Charles City school superintendent resigning; taking position in hometown Oskaloosa
Mike Fisher

Fisher’s resignation will be effective June 30, at the end of this school year. His new position in Oskaloosa is expected to be approved by the Oskaloosa Board of Education next week.

“I was contacted in December about the opening and asked to consider applying to be superintendent in my hometown,” Fisher said.

“There are only a handful of communities that could pull me away from the incredible work we are doing in Charles City, and Oskaloosa is one of them,” he said. “This gives Sarah and I an opportunity to be closer to our family and allow our son, Joshua, to grow up closer to his grandparents.”

The Oskaloosa School District has a current certified enrollment of 2,209, about 43% larger than Charles City’s current 1,547 enrollment. Oskaloosa is southeast of Des Moines and about 145 miles from Charles City.

Fisher’s three-year contract in Oskaloosa will begin July 1 with an annual salary of $210,000.

Mike and Sarah Fisher are both graduates of Oskaloosa High School. She is currently a third-grade teacher in the Nashua-Plainfield district, and their son is 6.

Fisher has a Bachelor of Music degree from Simpson College, a Masters of Arts in educational leadership from the University of Northern Iowa and expects to complete his doctorate in education with a focus in teacher hiring practices in May.

The Oskaloosa School District had announced earlier this week that Fisher and one other person were finalists for the superintendent position. Groups from the school and the community were invited to meet the candidates and ask questions on Wednesday, before the school board made a decision and an offer to Fisher.

According to the Oskaloosa district, the board had reviewed applications from 20 candidates gathered by an executive recruiting company in a process that started last November, then narrowed the field to nine semi-finalists before selecting Fisher and Martensdale-St. Mary’s Superintendent Tom Wood as the finalists.

Oskaloosa Superintendent Paula Wright had announced in October that she is retiring at the end of this school year.

According to a press release from the Charles City School District, during his tenure, Fisher focused on student achievement growth, completing facility projects, and a mission and vision focused on students learning “regardless of who they are or what their story is they can learn and be loved in Charles City Community Schools.”

“Over the last four years, the district witnessed strategic growth across each campus in multiple areas as well as the completion of the baseball and softball diamonds,” the press release said.

“Fisher also led the district through the COVID-19 pandemic and facilitated the repurposing of the North Grand Building into market-rate housing and community child care,” it said.

Fisher started with the Charles City district in July 2018. Prior to Charles City he had been head middle school principal for the Waterloo School District. He started his teaching career as a high school band director.

 

Social Share

LATEST NEWS