School district approves acting superintendent through end of school year

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

At a special meeting on Thursday, the Charles City School District Board of Directors named Karl Kurt from Central Rivers AEA to serve as acting superintendent for the rest of the school year.

Kurt will fill the role vacated by Charles City Superintendent Mike Fisher. He is currently the assistant chief administrator/director of human resources at Central Rivers AEA. He has previously held the position of superintendent in the North Linn and Central City school districts.

“In accordance with district policy the board will be appointing at a special meeting on Thursday Karl Kurt from Central Rivers AEA to serve as the acting superintendent for the district until June 30,” the Charles City School District announced in a press release Wednesday. The release stated that Kurt would receive “day-to-day district level assistance from administrators Larry Wolfe and Bryan Jurrens.”

Fisher, who announced his resignation in February after four years at Charles City, is leaving earlier than expected due to some family medical issues. Fisher accepted the superintendent job in his home town of Oskaloosa. His employment in Charles City was scheduled to officially end on June 30. That is when Kurt’s temporary superintendent duties will conclude.

“I’m very grateful to the school board and very thankful that they are allowing me this time off,” Fisher said. “The entire district has been very gracious to me in allowing me to take care of my family during some pretty challenging times.”

The release stated that Fisher is currently on authorized and approved sick and personal leave through the remainder of this school year due to the family health situation.

“The Charles City Community School District would like to thank Mr. Fisher for his four years of service as superintendent for the district,” the release stated.

At Monday’s regular meeting, the board approved a contract for Anne Lundquist to serve as the district’s interim superintendent for one year. The contract goes into effect on July 1 and ends June 30, 2023.

Lundquist is currently a second-grade teacher at Immaculate Conception, where she started in 2020. Her recent administrative experience includes positions in the Ankeny School District as well as in the Red Lake School District in Minnesota.

“The district looks forward to welcoming Anne Lundquist as its interim superintendent for the 2022-23 school year,” the release stated.

The board has said it will re-open the process of searching for the next permanent district superintendent in November or December of this year.