Central Community,
Last night the Central School Board approved a superintendent sharing agreement with Eastern Allamakee (Kee) for the 2024/2025 school year. This means my time will be split between Central (67%) and Kee (33%) fulfilling the superintendent role for both districts and I will no longer be fulfilling the role of elementary principal at Central. Central will still hold my contract.
The State of Iowa incentivizes school districts to share a superintendent by giving each school district 9 students ($70,794). With the sharing incentive and billing Kee for a third of my time, this allows Central to hire a full-time elementary principal for approximately the same amount as me being split between the two roles. My goal is to begin the search for our next elementary principal immediately.
Working with the Central Board Members, we weighed the pros and cons of making this move. Concerns shared include:
Being visual in both school districts.
Communication.
Travel & time.
Life balance.
The need for flexibility.
Positives shared include:
Adding a layer in Central’s organizational chart that aligns with policy (we can now separate the superintendent and principal).
Ability to add an elementary principal without a negative impact on our budget.
Increased support for the elementary staff and students.
Possible sharing opportunities with Kee that would be positive for both districts.
Sharing a superintendent has become common practice, including in the Keystone AEA region.
Working with your kids as the elementary principal for the past 11 years has been an honor and privilege. I am amazed at how fast that time went and proud of the growth I have seen our students make. Moving to a shared superintendent role doesn’t change my goal of always putting our students first.
Enjoy your summer and Go Warriors!
Sincerely,
Mr. Trenkamp