BOONE, Iowa—Last week, the Boone School Board reviewed interviews with seven of the candidates in the running to become a finalist for the Boone School District Superintendent position. Today, the school board issued a press release, announcing the three finalists for the position.
The school board recently met to screen seven semi-finalists for the district superintendent position. Each candidate was asked nine questions and presented their case on how they fit specific qualifications for the position. After the conclusion of the screening interviews, the board deliberated and identified three finalists. These finalists have been invited to the district on Monday, Jan. 20th for formal interviews.
Stakeholders invited on the formal interview teams have been asked to provide feedback on the formal interview questions. Candidate application materials will soon be shared with the formal interview teams. Each finalist will interview with three different mixed interview teams, the school board, and have a tour of both the district and larger community.
Meet the finalists:
Mike Van Sickle – Mike currently serves as the Superintendent for the Louisa-Muscatine School District. He has served as the district superintendent for the last 8 years. Prior, he served the Odgen School District as Middle School Principal and Activities Director. He also has experience being the President of Van Sickle Construction Company in Boone, IA. Other education experiences include elementary/middle school principal experience in two different districts in Kansas, teacher, and coach. He has supported teacher leadership and compensation (TLC) and professional learning communities (PLC) that have resulted in academic gains in his district. Mike has experience in district facilities planning, budgeting, technology implementation, behavior modification, and he developed a rubric for helping the school board set district goals.
Julie Trepa – Julie currently serves as a Shared Superintendent for the West Monona and West Harrison School Districts. She has served in this capacity for the last three years where she has improved the financial stability of the districts. Her prior experience includes serving the Bettendorf School District as an elementary principal for 15 years. She also has experience as an associate elementary principal, special education teacher and math teacher. She serves on the Iowa Department of Education Social-Emotional Advisory Council and has recently worked with community agencies and the Area Education Agency (AEA) to provide mental health services to students at no cost. She was named Iowa Elementary Principal of the Year by School Administrators of Iowa, and she was also named a National Distinguished Principal.
Thomas Messinger – Tom currently serves as the Superintendent for the Red Oak Community School District in Red Oak, IA. He has served the district for the last five years. His prior experience includes serving as a high school principal for Burlington School District. He also has experience as an activities director, assistant principal, math teacher, and coach. He led a $29 million bond issue in Red Oak resulting in new facilities for the district while improving the financial condition of the district. He was recently named 2019 Administrator of the Year from the Iowa Association of Agriculture Educators and Outstanding Administrator by the Iowa Association for Career and Technical Education.
Everyone invited to formally interview will be asked to provide the board feedback on each finalist. The school board will go into closed session at 7:30 on Jan. 20th to review the data from all the stakeholders involved. The board hopes to make an offer to the successful candidate soon after the formal interviews and will announce the new hire upon a successful background check.
(contributed press release BCSD School Board)
