West Liberty Community School District
Superintendent Hiring Announcement
February 23, 2021
The West Liberty Community School District School Board is pleased to announce a new district superintendent, pending formal board approval on Monday, March 1. The school board and Grundmeyer Leader Services Consultants conducted semifinalist screening interviews on Monday, February 8. Soon after the screening interviews four finalists were named: John Cain, John Howard, Shaun Kruger, and Mike Peterson. The four finalists interviewed within the district on Monday, February 22; included were interviews with two mixed interview teams consisting of community members, parents, teachers, students, and support staff; interview with administrators and directors, interview with the School Board, and a school and community tour.
Each person involved as a member of an interview team provided the school board direct feedback about each of the finalists. After careful review and consideration of the feedback from the interview team members, as well as again reviewing all application materials, the Board followed the data and chose to offer the contract to Mr. Shaun Kruger. Shaun was very excited to verbally accept the job offer saying, “Thank you so much to the West Liberty School Board and hiring committees for allowing me the opportunity to lead your school district.
It was an absolute pleasure meeting with all of you! Also, thank you to our great tour guide, JJ
Garcia. He really showcased the outstanding communities of West Liberty CSD, and highlighted many of the amazing facilities, projects and sources of pride within the communities. My wife and I could not be happier and more excited to move to West Liberty and call this place home. It was apparent from the beginning of this process that West Liberty is a great fit for us and I am honored to be your next superintendent. Go West Liberty Comets!!
Mr. Kruger is currently serving as the Middle School Principal at Perry Community School District; he has served in that position for the past 16 years. Perry is located west of Des Moines and has a total population and cultural and ethnic diversity very similar to West Liberty. Previously Mr. Kruger served as Assistant Middle School Principal at Katy Independent School District in Texas, and as an Elementary and Middle School Teacher at Katy. Mr. Kruger has introduced a number of things to the Perry Schools over the years, e.g., standards-based grading, multiple grant opportunities, coursework for STEM, a Reading and Math Lab, and substantive work with social and emotional programming. He has also developed a robust Professional Learning Community environment at Perry. Mr. Kruger is a mentor for beginning principals for the School Administrators of Iowa, as well as multiple future leaders within the Perry CSD. Finally, Mr. Kruger has been very active and involved in the community of Perry. Shaun earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Iowa State University, his Masters degree in Educational Leadership from Prairie View A & M University, and his Superintendent Certificate of Advanced Studies from Iowa State University.
Board President Emily Geertz shared the following: "The Board is thrilled with what Mr. Kruger will bring to our district and our community. We recognized his passion for students, experience as an administrator and his genuine enthusiasm for taking on this leadership role. I would like to thank all the participants on the interview teams for their time and valuable feedback on the selection process. Please welcome Shaun and his wife, Jennifer, to the West Liberty Community School District!"
Mr. Kruger will officially begin his duties on July1; between now and then, he will be involved in as many transition activities in and with West Liberty as possible.