Interim Superintendent Candidates Narrowed to Two; Interviews Wednesday

The school board will interview two West Des Moines Community Schools administrators to serve as interim superintendent until a permanent replacement can be named for Peter Ansingh, who was abruptly fired earlier this month.

The candidates are Hillside Elementary School Principal Robert Davis and Associate Superintendent Lisa Remy. The meeting will be held at 7 a.m. in the Media Center at the Walnut Creek Campus, 1020 Eighth St.

Davis has been with the school district since 1991, when he became principal of Crestview Elementary School. He also served as principal of Rex Mathes and Clegg Park Elementary schools before taking his current position as principal at Hillside Elementary, according to a story on the school district’s web site,

Remy came to the West Des Moines Community Schools in 2000, serving as associate principal of Valley High School. She served as principal of Indian Hills Junior High before taking her current position as associate superintendent of human resources.

The two current employees were the only internal candidates who submitted a statement of interest by the Monday  deadline set by the Board for those interested in the temporary position, the school district said. Two former administrators, Harrison Cass, Jr. and Arlis Swartzendruber, also submitted statements of interest.

The two candidate interviews will be conducted in closed session. The school board may fill the position at the conclusion of Wednesday’s meeting, according to the agenda.

Ansingh will be paid a severance package of  $225,000 plus benefits. He was fired over reported differences of opinion with the board over how to best close a $2 million budget shortfall. Some school employees said the school board had mismanaged the situation and are out of step with educators, leading to a culture of “distrust.”

Because of the tension, the school board may wait until after the September school board to begin a formal search for a permanent replacement.

For more information about the two candidates, see the article “Board Considers Interim Superintendent Candidates Wednesday” at www.wdmcs.org.

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