Sartell Supt. Schwiebert to start July 1

by Dennis Dalman

news@thenewsleaders.com

As of July 1, the Sartell-St. Stephen School District will have a new superintendent.

At the Feb. 24 school board meeting, members unanimously agreed to a three-year work contract negotiated between the board and Jeff Schwiebert, who is now officially superintendent of Sartell schools. Mike Spanier has been interim superintendent after Joe Hill resigned from that position last year.

Earlier this month, the board selected Schwiebert from among three finalists for the position from 40 applicants who applied, but his official hiring was dependent upon him and the board agreeing to a work contract.

In the first year of his job Schwiebert will be paid $156,500, which is an amount comparable to other school districts of the same size in the state. He will receive an increase of 2 percent in the second and third years of the contract. The contract also calls for 11 days of paid holidays and 30 days of paid vacations.

Schwiebert is seeking a residence in Sartell. He and his family currently live in Eldridge, Iowa where he has served as superintendent of the North Scott Community School District since 2009. His starting salary there was $150,000.

Before his job in North Scott, Schwiebert started his career as a teacher in the Mount Vernon (Iowa) Community School District. There, he spent the early years of his educational service: teacher, assistant principal, principal, athletic director and superintendent.

Schwiebert earned bachelor’s degrees in history and education from Cornell College (Mount Vernon, Iowa) in 1981. He then earned a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of Iowa and a superintendent certificate from the University of Northern Iowa.

His first job was as a teacher in the Mount Vernon district. He spent most of his career there, working his way up to assistant principal, principal, athletic director and superintendent. After his job at Mount Vernon, he was hired by North Scott.