The new Monroe County Community School Corporation Superintendent will be Kokomo School Corporation Superintendent Jeff Hauswald. The board announced its decision at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Hauswald will replace outgoing MCCSC Superintendent Judith DeMuth, who has served in the position since 2011. DeMuth had planned to retire in June, but she said in March that she postponed her retirement to help with the issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and to give the selection board more time to find good candidates.
[Related: MCCSC board members discuss new superintendent contract, moving to phase green]
The board approved Hauswald’s contract to be the new superintendent with a vote of four to one, with MCCSC board member Jacinda Townsend Gides voting no. Board member April Hennessey abstained.
Hauswald will be required to work 260 days each year for four years and will have a base salary of $209,500, according to the contract.
Hauswald has worked as a math teacher, assistant principal, athletic director, elementary principal, assistant superintendent and has served as the Kokomo School Corporation superintendent since 2010. He received the IU Kokomo Chancellor’s Medallion in 2013 for partnering with the university to train teachers and develop a college-readiness math curriculum for students.
“He is a visionary who will work toward solutions and does not hesitate to try ideas if they will contribute for a better and more equitable learning environment for our students,” MCCSC Board President Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer said at the Wednesday meeting.
Hauswald thanked the board for selecting him and said he looks forward to serving and connecting with the community. While he was interested in the position when he applied, Hauswauld said he realized how much he wanted to serve in this position during the interview process.
“The more they asked me questions, the more I realized that this was an incredible place and it was a place I wanted to make home, if that opportunity was there,” he said. “I consider myself blessed.”
The selection process began in February 2020 and the board approved a $20,000 contract with BWP & Associates in March to assist with the search. The search was paused after the March meeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In October, 16 focus groups and two public forums were consulted to determine a list of qualities BWP and the board would use during its search. Some of these qualities include being student-centered, an excellent communicator and politically savvy.
BWP looked at the 29 applicants in November, conducted the first round of interviews and presented six candidates to the board on Nov. 30.
The board interviewed those six and one additional candidate in early December. Three finalists for the position had their final round of interviews on Dec. 8, 9 and 10. Contract negotiations with Hauswald took place Jan. 16.
