The Lisbon and Springville Community School Districts have announced three finalists for the next superintendent position, who will serve as superintendent for both districts.
The finalists are Darren Hanna, Nathan Marting and Autumn Pino.
As a next step, the boards and stakeholder interview teams will conduct final interviews with each of the three finalists Friday, Jan. 14. The boards plan to then discuss the candidates and reach a final decision soon after the formal interviews.
The individual selected will succeed current Superintendent Pat Hocking, who is retiring at the end of the school year. The new superintendent will begin serving both districts effective July 1.
Hanna is currently superintendent of the Emmetsburg Community School District in northwestern Iowa. There, he worked to reduce expenses to offset the impact of declining enrollment, developed and implemented a comprehensive strategic plan, oversaw key technology upgrades and created a 10-year facilities plan. He previously served as director of elementary education for the Waterloo Community School District and director of instruction and technology for the Mount Pleasant Community School District.
Hanna holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Iowa, along with a bachelor’s degree in physical education from the University of Northern Iowa.
Marting was most recently the superintendent of the Jesup Community School District, where he has made strategic decisions to improve student achievement based on data and focused on the sound fiscal management of the district. He previously served as superintendent and secondary principal at Midland Community School in Wyoming. He began his career as an agricultural education instructor and assistant football coach in the Maquoketa Valley Community School District.
Marting holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from Viterbo University and a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from Iowa State University.
Pino is the current principal of Roosevelt Creative Corridor Business Academy, a magnet school in the Cedar Rapids Community School District. Under her leadership, the school received the 2020 National Merit Award of Distinction and the 2021 National Certification as a Demonstration School from the Magnet Schools of America. Before that, Pino was an associate principal in the Pleasant Valley Community School District and a middle school principal in the Maquoketa Community School District.
Pino holds a master’s degree in school administration and a bachelor’s degree in behavior disorders, both from Loras College in Dubuque.
The two boards have been working with Grundmeyer Leader Services to conduct the search. The process has included a community-wide survey, asking district residents to provide their input on the qualities and characteristics they would like to see in the district’s next leader. The boards conducted a first round of interviews with candidates Wednesday, Jan. 5.