For the second time in a month, the Mid-Prairie School District is looking to hire a new principal for one of their schools.

After eight years at the helm, West Elementary Principal Bill Poock has submitted his resignation effective at the end of the school year to become Director of Teaching and Learning with the Grant Wood Area Education Agency. Superintendent Mark Schneider says they hope to name his successor in the next month, “We have a deadline of March 31st on the application materials, but applications will be reviewed as they come in. Shortly after the 31st, we will hold interviews like we did for the middle school position over a day or two. We will include a wide variety of people, teachers, support staff members, administrators, parents and community members and then after the first round of interviews, I will have follow up interviews with the top candidates and select the top person and recommend them to the school board. By mid-April we’ll have the next person named to the position.“

In February, Middle School Principal Marc Pennington submitted his resignation effective at the end of the school year after 10 years in the post. 34 applications were received for that position with the top eight candidates interviewed last week. Schneider says he has follow up interviews with the two finalists this week and will make a hiring recommendation at the regular school board meeting next Monday. He says hiring two principals in two months isn’t the norm, but notes when Poock was hired eight years ago, Poock was one of four new principals to start their jobs with the district in the same school year.