The Sigourney School District will begin searching for a new superintendent following the resignation of Dave Harper earlier this week.

Harper announced his decision to resign effective at the end of the school year Monday to become Executive Director of the Ottumwa School District. He has served as Sigourney’s superintendent for seven years and the last five years he has shared duties with the Pekin School District. Harper says he’s thankful Sigourney took a chance on him as a “green” superintendent and was fortunate to serve Pekin as well, “Because Sigourney and Pekin are large enough that we were never afraid that one was going to close the other, so it was strictly a 50-50 sharing agreement and they each have their own goals and challenges, but balancing all those teacups is probably one of the biggest challenges for the new superintendent.

Harper says both school boards will have meetings this week to decide whether to continue their shared superintendent arrangement before developing a timeline for the hiring process. He adds he’ll do what he can to help find his replacement to set them up for future success.