Photo Courtesy of Fairfield Schools

The Mid-Prairie School Board has found the successor for a long-time administrator retiring this June. It was announced that Fairfield High School Principal Brian Stone was offered and has accepted the Superintendent position this week.

The district named three finalists in late April. Along with Stone were current Solon High School Principal Zach Wigle and current Clear Creek-Amana Associate Superintendent Matt Leeman. Leeman removed his name from consideration prior to the last hiring round.

The two final interviews were held as part of the board’s meeting Monday with a 40-person group of community members and district stakeholders. Each interview lasted roughly three hours. The board decided on a 5-2 vote, with Jed Seward and Jake Snider dissenting, to extend the offer to Stone at that time.

According to a statement from Mid-Prairie, during his time at Fairfield, Stone focused on strong communication with staff, students and community members while providing monthly updates to board members. He has also coordinated conferences, worked to implement new professional development initiatives and provided teacher feedback through classroom visits and walk-throughs. Prior to that, Stone was high school principal and activities director with the Pekin School District, overseeing 190 students and 40 staff members. Stone’s time in education has also been as a middle school and elementary school social studies and math teacher, and assistant varsity baseball, football and girls basketball coach.

Stone holds a Master’s degree in educational administration from Drake University, a Bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Buena Vista University, and an advanced studies degree from the University of Northern Iowa. His first day with the district will be July 1st. Longtime Mid-Prairie Superintendent Mark Schneider announced his retirement earlier this spring effective June 30th.