MFL MarMac High School Principal Larry Meyer plans to retire at the end of this school year. The school board approved Meyer’s resignation, and also discussed the process for hiring a replacement, at its Oct. 13 meeting.
Meyer has been the high school principal at MFL MarMac since 2016. It was the first principal job for the 1977 MFL graduate after more than 30 years teaching and coaching.
“Mr. Meyer, you will be missed,” said school board president Gina Roys.
Meyer is the third MFL MarMac principal to retire in the last few years. Long-time elementary principal Kathy Koether stepped down in 2023 and middle school principal Denise Mueller ended her tenure at the end of the 2024-2025 school year.
After discussion at the meeting, the board opted not to hire an outside firm to help with the search and selection of a new principal.
“I don’t think we need the recruiting. We’ve been through a number of administrative hires,” noted Jonathon Moser.
Superintendent Tim Dugger said the position will be advertised both internally and externally. A free website called TeachIowa will also be helpful.
In light of the situation with former Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts, board member Joshua Grau stressed the importance of the vetting process.
“That’s a concern of mine for liability purposes,” he said. “How do you go about the vetting process?”
Dugger said members of the administrative team and business manager Karla Hanson work together on that. The superintendent noted it’s likely he will know some of the applicants.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time and know a lot of people in the area,” Dugger said.
According to Dugger, a survey of staff members and the community, along with school board goals and applicant experience, will guide who is interviewed for the high school principal position.
“It will be objective,” he stressed.
It’s likely that administration, school board members, a cross section of staff and some community members will help with the interview process.
In addition to Meyer’s resignation, the board also accepted the resignation of elementary paraprofessional Brenda Hoth at last week’s meeting. Transfers were approved for Jessica Peterson from head boys soccer coach to head girls soccer coach and Erik Peterson from assistant soccer coach to head boys soccer coach.
The board also heard a presentation from Mark Panther with Estes Construction based in the Quad Cities, who discussed the Iowa Construction Advocate Team. Offered through the Iowa Association of School Boards, the program can help smaller and mid-size districts assess their facilities, conduct master planning, prioritize projects, select architectural firms and even prepare for a potential bond vote. The board made no official decisions at the meeting, but gave the go ahead to start determining what facilities to assess.
