By Heather Graves
Correspondent
GREEN BAY – The Green Bay Area Public School District has its man.
The school board announced it selected Stephen Murley to be the district’s new superintendent.
“The board was fortunate to have two very qualified individuals from which to choose,” said Trustee Eric Vanden Heuvel, who led the superintendent search. “The board very much appreciates all of the feedback we received from staff, parents and community members. The decision to offer the position of superintendent to Stephen Murley was due to his breadth of experience serving as a superintendent, successfully leading the Iowa City Community School District through significant challenges, which are very similar to the work currently underway in the Green Bay Area Public School District.”
The selection is the result of a national search conducted with the assistance of search firm Hazard, Young and Attea Associates out of Illinois, which produced dozens of applicants from diverse geographic and professional backgrounds.
Murley brings with him more than a decade of administration experience, currently serving as the Superintendent of Schools for the Iowa City Community School District, in Iowa, where he’s held the position since 2010.
Prior to that, 2005-2010, he served as the Superintendent of Schools for the Wausau School District.
Murley is a native of Oshkosh, and attended both the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
It was his connection to the Wisconsin that he said made him the right candidate for the district’s top job.
Vanden Heuvel said Murley’s experience aligned very closely with the leadership profile, which was created through listening sessions with district staff, parents and community members.
The board met behind closed doors for several hours Monday, Feb. 24 to deliberate.
Without coming to a decision they met again in closed session on Thursday, Feb. 27, where they made the decision to hire Murley.
Murley beat out finalist Sonia Stewart, executive officer of organizational development for the Metro Nashville Public Schools in Tennessee, for the position.
Murley will replace Superintendent Michelle Langenfeld, who announced last year she’ll retire at the end of the 2019-20 school year.
Murley will start July 1.
The school board will vote on Murley’s contract during a special board meeting at 6 p.m. tonight.
Trustee Rhonda Sitnikau is expected to read a statement in open session prior to the vote.
The Press Times will have the outcome of that vote, along with reaction from board members following tonight’s meeting.