ACSD Board hires new high school principal

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Education met in a brief special session Monday morning, May 18 for the purpose of approving the hiring of a new principal for Waukon High School following the recent resignation of current principal Dan Diercks, who is assuming the role of Superintendent for the Oelwein Community School District. The Board had interviewed three candidates for the high school principal position Friday, May 15, including current Waukon High School Assistant Principal/Activities Director Jennifer Garin (who is scheduled to be Principal/Activities Director at Waukon Junior High for the next school year), Waukon native Colin Wikan and Dr. Mike Hardy of Maryville, MO.
The Board approved the hiring of Dr. Hardy at Monday's meeting at a salary of $105,000 per year. ACSD Board of Education President Al Rissman said, “We had a lot of good applicants. Dr. Hardy will be a great asset to the school and community.”
Hardy brings with him to the position an extensive list of educational and administrative training and experience, including serving as Principal/Athletic Director at Winfield-Mt. Union from 1987-1996 and a pair of multi-year tenures as School Superintendent at Orient-Macksburg (1998-2002) and Rockwell-Swaledale (2002-2005) school districts in Iowa. Since then he has held a variety of positions ranging from professor to Dean of Students at the collegiate level and is currently serving as an Adjunct Professor at Ottawa University in Ottawa, KS.
"Dr. Hardy brings a vast amount of experience and knowledge as an administrator to the high school principal position," said ACSD Superintendent Dave Herold. "His work with technology and its impact on student learning will be a welcome addition to our 1:1 program. Dr. Hardy also has experience in career and technical education, online learning and college readiness preparation.”