The Des Moines Independent Comm School District board on Tuesday released an independent investigator's report about the superintendent hiring process and said it will use the findings to strengthen vetting for its next hire. Chair of the board told the meeting the full report and FAQs are available online and described the document as roughly 13 to 16 pages.

The chair said the board's review had two phases: gathering facts about the hiring of Ian Roberts and reflecting on how board practices should change. "Any good leader must take lessons away from adversity," the chair said, adding the district is committed to improving background checks, reference checks, documentation review and verification prior to candidate consideration.

Board members characterized the past several weeks as "painful and disruptive" for the DMPS community and said the report will inform hiring and onboarding practices. The chair said the report is already being used to inform current hiring and onboarding work and promised the board will look critically at its process when the next superintendent search begins.

The board did not vote on a specific policy change at the Nov. 25 meeting; instead, members framed the report as a source of lessons and next steps. Materials referenced at the meeting included the investigator's written findings and an accompanying board statement and FAQ posted online.

The independent report was introduced in the meeting opening remarks and discussed before the public forum. The board said it will incorporate the report's recommendations into future vetting procedures and onboarding work but provided no timeline for formal policy changes.

The most recent formal board actions at the meeting included routine approvals and organizational business; board members said they will return to procedural and hiring reforms in upcoming meetings.