Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Superintendent Search topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Corning and Villisca boards hold multiple closed sessions under Iowa law; agree to interview two superintendent finalists
Summary
At a special joint meeting on April 14, 2026, the Corning Community School District and Villisca boards repeatedly entered closed session under Iowa Code §21.5(1)(i) to evaluate the professional competency of an individual at that person’s request; after returning to open session, the boards agreed to proceed with two finalists for superintendent interviews.
The Corning Community School District Board of Education, joined by the Villisca board, met in a special session on April 14, 2026, and held a series of closed sessions under Iowa Code Section 21.5(1)(i) to evaluate the professional competency of an individual who had requested a closed hearing. President Staci Venteicher called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.; five Corning directors and five Villisca board members were present, along with the boards' secretaries and consultant Bob Olson of EDWise.
Director Stephanie Hodapp moved and Director Trent Roberts seconded approval of the meeting agenda; the motion carried unanimously. Hodapp then moved, and Roberts seconded, a motion “to enter closed session per Iowa Code Section 21.5(1)(i) to evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance, or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individual’s reputation and that individual requests a closed session.” The board recorded Yes votes from Directors Adam Boswell, Stephanie Hodapp, Trent Roberts, Ryan Shuey and President Staci Venteicher and entered closed session at 6:02 p.m.; the board returned to open session at 6:52 p.m.
The same motion and roll-call vote were repeated three additional times: the board entered closed session at 6:54 p.m. (returned 7:27 p.m.), at 7:39 p.m. (returned 8:17 p.m.), and at 8:18 p.m. (returned 9:05 p.m.). Each of those entries into closed session was moved by Hodapp, seconded by Roberts, and recorded as having the five Corning directors voting Yes by roll call. The meeting minutes record the statutory citation for each closed session as Iowa Code Section 21.5(1)(i).
After the final return to open session, the minutes state, “The consensus of the boards was to proceed with two finalists for interviews for the district superintendent.” There was no public vote recorded to hire or appoint a superintendent during the meeting. Director Hodapp moved to adjourn, Roberts seconded, and the meeting adjourned at 9:06 p.m.
The meeting record names the present Corning directors as Adam Boswell, Stephanie Hodapp, Trent Roberts, Ryan Shuey and Staci Venteicher; Villisca board members present were Taylor Gray, Richard Mullen, Jason Poston, Leland Shipley and Tom Williams. Board Secretaries Lyddon and Forsythe and consultant Bob Olson of EDWise are also listed in the minutes. The meeting text cites Iowa Code Section 21.5(1)(i) as the authority for the repeated closed sessions to evaluate an individual's professional competency.
