The Perry School Board approved Wednesday evening the hiring of 1998 PHS graduate and current PHS Interim Principal Brad Snowgren as the successor to former PHS Principal Dan Marburger, who was slain in January in a shooting at the school.
In the special meeting, the board unanimously approved Snowgren’s hiring on the recommendation of PCSD Superintendent Clark Wicks. Perry School Board member Eddie Diaz was absent from the proceedings.
Before the board’s vote, Hannah Pierce, daughter of Marburger, addressed the board and spoke about the leadership qualities needed in a successor to her father as Perry High School principal.
Snowgren earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Iowa State University in 2004 and a master’s degree in educational administration from Viterbo University in 2015. He taught at Fairfield High School from 2004 to 2017 and also helped coach baseball, basketball, football and wrestling for the Trojans.
Snowgren appeared to be emotional after the meeting and declined to comment. In a statement released by the school district, the new principal said, “I am deeply honored and humbled to lead Perry High School as the high school principal. As principal, I look forward to guiding our students towards success in both academics and character development.”
Perry School Board President Linda Andorf said the hiring process was honored in the painful aftermath of Marburger’s murder Jan. 4.
“As a board, we knew that when it came to the interview process, the hiring process, this was going to be a difficult decision,” Andorf said. “I want to thank the interviewing and administrative teams for assuring that the process for the hiring of the position has been followed.”
In other business, the school board approved Perry Elementary School Associate Principal Morgan Rinker as the new pre-school director for the school. Chris Aggen was named Perry Elementary School associate principal and co-director of learning supports and Adam Jessen was named the Perry Middle School associate principal and co-director of learning supports
At its regular meeting on Monday, the school board began erecting the legal structure needed to distribute the funds — about $150,000 — donated to the victims of the January shootings at Perry High School.
The donations are currently held in custodial accounts at the Raccoon Valley Bank in Perry. The custodial fund administrator would set the rules for doling out the funds to “their rightful owners,” according to the resolution approved by the school board Monday night.
The full text of the resolution regarding the custodial fund creation and administration follows:
“On January 4, 2024, an active shooter opened fire at the Perry Community School District (the “District”). In response to this tragic event, individuals and businesses donated money for the victims of the school shooting. The District desires to set up a custodial fund to properly maintain these funds in accordance with Iowa law.
“A custodial fund is a school district discretionary fund, established pursuant to the Iowa Administrative Code r. 281-98.01, that the District has ministerial authority to maintain for the benefit of individuals or organizations while not having financial involvement in raising the funds or controlling the disbursement of those funds. The District shall not be a beneficiary of the custodial fund and these funds are legally protected from the District’s creditors.
“Disbursements will involve the remittance of assets to their rightful owners or to a third party on behalf of the rightful owners. A Fund Administrator will be appointed by the District’s School Board to develop and implement criteria for disbursement of these funds. The Fund Administrator shall not be an officer or employee of the District. The criteria for disbursements will be documented by the Fund Administrator.
“A request for disbursement by the Fund Administrator shall be given in writing to the Business Manager of the District. Disbursements do not require prior approval by any school district employee or the District’s School Board, nor does the disbursement require the consent or signature of the presiding officer of the District’s School Board or the Business Manager.
“The District does not accept or take responsibility for the events on January 4, 2024, leading to the establishment of the custodial fund or for decisions regarding disbursement of the funds. The District is acting as a neutral third party and delegates all questions or concerns surrounding the disbursements of funds to the Fund Administrator.”
