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The Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Board of Education chose Joseph Nelson as its next superintendent in February 2020.
The board interviewed three finalists and met in closed session on Wednesday, Feb. 26, to review the interviews. According to a district press release, feedback from the interview groups pointed clearly to Nelson as the best fit. He was offered the job and accepted verbally.
Nelson was athletic director for the Johnston Community School District at the time, one of the larger districts in the Des Moines suburbs. Moving from a big suburban district to a rural one is a common path for Iowa superintendents.
Within weeks of his hiring, schools across the state were closed by the pandemic, and Nelson started his tenure facing problems no candidate had been asked about in the interviews.
Jill Ostrander writes for Clarion News Online.