News : School board hires new VSHS principal, teachers

Vinton-Shellburg School Board member Tim Bird said he was listening to a discussion this week on WMT-Radio about the controversy over the previous high school principal when callers kept praising the current principal and saying how lucky Vinton-Shellsburg was to have him.

School Board member Todd Wiley said his contacts in that area said the same thing.

During a special meeting Friday morning, the school board made it official, unanimously approving the hiring of Matt Kingsbury to replace Kirk Johnson as high school principal.

Kingsbury will be paid $92,000 per year, with a stipend for health care similar to that offered other district administrators and also a $1,500 stipend for moving to the district.

"He is excited to be coming to the district, and plans to come to look for houses," said Superintendent Mary Jo Hainstock.

Kingsbury taught and coached at Wapello before serving for five years as the high school principal at Columbus Junction. He was hired at Durant a year ago, after the previous principal was fired. But a district judge ordered the district to reinstate her in March. Kingsbury resigned two days after that ruling to take the V-S job.

New teachers at VSHS

The board also approved the hiring of two new teachers who recently graduated from college.

Nathaniel Lahr, a Manchester native and Wartburg graduate, will teach math.

Amanda Repp, an Iowa State graduate, will teach family and consumer science.

Hainstock said that Mr. Johnson highly recommended both Lahr and Repp. Johnson told Hainstock that Repp has "amazing ideas," including programs that offer "real world" experience in preparing and selling food to area families. Repp also would like to begin a FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America Program at VSHS.