Three finalists named for Iowa City superintendent

Three superintendents from neighboring states are finalists for the same position in the Iowa City school district.

The school board met in closed session for more than two hours Friday morning and selected the finalists from a group of six candidates who were interviewed this week.

The three finalists are:

• Mark Bezek, superintendent of the 13,000-student Elk River Area school district in Minnesota

• Brad Meeks, superintendent of the 6,400-student Farmington Area school district in Minnesota

• Stephen Murley, superintendent of the 8,500-student Wausau school district in Wisconsin.

Each will spend a day in the district next week - Bezek on Tuesday, Murley on Wednesday and Meeks on Thursday - and will tour the district, meet with people and attend a public forum at 6:15 p.m. The board will interview each candidate in open session starting at 7 p.m.

The person hired will replace Lane Plugge, the district's superintendent since 1999. He is leaving at the end of the school year for a job in western Iowa.

The school district includes the towns of Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty, University Heights and Hills.