Clear Creek Amana school administrator named next superintendent in Mount Vernon

Matthew Leeman, a leader in the Clear Creek Amana Community School District, has been named the next superintendent of the Mount Vernon Community School District.

Leeman, 42, currently is the Clear Creek Amana schools’ associate superintendent and 6-12th grade curriculum director. He has experience serving as a building administrator across grades K-12 in various roles at Clear Creek Amana and other Iowa districts.

“Year one will be a year of listening, getting to know the staff and figuring out if there are areas to improve and not making assumptions,” Leeman said. “Mount Vernon has a very strong reputation in our area. It’s a very great place to be.”

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Even so, Leeman said it will be “bittersweet” to leave the Clear Creek Amana district, where he has been for almost a decade.

Greg Batenhorst, current superintendent in Mount Vernon who is retiring this summer, said Leeman is a “team player, personable and easy to work with.”

“People who had him as a principal said he was a strong supporter of kids and students,” Batenhorst said.

Leeman will begin his role leading the Mount Vernon Community School District July 1. A contract with his salary and other benefits hasn’t been finalized yet.

The Mount Vernon school board worked with Ray and Associates Inc. — an educational leadership search firm — to conduct the search for superintendent. Leeman interviewed with groups including students, teachers, support staff and administrators in the Mount Vernon district. Community forums also were held for community members to meet Leeman and offer feedback.

Batenhorst said that, in interviews, it was clear Leeman “did his homework on Mount Vernon and knew the strengths and the challenges moving forward.”

Leeman was one of three finalists to be considered for superintendent and, “he rose to the top across all stakeholder groups,” Batenhorst said.

Leeman began his career in education 20 years ago as a kindergarten teacher at Postville Community School District in Postville.

His current responsibilities include day-to-day operations, supervision of administrators and directors across seven school campuses, oversight of curricular materials and active involvement in hiring staff and districtwide budget development.

Most recently, Leeman helped with the passage of a $65 million general obligation bond, reconsideration of district boundaries and the planning for a new elementary school building and other upcoming facility needs in the Clear Creek Amana School District.

He and his wife, Lori, and their sons, Myles and Zander, live Tiffin. The family plans to move to Mount Vernon pending buying a new house, Leeman said. Outside of the office, Leeman enjoys fishing, hunting, being outdoors and spending time with family and friends.

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Batenhorst is ending his contract with the district a year early, after almost 40 years in education.

Under Batenhorst’s leadership, the district began a 20-year vision in 2017. Residents approved a $12.8 million general obligation bond referendum to build a new performing arts center — which opened in spring 2020 — add a two-classroom addition and secure entry to the middle school and two-classroom addition to Washington Elementary School.

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