Community members ask Iowa City school board not to accept principal's resignation

- Parents and students may want the Iowa City school board to publicly explain why City High Principal Mark Hanson is resigning, but Hanson does not.

The school board went into closed session at Hanson's request Tuesday night and decided to accept his resignation, effective June 30.

“In accordance with board policy, and in light of the fact that we have a voluntary resignation and legal separation agreement with Mr. Hanson, I move to accept Mr. Hanson's request for resignation,” Board Member Toni Cilek said.

Sitting in front of an audience that held up signs saying “Support Mark Hanson” in City High red and white, the school board accepted the principal's resignation by a 7-0 vote.

“It makes it easy next election,” shouted Phil Hemingway, whose daughter is a sophomore at City High.

Hemingway, who runs an auto and truck repair business, had collected 683 signatures asking the board to reject Hanson's resignation. About 70 people showed up to express support for the outgoing principal and sat for nearly an hour while the board deliberated behind closed doors. During public comment time, 18 students and parents said City High would not be the same without Hanson, and asked the board not to accept his resignation.

It's not clear Hanson had the same wish. He sent an e-mail Feb. 14 to his staff saying he would not stay on as principal once his one-year contract is fulfilled at the end of June. He has declined to comment, and no public reason has been given for his exit.

The Iowa City Press-Citizen reported in September that Hanson's mother said her son was in trouble for writing a newspaper column calling for boundary changes - something that is now under way - though he did not tell her why he was leaving.

Associate Superintendent Jim Behle told the newspaper Hanson's mother was mistaken, saying district policy prohibits punishment of staff members for “expressing an ethical dissent.”

Even so, Hanson's mother's comments led several parents and students Tuesday to accuse the school board of snuffing him out for speaking his mind. Glenn Storey, a classics professor at the University of Iowa whose daughter is a sophomore at City High, asked the school board to simply dispel that rumor.

“We are asking you to dispel the appearance of this that seems so problematic. It has been a year of doubt,” said Glenn Storey, a classics professor at the University of Iowa whose daughter is a sophomore at City High. “We, the parents of students City High, want Mark Hanson to be our children's principal in this year and in years to come.”

Hanson, a Waterloo native, replaced former City High Principal Trudy Day in 2001. He came to Iowa City after four years as principal at Burlington High School.

With Superintendent Lane Plugge also leaving his post, the school board now must fill two high profile positions in the fifth largest district in the state, one that is considering plans for redistricting and a new high school.