At its meeting on Tuesday night, the Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors selected ICCSD Assistant Superintendent Matt Degner to serve as interim superintendent while the district searches for a replacement for Stephen Murley.
Murley announced in October he wouldn’t seek to extend his contract with ICCSD, which expires in June. At the time, the superintendent said in a message to district staff and families, “this is a good time to consider a transition both professionally and personally,” but didn’t indicate what his plans for the future were. In March, the Green Bay Area Public School District in Wisconsin announced it was hiring Murley as its new superintendent.
Degner joined ICCSD in 2013 as principal of South East Junior High School. After two years in that position, he was appointed director of secondary schools for the district, before later moving to his current position as assistant superintendent. Prior to joining the district, Degner was a teacher and principal in Williamsburg, Iowa, for eight years, and an associate high school principal in Bettendorf for two years.
“I think we have a lot of great things moving forward here, and I’m looking forward to continuing the momentum on a lot of those pieces,” Degner said during Tuesday night’s board meeting which was conducted via Zoom. “Obviously, the transition is hopefully at some point away from this pandemic situation.”
Degner is married to Dr. Kate Degner, an assistant professor of Mathematics Education at St. Ambrose University. The Degners have three children. Two attend Lucas Elementary school, and the youngest is in preschool.
