Berlau named superintendent of Carroll CSD

Dr. Casey Berlau, shared superintendent of the Nodaway Valley and CAM Community School Districts, confirmed to the Adair County Free Press and Fontanelle Observer over the weekend that he’s verbally accepted a new position as superintendent of the Carroll Community School District.

Berlau was offered the position late last week and verbally accepted it Friday. He arrived at NV in 2009, and for the first five years here, he only served NV. For the last five years, he has been a shared superintendent with CAM.

“Obviously, I’m excited. It’s exciting and scary and there’s a lot of work left to do here. I’ve got a lot of things to think about right now, but I think it’s a good opportunity for me,” Berlau said. “This is my 10th year here, so this isn’t an easy decision. I have friendships, relationships, and all those sorts of things. That’s the part that makes it difficult when I think about leaving.”

Berlau, who has a Bachelor’s Degree from Iowa State in Political Science and Secondary Education; and Master’s, Specialist Degree and Doctorate Degree all from Drake University, has spent 21 years thus far in education. He began his career as a teacher and high school basketball coach at Seymour, then went to Elk Horn-Kimballton for a stint as high school principal then was superintendent and high school principal.

Berlau said in an interview Monday that there have been many successes he’s witnessed at Nodaway Valley. There have also been challenging times.

The challenging times would include when he had to lead the district through a time when members of the high school wrestling team were arrested on sexual abuse charges. Other challenges have included the retirement of some “good, veteran” staff members, the ups and downs of budgeting, and so on.

Though Berlau was not a part of the decision to close the Bridgewater elementary building, he was part of leading NV through the restructuring process as his first year here was when that building closed. Another success Berlau will remember was when the district pursued a bond issue and a new elementary school was built in Greenfield. School climate at NV has also been a large emphasis.

In the community, Berlau has also been a leader, serving on the Greater Greenfield Foundation Board, the Economic Development Board and a committee to build the Purdy Sports Complex. He also has served on the leadership team of Cornerstone Fellowship Church.

According to a report by Carroll Broadcasting, Carroll has been without a full-time superintendent since Feb. 8, when Dr. Kevin Lein handed in his resignation following a series of closed superintendent evaluations. Lein was with the district for only seven months.

Marty Fonley, who is from Algona and has been the interim superintendent for Carroll; Alan Miller, who is currently Murray’s superintendent; and Berlau were the finalists interviewed for the job Thursday by Carroll’s selection team, according to the Carroll Daily Times Herald.

“For me, any time I’ve gone into a new position I’ve had some things in mind, but my first order of business is to try and get to know what’s going on there,” Berlau said. “As a leader, if you go in thinking you’re going to do x, y and z, they may not be in a position to need those things or want those things. I think it’s a lot about listening and learning. I think that’s the first order of business.”

Berlau said Carroll’s district, which enrolls roughly 1,700 students, has a high school, middle school and two elementary buildings, all in Carroll. The district does have a partial-day sharing agreement with Ar-We-Va, a very small school district just to their west.

“There’s two school districts in one community because you have Carroll Public and Carroll Kuemper, so you don’t find that elsewhere other than there and Pella, pretty much, outside of your [metro areas],” Berlau said. “I think it’s not unlike here where we try to find ways to partner with other schools and work together. I get the feeling that’s what goes on there. Nice community, a very healthy community. It’s very rural, but then there’s this town of 10,000 with a lot of stuff going on.”

Berlau’s wife, Jodi, is currently a third grade teacher at NV. Their children are Madi, who is a senior at NV; Bryce, who is a eighth-grader; and Maci, who is a third-grader.

Berlau stated that special meetings are likely soon for both NV and CAM as both boards will have to accept his resignation and decide on a path forward. As of Monday, Berlau had not yet seen or signed a contract with Carroll, but he expected for that process to happen early this week.