May 06, 2026
Local NewsState & NationalPublic Notices

New O-M superintendent, principal hits the ground running

By CALEB NELSON

New Orient-Macksburg superintendent and secondary principal Dr. Bill Szakacs said he's excited to develop relationships with all those in the school community as he and the district gear up for school beginning Aug. 24. (Photo by)

ORIENT — Many people would say this is a pivotal time for the education world as schools are looking to bring kids back into classrooms in late August after the coronavirus pandemic halted in classroom learning in mid-March.

Diving head first into an already-established return to learn plan for Orient-Macksburg has been the school district’s new superintendent and seventh through 12th grade principal Dr. Bill Szakacs.

Szakacs began July 1 and was most recently the principal at South Union Elementary School in Des Moines. The Kalamazoo, Michigan native was a superintendent for seven years in Wisconsin before he served as associate superintendent for a time in the Des Moines Public Schools.

“O-M was attractive to me because it’s a small community but it’s close to my home in Urbandale,” Szakacs said. “I was attracted to the quality of the school system and thought it’d be a really great opportunity to be a superintendent again in the state of Iowa.”

While in Wisconsin, Szakacs developed as a leader of smaller school districts, he explained. He led one school district that was approximately 4,500 students in size and another with 450 students. In comparison, Orient-Macksburg has 172.

Along with small class sizes, the fact that Orient-Macksburg had a combined position was very appealing to Szacakas.

“I think as superintendent it’s very important to know your kids as best as possible,” Szakacs said. “That was very appealing to me.”

Szakacs said his primary goals are building relationships with all those in the O-M school community, building a working relationship with the school board and joining them in strategic planning to meet district goals over time.

“I’ve been in public education for 30 years, 26 as an administrator and four as a teacher, so the majority of my career has been in school administration,” Szakacs said. “I thoroughly love it. I don’t perceive it to be a job. It really is the work I love doing and I want to continue doing for a long time.”