By Roz Weis,
Brian Petersburg, at left, is pictured at his final school board meeting on Nov. 11. (Photo by Roz Weis)
Brian Petersburg of Decorah has announced his resignation from the Decorah School Board. The revelation came at Monday night’s monthly school board meeting.
Petersburg began serving on the board 17 years ago when his children were young students in the district. He and his wife Kathy have two daughters — Megan, a 2007 graduate at Decorah High School, and Alyssa, a 2009 graduate.
He said he valued his experience on the board, working with three school superintendents and navigating through some difficult times during the COVID pandemic.
“It’s been a great 17 years,” he said. “I’m happy to have been a part of it.”
Petersburg noted some highlights during his tenure, including working through the remodeling of the high school, the purchase of the district’s new transportation facility, the purchase of land from the city of Decorah for expansion near John Cline Elementary, and the passage of the recent $38 million bond referendum for the new elementary school.
He expressed pride in the district’s accomplishments over the years — including Decorah High School being named a Blue Ribbon School twice by the U.S. Department of Education — students’ academic achievements as well as their many extra-curricular successes in athletics and the arts.
Decorah School Board President Cindy Goodner applauded Petersburg’s service, thanking him for being what she called a positive leader in the community.
“The role of being a school board member is more than a few meetings a month,” she said. “It’s living a lifestyle of responsibility, and you have carried that with such dignity, and I appreciate the seriousness that you have taken with your role.”
Vacancy to be filled
Decorah School Superintendent Tim Cronin said the first step in filling Petersburg’s seat on the board will be publishing notice of the board’s intention to fill the vacancy by appointment. That notice is expected to appear in today’s Decorah Leader.
Board members expressed a desire to expedite the appointment in order to potentially allow the new board member to attend the Iowa Association of School Board annual meeting in Des Moines later this month.
Petersburg’s term expires in 2027, but the new appointee must appear on the ballot in November of 2025 to retain a seat on the board.
Cronin summarized the board’s appointment process moving forward.
“The board is looking at candidates who ran in the last election, who got the most votes, who participated in district board activities and other things,” he said.
During the meeting, board members indicated they might consider Brad Darling of rural Decorah for the appointment. Darling was a candidate in the last school board election and received the second-most votes on the ballot.
Following publication of the notice of school board vacancy, the public will also have the option to file a petition calling for the vacancy be filled by a special election. Voters have up to 14 days after the published notice to gather and submit signatures equal to at least 30 percent of the number of voters who participated in the most recent regular school board election – Winneshiek County Auditor Ben Steines said that number would equate to 670 signatures in this instance.
A special meeting has been tentatively scheduled for noon on Monday, Nov. 18, for board members to consider filling the vacancy.
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