The West Central and Starmont school districts have found a new leader in current Edgewood-Colesburg Superintendent Rob Busch.

The local districts on Friday the hiring of Busch as their next shared superintendent.

“I am honored and excited to serve as the next shared superintendent of Starmont and West Central!” Busch said in a news release from the districts. “Through my professional experience, I have become well-acquainted with the educational landscape of eastern Iowa, and I look forward to the opportunity to serve both districts.”

He will officially begin his new job on July 1. He is succeeding Gary Benda, who was hired as the shared superintendent in 2021.

Busch has 22 years of administrative experience and has been the superintendent of Edgewood-Colesburg Community School District since 2013. He previous served the Centerville and Moulton-Udell Community School Districts as the shared curriculum director, business manager and athletic director.

He began his teaching career in junior and senior high industrial technology at Centerville in 1990.

According to a biography on the Edgewood-Colesburg website, Busch graduated from Seymour (Iowa) high school in 1986 and earned a bachelor’s degree in technology education at the University of Norther Iowa. He completed his master’s degree at Drake University in secondary administration in 1998 and specialist degree in educational leadership in 2003.

The West Central and Starmont Boards of Education worked with Grundmeyer Leader Service to conduct the superintendent search. Busch interviewed with the boards and stakeholder interview groups that included students, parents, teachers and community members on Feb. 7.

Edgewood-Colesburg has a 2022-23 certified enrollment of 401. West Central’s is 268.2, Starmont’s is 584.6