The Harlan Community School District’s Board of Education, Monday, approved the hiring of a new superintendent secretary and board secretary to replace Terry Cox, who announced her retirement last week. The board agreed Kelli Klaassen from the Shelby County Campus of Iowa Western Community College was the best qualified candidate for the position.

Superintendent Justin Wagner says was a big decision for the district. He said “This was a huge hire for us in my opinion. Trying to replace Terry Cox will be difficult as she touches a lot of things and does a super job. We went through the process and talked with Kelli. Right now, she runs IWCC in Harlan, has grown the program and works well with people. She really fits the bill well. We are really excited to get someone in the community on board.”

Klaassen has been with Iowa Western Community College for more than six-years, with the last three in Harlan. She will begin her journey with the Harlan Community School District on June 3^rd. The Board also approved the hiring of Jenna Hucka, former Harlan Community graduate, for primary special education teacher,  and Chris Brown for technical support. In other business, the Harlan Community School Board approved a 4.29 percent wage/benefit increase for the superintendent, administrators and non-certified employees. The increase was the same as the increase to teacher salaries.

And the Board approved a 28-E agreement with the City of Harlan, which Wagner said was for Vision Iowa dollars, destined for Merrill Field.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)