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Bettendorf schools hire second in command

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By Sheena Dooley | Monday, August 18, 2008 |

Davenport native Michael Raso, 40. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Days into the new school year, school board members in Bettendorf have wrapped up their search for replacements for the district’s top two leadership positions.

The board hired Harrison Cass Jr. two weeks ago to serve as the Bettendorf School District’s interim superintendent this school year. One of his first charges on the job was to find a replacement for assistant superintendent Carol Webb, who officially resigned from her position last Friday to take a teaching job at Western Illinois University.

Cass completed that task Monday night when school board members voted to hire Davenport native Michael Raso, 40, for the No. 2 position.

Raso is the assistant superintendent and curriculum director for the 1,800-student Washington Community School District in Iowa and has a decade of administrative experience. Prior to his current position, he served as Washington’s assistant high school principal and Anita High School’s principal and curriculum director in Anita, Iowa.

He starts his new job Sept. 2 and will be paid $87,724 in the first year of his contract. The district paid Webb just more than $115,000 last school year, according to district documents.

“The person I am recommending (for this position) we feel is the candidate that was the strongest in the most areas,” Cass said. “It was an extremely close decision to make, but we will have a good team member who has experience in that position.”

A committee of parents, teachers and administrators interviewed five candidates for the position two weeks ago before narrowing it to two finalists, one of whom is a current Bettendorf employee. The two went through another round of interviews last week before administrators made their final selection. Celeste Reuter, a spokeswoman for the district, declined to name the other finalist.

Cass said Raso stood out because of his experience, teamwork ability and communication skills. He will oversee the district’s curriculum and instruction, while also providing teachers with professional development and mentoring, among other things.

“I was excited when the position came open,” Raso said. “Bettendorf has a reputation for being a fine school (district) and community… I’m going to go into the job and learn about the district and talk with administrators, teachers and the community to get a feel for what’s going on and move the district forward.”

Sheena Dooley can be contacted at (563) 383-2363 or sdooley@qctimes.com.