The Lakeland Union High School Board of Education has selected Robert Smudde of Prairie du Chien as the new district administrator.
He was the district administrator for both the Prairie du Chien Area School District from 2017-19 and the Ithaca School District from 2014-17. He currently is the director of pupil services for the Dodgeville School District.
The vote Tuesday to bring him on board was unanimous with two board members absent. The district office reports Smudde has signed his two-year contract, which will begin July 1, 2022. His annual salary was set at $150,000.
Smudde is a licensed superintendent, director of pupil services and special education, director of instruction and school psychologist. He is a student advocate at the state level and serves as the treasurer of the Wisconsin Rural School Alliance. He currently resides in Prairie du Chien with his wife and three children.
The district had received nine applications for the district administrator position, which currently is held by Claire Martin. Her interim administrator contract ends June 30 of this year. She was brought in after Rob Way resigned from the post.
The board had interviewed two other candidates: Joshua (Josh) Ernst, the current superintendent at Clear Lake School District, and Benjamin Heninger, the current principal (6-12 grades) and district assessment coordinator at Gresham Junior and Senior High School.
