Coppess Named Interim Urbandale High School Principal

Urbandale High School associate principal Brian Coppess will serve as interim principal of the school for the upcoming school year, Superintendent Doug Stilwell announced today.

The move fills the void created by the departure of Urbandale High School Principal Richard Hutchinson, who is leaving the post he has held for the last 11 years because of health reasons, the Des Moines Register reported.

Hutchinson, 54, will receive a compensation package that includes $79,000 and insurance for nearly a full year, the newspaper said.

In his letter of resignation, he reportedly said that he is at a "crossroads," that he has health issues he needs to address, and that both he and his wife have ailing parents who need their attention.

"With these difficult personnel challenges and with the challenge and importance of being an effective high school administrator, I don’t believe I can do both at the level they deserve,” Hutchinson wrote in the letter provided to the Register.

Hutchinson is the fourth Urbandale principal in 14 months to leave a position with the district, the Register says:

• Patty Schlotterbeck, 56, resigned in May 2012 as Karen Acres Elementary principal. She cited disagreements with Stilwell. At the time, parents spoke out to the school board with concerns.

• Dan Meyer, 56, who had been Urbandale Middle School principal, retired at the end of the 2012-13 school year after 16 years in the job.

• Jill Karch, 48, this spring resigned as Valerius Elementary School principal so she could spend more time with her family.

Stilwell said he doesn’t know the exact reasons why each of the four administrators left the district beyond what was written in their letters of resignation.