TH:You grew up in the Worthington area. I'm sure you got a pretty good exposure to the agricultural aspect of things.
BG:You bet. My brother is still on the farm. My dad lives on the farm but is retired from the farm. I still get out there a lot.

TH:I should back up a little and ask: How many schools are there in the district?
BG:I always have to go town by town. I should know that number, but I don't. Bernard has a K-6 building. Cascade a K-6 building and a 7-12 building. Dyersville has a K-1. Farley complex has a K-8. Epworth as the pre-K early childhood center. It has K-4 and it has the 9-12. Then we have an alternative high school at NICC in Peosta.

TH:And then two high schools.
BG:Oh, I forgot the high schools, didn't I? The 9-12 at Epworth and the 7-12 at Cascade.

TH:By my count, that sounds like 11.
BG:About 11, probably, yeah, something like that. And they're all different configurations.

TH:How about the pre-school, K-1 ...
BG:The pre-school at Epworth is the Early Childhood Center and that's for at-risk pre-school kids, ages 3 and 4. And then the special ed pre-school. Now that will go into the new building when we get that finished. The K- 1 in Dyersville has been there as long as I can remember. That's probably since the district started I would assume.

TH:When you took on this job, when you were selected by the board, did you get any advice from your predecessor (Harold Knutsen)?
BG:Sure. I mean, my office was right next door. It was very easy for me to ask. He really kept me informed on what was going on. My business manager (Dave Wegmann) kept me informed. But I wasn't new to the district, so I knew, I know every town. I'm related to a lot of people in this area.

TH:So there wasn't any sage advice as Harold headed out the door?
BG:No, I don't think so. I still see him every once in awhile.

TH:He smiles not to have all those headaches.
BG:No, he's a little more relaxed. I do call him, talk to him. As I do other superintendents that are still working in the area.

TH:Related to early childhood education, we talked earlier about reading and how important it is to start early. A parallel case is made often for foreign language, that the best time to learn a foreign language is when they're young. But American schools tend not to do it that way. How early can a student in Western Dubuque start a foreign language?
BG:Foreign language we have at the high school, at 9th grade. You know, I was just thinking about it this morning, on my way to work: You know, some year we've really got to look at foreign language in the elementary.

TH:What foreign languages are offered?
BG:We offer Spanish at both high schools.

TH:I've read that there is concern about the availability of superintendents and top administrators. Is that something that you are seeing and hearing in Iowa through your associations?
BG:I think it could be. I don't know if there's a real huge problem right now. I think within the next couple of years there will be a lot of superintendents retiring. I think there will always be people there, but to find the person that fits in the district. Because each district is a little bit different. That's the key for board members, to find somebody that really fits the district and can learn the district. This is a district that because of the size of it and because of the culture of this district, someone new coming in would take them awhile to learn, even where the towns are. So I think that's an advantage that I had, growing up here.

TH:Sure. I'm sure it would take quite awhile for a district this big. Any district would be ...
BG:Yeah. My leaving to go the AEA (Area Education Agency) and Maquoketa Valley was a great learning experience for me. I got information from those places that I would have never had if I would have stayed here all of those years. Any move I've made has been pretty good.

TH:I'll ask this in context of me personally. I went to journalism school and learned how to write stories and lay out pages and all that stuff ...
BG:Which I know nothing about.

TH: Then I got into management, and now I don't write many stories and don't lay out many pages. And sometimes, I sort of miss that. Do you miss that classroom setting?
BG:Sure. And that's when I go down and I might read to a group of kids. I may speak to a class of high school kids. I get out. I really try to get out into the classrooms as much as possible. Try to make that connection. In management, I was talking about having fun and all of that. Sometimes you just have to not have that fun, too. You have to be the boss sometimes.

TH:Yeah, my staff knows about that, too.
BG:You do, you have to. Not everybody will agree with my decisions and that's OK. I know that.

TH:You won't necessarily be thanked for it, either.
BG:That's right. But again, I'm going back to my core beliefs. I've got to look out for what's best for the kids.