‘Not afraid to get hands dirty’

RANDOLPH - Superintendent Jeff Hoesing has spent the last decade at Randolph Public Schools being its “servant leader.”

“He’s always doing what the district needs, whether that be driving a bus, fixing drinking fountains, or welding tables,” said Elementary Principal Denton Beacom. “He is always one to help out wherever help is needed. I have worked with several administrators but have never seen one get their hands dirty like Mr. Hoesing.”

Board members Paul Schmit, Cody Backer and Jim Scott said Hoesing proved he isn’t above janitorial work and recall when a student got sick during a basketball game and Hoesing cleaned it up himself.

“There’s nothing that he would ask somebody to do that he wouldn’t do himself which I think qualifies as a pretty good leader,” Backer said.

With Hoesing retiring at the end of the month, board members and administrators are looking back at the time they spent working with him and counting themselves, the school and the Randolph community as fortunate.

Decisions can be difficult when trying to balance needs of students, parents and taxpayers, said board member Lisa Linville but she always knew where Hoesing stood.

“He might not always tell you what you want to hear, but he is going to challenge you to really think about things and make you a better leader,” Beacom agreed.

Hoesing’s list of accomplishments is long and his impact profound during his last decade as superintendent of Randolph Public Schools, said High School Principal Brandi Bartels.

For starters, he was integral in making the Cardinal Kids preschool and daycare program a reality.

“There were a lot of emotions on both sides,” Linville said. “I was a new board member (at the time) and I appreciated his ability to lead a community meeting in which people were heard without tempers flaring. With his leadership and some truly creative thinking by some of our patrons, we have a facility that is a model and the envy of many districts in our state.”

Always humble, Hoesing never took much credit for all of his efforts, Backer said. Instead he lifted others up to receive the accolades of Cardinal Kids Learning Center’s success.

Hoesing also fostered school-based businesses into successful ventures, Bartels said.

“Those continue to grow in our building and are great for our students,” Bartels said. “Mr. Hoesing has always been behind the scenes offering financial support to get those started and ideas for new opportunities.”

Most importantly, Hoesing leaves Randolph Public Schools as one of the most financially sound districts in the state, Bartels said.

“He has kept the levy relatively low while still building a healthy cash reserve to handle fluctuations in state and federal law,” she said.

He’s the best there is at explaining and dealing with the budget process, many board members said.

“He not only understands this information inside and out but he can present it in a way that most people can understand and was always willing to answer any questions,” said Sandy Owens, the board’s secretary/ treasurer. “We even started to tease him that budget time was his favorite time of the year as he always seemed so excited to share the numbers with us.”

Hoesing also stayed on top of managing Randolph’s facilities and equipment with many school improvement projects over the years including a new roof and boiler system at the high school, new air conditioning at the elementary, renovations for Cardinal Kids Learning Center, and the list goes on.

Several new buses were also acquired thanks to grants to cover the purchase, Owens said. And the building fund also has good start if the district decides to replace the aging Voc Ag building, she said.

Board members and administrators said they personally have benefitted from working alongside Hoesing.

“He has helped me take my time in making decisions, slow down and sleep on it and pray on it. Some things will fix themselves by not rushing into decisions,” Schmit said.

Bartels said Hoesing empowers those around him.

“He really believes in hiring good people and fostering leadership and initiative in them,” she said.

“When you have a hard decision to make, he is a great one to go to to help talk things though. He has a lot of experience and he will always give you a straight answer. However, he always allows you to make the decision on your own. He understands that people have to have ownership of their decisions.”

Those same principles were applied with the board, Owens said.

“I always felt that my opinion mattered to Mr. Hoesing and he did a good job of encouraging every board member to share their thoughts at board meetings or individually with him. He has helped me develop confidence in my school board related duties and decisions, which of course makes me a better board member,” Owens said.

Hoesing always kept the board informed so members wouldn’t be confronted by a patron and not know what they were talking about. There’s much that goes on in-between school board meetings, and the board was always kept in the loop, Backer said.

Backer said he’s learned some life lessons from Hoesing that he’s even passed on to his family.

“What I really learned from him, before you start to assume things, you better know the facts,” he said. “It’s a great thing for everyone to learn. Have your facts straight before you’re going to cause an issue. That would be a good lesson anyone could learn from Jeff Hoesing.”

As he moves into the next phase of his life, Hoesing will be “greatly missed” and remembered as a well-respected professional, leader and mentor, leading by example.

“Jeff is definitely leaving our district in excellent shape,” Scott said. “The future looks bright.”