DMPS Names Director of Human Resources: Scott Mikesh

Des Moines Public Schools is pleased to announce the appointment of Scott Mikesh as the new Executive Director for Human Resources of Iowa’s largest school district. Mikesh, an Iowa native, is currently staff counsel for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards.

“Scott will be a critical member of our leadership team as we work to attract and retain the best educators and staff members to provide the best possible education to our students,” said Dr. Nancy Sebring, Superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools.

Des Moines Public Schools is one of the largest employers in central Iowa with nearly 4,700 employees, including 2,600 teachers.

“I am looking forward to coming home to Iowa and being a part of our capitol city’s school system,” said Mikesh. “Des Moines provides a diverse offering of educational opportunities, and I look forward to meeting the human resource needs of the district to in turn meet the educational needs of more than 30,000 students.”

Mikesh has been an attorney for the Wisconsin Association of School Board for the past seven years. His work has included representation of school districts throughout Wisconsin in a wide variety of legal and human resources related matters, including contractual grievances, investigations of employee misconduct, and arbitrations. Mikesh is experienced in both traditional and consensus forms of collective bargaining for teacher and support staff groups. He has also presented regularly to local seminars and state conventions on issues such as layoffs, vacancy and transfer, calculating staffing costs, discipline and discharge, teacher nonrenewal, contract administration, open meetings laws, pupil records laws, subcontracting, employee privacy, the Family Medical Leave Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

A native of Calmar, Iowa, Mikesh is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School. He received his undergraduate degree in business administration and finance from Wartburg College.