Tri-Valley plans to promote its high school principal to become superintendent of the school district in Downs.
The head of the Tri-Valley school board said Ben Derges will replace David Mouser starting July 1, 2022. Mouser is leaving to become the superintendent of District 87 schools in Bloomington.
“Our board recognized that we had excellent internal candidates for the position, and are excited to have Mr. Derges serve as our next superintendent,” said Carl Neubauer, president of the Tri-Valley Board of Education.
The school board plans to make the appointment official at its Jan. 19 school board meeting.
"The teachers and staff of Tri-Valley are special people doing extraordinary things for kids, and I am very excited I get to continue to work alongside them,” Derges said in a news release.
Derges has been the Tri-Valley High School principal since 2014 and has 21 years in education. The high school received the state of Illinois’ Exemplary designation multiple times. That distinction goes to the top 10% of public schools in the state.
Derges began his career as a social studies teacher, coach, athletic director, and assistant principal at Fisher Jr/Sr High School.
