Zeeland hires DeKuiper for top school job

Ludington Area Schools Superintendent Cal DeKuiper was selected Thursday as the next superintendent of Zeeland Public Schools. The school’s board of education voted 7-0 to select DeKuiper, who was the only finalist for the position.

News about DeKuiper applying for the position first came out earlier this month. Since that time, he has attended several public interviews in the Ottawa County community.

“The community feedback was overwhelmingly positive,” Zeeland school board president Tom DenHerder said in a statement released Thursday afternoon. “I am confident Cal will be a fantastic leader for our district and his family a welcome addition to the Zeeland community.”

DeKuiper began as an assistant principal at LAS in 1993 and became superintendent since 2005. He was a finalist for the Zeeland schools job in 2011. At that time Zeeland Schools hired Dave Barry, who since has resigned in a negotiated separation agreement with the district after his admission of plagiarism involving district written material.

DeKuiper is expected to begin the new job in January, leaving Ludington to search for a replacement.