New Superintendent

Board Offers Grant Hegenauer Top Post
(as reported in The Frankenmuth News 7/30/2021)

The search began in June, after former Superintendent Adele Martin announced she was retiring from the post to enter the private sector. She stepped down June 30 and List Elementary School Principal Jill Waliczek was appointed the interim superintendent for the month of July. She was a superintendent candidate but withdrew her application in mid-July.

Hegenauer is the current high school/alternative education principal and career and technical education director for Montrose Community Schools. His responsibilities include overseeing the secondary budget and the curriculum for grades eight through 12, and the supervision of two schools, with 607 students and 50 staff members.

Hegenauer has earned a bachelor of science in aeronautics and a bachelor of arts in public administration from Miami University; a master of arts in teaching and curriculum from Michigan State University and is a current doctoral candidate at Liberty University.

Per his letters of recommendation, Hegenauer is described as having a visionary mindset, a strong advocacy for students, staff and community, and an inspirational impact on others.

“Grant is very excited and wants to get involved. He is a military veteran, he wants to get involved with the Rotary Club and start networking with the community,” Muller said. “We are confident that we have identified the best fit for our district in Grant. He is a highly-qualified, talented and visionary leader with a strong passion for education and knowledge of and respect for the rich tradition and heritage of our district and community. We are excited for him to begin his tenure as the new superintendent of the Frankenmuth School District.”

Hegenauer currently lives in Linden and plans to commute here for the next two years as his daughter is a junior in high school.

“I am passionate about public education. I’m a leader that is approachable, enthusiastic and believes in providing engaging learning environments to promote success for all students,” Hegenauer said. Frankenmuth is what I consider a destination district for families and staff. I look forward to becoming an integral part of the community.”

The board met at least a half dozen times specifically to interview and talk with the candidates and met even more last week before arriving on the decision to hire Hegenauer.

“It was a very tough choice when we were down to the final five candidates; all are highly-qualified and it was difficult right to the end,” Muller noted.

“He has quite an ambitious plan for the first six months to a year. He realizes the district is not broke, and that we have a highly-functional, well- run district and I don’t think he plans to deviate from that. He knows that COVID-19 has taken its toll and would like to get back to normalcy,” Muller added.

Prior to coming to Montrose as principal in 2018, Hegenauer was the high school and middle school principal at Byron Area Schools and its CTE director, 2013-2018. He is a member of the American Legion Post in Linden.

From 1995 to 2013, Hegenauer was a teacher at Swartz Creek Community Schools (1995-2001 and 2004-2013) and the assistant principal and athletic director (2001-2004).

Other professional experiences include being an adjunct educational instructor at Marygrove College (2005-2018), SNAP negotiator for the Michigan Education Association (2012-13) and a U.S. Army drill sergeant/human resources specialist with the U.S. Army Reserve (1993- 1999).