Pleasantville Superintendent Tony Aylsworth is leaving his tenure of leadership for what he’s calling a “bittersweet” promotion.

Last week it was announced that Aylsworth has accepted the Superintendent position at Southeast Polk after spending the last 12 years in the same role at Pleasantville. With Southeast Polk serving the fourth largest school district in Iowa, the move was a promotion in the career of a superintendent, but it doesn’t mean it was an easy decision for Aylsworth. Since Aylsworth took over at Pleasantville, the community and school district has seen growth in many different areas including academics, athletics, facilities, and finance. 

Before Pleasantville, Aylsworth was a high school principal in Carlisle, an assistant principal in Ankeny and Oskaloosa, and a teacher and coach at Waukee. The Pleasantville School Board will now decide on how they want to proceed on the search for their next Superintendent. Aylsworth tells KNIA/KRLS that Pleasantville is the best of both worlds as it’s a small town and close knit community, but also only 25 minutes from the metro. Aylsworth says it’s bittersweet to move on but he is excited for the next chapter.

“It’s been a really good run here of twelve years in the district. I think about when I was recruited for this job, we moved here and went all in and got really excited about it and I look back on our body of work and the things we’ve accomplished and we’ve done a lot. The community has grown, the school district has grown, we’ve seen growth academically, we’ve seen growth and improvement in our facilities, our budget is in a much better shape than when I inherited it. I’m just really pleased when I look back and reflect on a really good run here. We’ve made a lot of friends and a lot of good memories here so it will be bittersweet to move on, but I’m also excited for the next chapter as well.”

Hear a full interview from Aylsworth on next weekend’s In Touch with South Central Iowa.