The superintendent of the second-largest public school district in Iowa has died after a two and a half year battle with cancer.
The Cedar Rapids School Board announced in a written statement that Superintendent Noreen Bush died peacefully on Sunday. Bush went on medical leave a month ago and submitted a resignation letter that was dated for the end of the school year. Due to her deteriorating health, the Cedar Rapids school board had been scheduled to appoint an interim superintendent at its meeting tomorrow night.
The school board’s statement called Bush a “caring soul” with a “delightful spirit” and “strong dedication to the Cedar Rapids Community School District.”
Bush grew up in Cedar Rapids and was a 1989 graduate of Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School. She was appointed interim superintendent of Cedar Rapids schools in 2019 and was named to the job permanently in February of 2020.