Overview
- Norris said she will guide the board’s transition to an interim leader, push a $265 million school bond in November, and participate in investigations into the hiring and oversight failures.
- ICE arrested Superintendent Ian Roberts on Sept. 26; he resigned days later and has been charged with possessing firearms while in the U.S. illegally.
- Des Moines Public Schools says it believed Roberts was a U.S. citizen when he was hired in 2023 and has sued JG Consulting, the firm that conducted his background check.
- Authorities reported recovering a handgun, a knife, and about $3,000 in cash at the time of Roberts’s arrest following a brief pursuit and an abandoned vehicle.
- Norris’s departure reshapes the 2026 race, with Rep. Ashley Hinson running with President Trump’s endorsement for the GOP nomination and Democrats including Zach Wahls, Josh Turek, and Nathan Sage still in the field.