This summer, Dave Samuel will have a new job.

The Moberly native will take over superintendent duties for the Montgomery County R-II School District effective July 1. He was selected as the new leader by the R-II School Board on Jan. 20.

Samuel will replace Dr. Brian White, who plans to retire from the education field after just one year as R-II superintendent.

Samuel will be the district’s third superintendent in as many years. Dr. Tracy Bottoms served as the R-II leader for five years before retiring at the end of the 2024-25 school year. White, who will have 24 years of educational experience before retiring in June, replaced Bottoms in July 2025. 

“It’s one of those things that Montgomery County is an hour and a half away, so I heard about them,” Samuel said. “I think whenever you hear something about Montgomery County, it’s always a positive outlook from what you hear from the outside looking in.”

Samuel is currently working in his fourth year as superintendent for the Northeast Randolph County R-IV Schools in Cairo. He has 25 years of educational experience.

“Mr. Samuel’s experience as superintendent and skill set aligns with the District’s mission and

desire to continue the tradition of excellence in Montgomery County,” R-II Board President Maria Stille said in a statement. “In addition, we are excited that Mr. Samuel and his family will become a part of the Montgomery County community.”

Samuel said he found out about the R-II superintendent opening from an email that was sent to all of the current superintendents in Missouri.  

“I was already familiar with Montgomery County to some extent,” Samuel said. “Receiving that email drew my attention to the position initially before I started doing some more research on it.”

Samuel earned his Bachelor’s degree from Iowa Wesleyan College, a Master’s degree from the University of Phoenix and a Specialist degree from William Woods University. He worked 10 years teaching fifth, sixth and seventh-grade students in Iowa and Georgia and 11 years as principal at the Moberly School District before taking over the superintendent job at Cairo in 2022.

Samuel said his mission as the new R-II superintendent is to get familiar with the school environment. He will lead a school district that has a high school, middle school and two elementary schools.

“The goal initially is to meet everybody, get to know the culture of the district and the community, learn what’s important to people and just talk in general and get to know people,” Samuel said. “From there, those relationships all just continue to build because you can’t meet everybody all at once.”

Samuel lived in Moberly for 25 years of his life. He also lived in southeast Iowa for 17 years.