Following two rounds of interviews between four final candidates, the Hart Public Schools (HPS) Board of Education offered the position of superintendent to Bradley Jacobs of Fremont. He is contracted to begin duties July 1, 2026.
Jacobs’ work in education spans a total of 33 years, including 15 years as a high school math and physical education teacher and coach, 11 combined years as principal for Manton Consolidated, Saranac Community and Mason County Central schools, and six years as superintendent at Inland Lakes Schools and Fremont Public Schools. Jacobs received his bachelors from Central Michigan University in mathematics with a minor in physical education, and his masters from CMU in physical education/sports administration.
Jacobs most recently worked for the consulting firm SiteLogiq, working with schools and their bond projects. “For the last three years I’ve been on the road and working from home. But to be honest I missed being at school with all its craziness and energy,” Jacobs explained.
Looking to the future, Jacobs said, “I feel like my battery’s been recharged. I’m ready to go again. I haven’t known anything but education my whole life. It’s like going home again.”
Jacobs named building relationships and having a well-rounded career in education as two of his top strengths. Having parents who were both educators undoubtedly had some influence on his future life track. Jacobs’ father, Glenn Jacobs, was a 6th grade teacher; his mother, Ruth Jacobs, was an elementary school teacher, both in the HPS district.
Jacobs’ immediate plans are to get acclimated, learn processes, meet with people and generally see how everything works. In the coming months, he said he’d like to determine what the district does well and what could possibly be improved upon. He was also quick to add that working with stakeholders on the next phase of the district’s bond projects will be at the top of his “to do” list.
Jacobs said that he and his wife had always planned to retire back in the area. “This just speeds up that timeline a bit.” Jacobs added that until they are able to sell their current home and move here permanently, he plans to live temporarily in the district beginning July 1.
“We were very fortunate to have such a high-quality candidate pool, including two internal candidates,” Hart School Board president Jeff Schaner said. “Mr. Jacobs had previous superintendent experience, as well as private sector experience working with school districts implementing bond projects, which will be very helpful for us. Brad has big shoes to fill after Mark Platt’s long tenure; he made great improvements for our district. We are excited to have Brad and to have him take our district to the next level.”
The school district worked with the Michigan Association of School Boards to facilitate the search for their new superintendent. Online and in-person community feedback sessions were offered to the public in January. Superintendent candidate finalists were named in February, and besides Jacobs, they included Hart Middle School principal Kevin Ackley, Engadine Consolidated Schools superintendent Andrew Alvesteffer and Hart High School principal Brandon Bruce. First-round interviews were held March 9, and second-round interviews between Jacobs and Bruce took place March 23.
After 13 years as the HPS superintendent, Mark Platt, plans to retire June 30, 2026.
