Jason Mutzenberger, executive director of business services for the past nine-plus years at Eden Prairie Schools (EPS), is leaving the district to join the Center for Effective School Operations (CESO), a Minneapolis-based consulting firm that provides operational support services to more than 230 school districts in the U.S. and Canada.
CESO announced on Nov. 1 that Mutzenberger will join the company early in 2024 as vice president of finance and operations. “As we continue to grow, Jason will be a key additional leader partnering with our current finance vice president, Lauren Syrup, to provide powerhouse finance support for K-12 districts and higher education organizations,” the LinkedIn announcement said.
Mutzenberger joined EPS as executive director of business services in June 2014 after working as director of business services at Inver Grove Heights Community Schools for 17 months, according to his LinkedIn profile. Previously, he was a financial services supervisor for Richfield Public Schools for more than five years. Prior to that, he worked in a variety of accounting roles. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from North Dakota State University in 2002. He is certified as a school finance and operations administrator (SFO).
Mutzenberger will likely feel at home at CESO. According to the company’s LinkedIn, nine former EPS employees are listed as current CESO employees in management positions, including co-CEOs Ryan Stromberg and Ryan Meyer. Stromberg has been co-CEO since March 2022. He is a former EPS executive director of human resources from 2007 to 2010. Meyer has been co-CEO since May 2023 and is a former EPS finance director from 2016 to 2018, and transportation coordinator from 2010 to 2013.
Other former EPS employees include Teresa Sokol, senior employee experience consultant, and former EPS director of employee services (2011-20); Robert Noyed, former EPS executive director of communications and community relations, and current CESO vice president of communications; Laura Eiden, current CESO vice president of human resources and former EPS Spanish Immersion teacher from 2011-2014; and Lance Libengood, current CESO chief strategy officer and former CEO of the company who was EPS’ director of transportation for five years from 2009-2014.
CESO provides full-service consulting, management and staffing support in operational areas such as transportation, human resources, communications, facilities, finance, and technology, according to its website. The company began as a school transportation organization more than 20 years ago.
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