Brainerd School Board: Search for new superintendent kicks off

The Brainerd School Board Monday decided to start looking for a permanent superintendent, and will officially post the job listing.

Interim Superintendent Bob Gross took over on July 1. Gross came into the fold after former superintendent Klint Willert took the superintendent position for the Brookings School District in South Dakota.

Board member Sue Kern said she and board member Tom Haglin met Monday with representatives from School Exec Connect, a consultant company which is helping the district conduct its search. The company will be doing the search for no charge, Kern said, because Willert, the previous candidate the company found, left within a year. The only charge for the search will be "a few minor expenses," she said.

School Exec Connect will post the job listing with the Minnesota School Board Association and the Minnesota Association of School Administrators, Kern said. Postings in additional forums require an additional fee, she said.

The district paid for additional advertising during its last search, and board member Ruth Nelson said she didn't think the district got much bang for its buck.

"The impression I got last time is we really didn't get much from that extra advertising we did," Nelson said. "It seemed like it was more people they already knew."

School Exec Connect would possibly bring 4-6 candidates to the board for consideration, Kern said.

"They suggested that we post the position as soon as possible," Kern said. "And they can do it as soon as the end of next week."

The interview process would begin near the end of January or the start of February, Kern said. The board could conduct interviews and give candidates a chance to meet with the teachers, who could then provide the board with their feedback.

"So we could see what our staff thought," Kern said.

The board will forego the process of determining what kind of candidate the district wants, Kern said, because they already did it less than two years ago when starting the search which ended up with Willert's hiring.

"(School Exec Connect) knows as well what we want," Kern said.

Final interviews could be completed by early March, and a candidate could take over on July 1. Selecting a candidate in March gives the candidate enough time to let their current district know, Kern said.

"And they can find someone as well," Kern said.

Haglin said there's also the option to streamline the interview process, but that decision doesn't need to be made until later. Still, the district should start its process sooner rather than later.

"The sooner we start advertising, the better off we are, and we get first pick," Haglin said.

Board member Bob Nystrom said starting the search process before the holidays is beneficial, because it gives superintendents the chance to think things over over the holidays.

"If you wait until after Jan. 1, other jobs have been posted," Nystrom said. "They may put their sights on those other jobs."

Gross pointed out the lack of retirement program reciprocity among states means it's rare to see superintendents move from state to state. If a superintendent has 15-20 years built up and moves to a different state, the retirement benefit clock resets.

"Many of these retirement programs are really designed to pay much better if you stay for a length of time and get totally vested in the program," Gross said. "So you don't see that much movement from state to state."

Superintendents and educators will change states if there's a previous connection to the new state, Gross said. Perhaps a spouse is from there, or maybe the educator is from the state.

In other business, the school board:

Applied for a dissolution of the cooperative sponsorship between Brainerd High School and Pillager High School for boys' swimming starting with the 2015-16 school year.

Applied for a creation of a cooperative sponsorship between BHS, Pillager High School, Crosby-Ironton High School and Lake Region Christian School for boys' swimming starting with the 2015-16 school year.

Congratulated Heidi Hahn, who was recently honored as 2015 Outstanding Educator of the Year by the Brainerd Jaycees and Brainerd Community Action at the Distinguished Service Awards banquet on Oct. 29.

Congratulated Louise Flickinger, a visual impairment consultant, who was a nominee for the 2015 Braille National Teacher of the Year.

Congratulated Judy Worm, Area Education Center science teacher, for being selected as the Outstanding Conservationist of the Year in Crow Wing County. She will be honored at an awards ceremony in Bloomington on Dec. 8.

Accepted the resignation of Jill Neumann, Brainerd Public Schools communications manager. The effective date is Dec. 21.

Accepted donations totaling $40,644 for the month of November. The board also accepted the donation of a medical adaptive stroller for student needs.

Approved the district's financial audit for fiscal year 2015. CliftonLarsonAllen, which performed the audit, said during a Friday meeting of the school board's finance committee a summary of the audit results show a "clean" financial statement.

SPENSER BICKETT may be reached at 218-855-5859 or spenser.bickett@brainerddispatch.com . Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/spenserbickett .