Lakeville Schools Superintendent Candidates Revealed

Representatives from , the search firm hired by the Lakeville Area Public School District to help fill their , made their five candidate recommendation to the School Board on Monday evening.

The board unanimously approved the recommendations and, in keeping with their desire for a rapid process, will begin pre-scheduled interviews with the five candidates this morning.

Bob Ostlund, one of three SEC representatives on hand for the special meeting, said all of the candidates had been notified and would be available for the Tuesday interviews. All of the interviews will be held at the and are open to the public.

Ostlund revealed that SEC received a total of 29 applications for Lakeville’s superintendent position. Of those, 13 came from Minnesota and seven from Wisconsin. Only 16 of the applicants completed the entire process with SEC presenting what they felt to be the top five to the board Monday evening.

“It was a little difficult with so many factors in the economy right now,” said Ostlund. “And there were people who gave serious consideration who did not apply. But that doesn’t take away from the enthusiasm we have for the five individuals we’re recommending right now.”

Those five include:

Craig Fiegel

Fiegel was most recently the superintendent of the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools near Ann Arbor, MI. The district was the third-largest in Michigan with approximately 19,000 students.

Fiegel was praised by SEC representatives as being a bright and caring person with integrity and a calm demeanor. They also indicated Fiegel was a “very strong fiscal leader who has experience with diversity.”

Fiegel was hired by Plymouth-Canton in 2008 and previously held the superintendent position for Evergreen Park Elementary School District in suburban Chicago.

“We know this person personally,” said Ostlund. “We’re really impressed.”

Fiegel was the center of a controversial school board decision to not renew his contract for the Plymouth-Canton schools. , the board voted last September 28 to deny renewal in a 4-3 vote. The move was met with public outcry to the decision and Ostlund conceded that the Plymouth-Canton school board has had a history of divisiveness.

“That is a red flag, but you have to dig underneath that,” said Ostlund. “There has been a huge movement in the community to undo the situation. It’s a situation we’ve learned enough about this person and think he’s a really high recommendation.”

Fiegel has previously been a finalist for the Washington County, MD, and Salinas, KS, superintendent positions in April of this year. He also was among seven candidates selected to interview for the Rochester, MN, superintendent position but did not become a finalist in that district.

Bob Laney

Laney is currently the Assistant Superintendent for the St. Louis Park public schools in Minnesota and also serves as that district’s Director of Human Resources.

Laney was also recently under consideration for the Shakopee and Stillwater superintendent positions.

Toni Johns from SEC said Laney had been “recruited back to every district” he’s been involved in and has an innovative track record of initiatives that are now being used as national models.

Johns said Laney spearheaded a difficult school closure process in St. Louis Park that resulted in no community backlash and praised him for his “ability to see the big picture.”

“He builds trust by the way he interacts with people and builds long-term relationships.”

St. Louis Park was named as the top high school in Minnesota by Newsweek Magazine in 2009.

Terrance Martin

Martin is currently the associate superintendent in Des Moines, IA. He has served in that role since 2008. Martin also served as a high school principal in two Illinois school districts before joining the Des Moines district in his current position.

Ostlund called Martin a “dynamic speaker who really connects with people.” Ostlund also said Martin was a very positive community builder.

The Des Moines district is divided into three regions with the associate superintendents each basically serving as the superintendent of their respective region. Martin oversaw the southern Des Moines region which was roughly the same size as Lakeville’s 11,000 student enrollment.

Martin is currently also one of two finalists for the Jackson-Madison County School District in Tennessee. Martin last interviewed for that position on Wednesday, July 6. A decision on that position is expected soon.

Scott Staska

Staska is the current superintendent of Rocori Schools in Cold Spring, MN. Staska is in his ninth year as superintendent of the 2,200-student St. Cloud area district and was named as the 2011 Minnesota Superintendent of the Year by the Minnesota Association of School Administrators.

Staska earned high praise from SEC representatives for being “compassionate, caring and respectful” and Johns indicated that Staska had done an exemplary job of leading the district through a very difficult period following a school shooting incident in 2003.

A June 14, 2011 report in the St. Cloud Times stated that the Rocori School District was expected to approve a new three-year contract for Staska at their June 27 meeting through 2014. Staska’s previous contract was set to expire on June 30, 2011.

Lisa Snyder

Snyder currently serves as the Superintendent of the Merrill, WI, school district. Snyder has been in that position since 2009.

A Winona native, Snyder was recently a finalist for the Rochester, MN, superintendent position, a move she was quoted as saying would help bring her closer to her family still in the area.

Ken Dragseth of SEC praised Snyder as being “very well read and research based.”

Dragseth said Snyder has a strong technological background and that “there are very few technological initiatives that she does not know about or been involved in.”

The initial interview schedule for the five candidates on Tuesday is:

9:30 a.m. – Lisa Snyder

10:45 a.m. – Craig Fiegel

12:30 p.m. – Terrance Martin

1:45 p.m. – Bob Laney

3:00 p.m. – Scott Staska

The board will meet following completion of the interviews and is expected to name two or three finalists at that time.

Finalists will face a more in-depth interview process in the coming weeks that will include a chance for the public, students, teachers, staff and other interested parties to participate before a final board decision is made.