Ellendale native David Bunn hired as high school principal
By REED WALLER
Staff Writer
New principal hired
At a special meeting of the NRHEG school board Monday, March 25, a two-year contract was approved for David Bunn, who will be replacing the retiring Paul Cyr as high school principal this coming year.
Bunn has spent the past five years as high school principal at Prescott, Wis., where he was instrumental in implementing programs such as Response to Intervention and PBIS, as well as an iPad initiative.
It only remains to find a superintendent, and quickly.
Superintendent search
With Superintendent Kevin Wellen’s contract expiring on June 30, and time to look for a replacement growing very short, last week the NRHEG board arranged a meeting with a consultant from South Central Services Cooperative to see if it might be a better idea to have them facilitate the search, than have to undertake the time consuming process without help. NRHEG is a member of SCSC and contracts their services annually.
A visit from SCSC consultant Ed Waltman was arranged to coincide with the March 18 regular board meeting, but due to bad weather, the meeting became a conference call in the board room.
The situation
Waltman began the conference by briefly sketching out the situation.
There is a shortage of experienced candidates. This shortage is driving the cost up.
There is currently a superintendent search going on in New Ulm, for which there were six semifinalists as of Monday, March 18. There are a number of other districts searching for a superintendent, many of which are metropolitan districts with much more money to spend, so the market is competitive.
Because of salary considerations, it’s unlikely that NRHEG will be able to secure an experienced candidate. The district will be examining principals looking to move up to superintendent.
Districts searching include Blue Earth, Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial, and Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton.
Many schools that can’t justify the $10,000 to $15,000 price tag to hire a private firm to search for candidates are looking to SCSC and a search facilitator instead.
This year SCSC is helping New Prague, New Ulm, and now NRHEG, among others.
This will be the first time NRHEG has used the consulting service to search for an administrator.
“We made the decision (choosing a superintendent) before,” said NRHEG board chair Rick Schultz, “but times have changed. The pool is smaller, and we don’t have the time.”
The board approved securing Waltman and SCSC for the search.
“We’re very comfortable with your ability,” Schultz added. “We think you have the system in place.”
A facilitated search through SCSC is practically a free service, costing between $200 and $300 reimbursable.
Another advantage is mentoring. Since SCSC works with area districts, they are familiar with most of the administrators and candidates and are in a position to make a good match.
Timeline
Choosing a superintendent is a school board’s “ultimate responsibility,” Waltman said.
Waltman would first meet with the board members and get an overview of what’s expected and what’s needed, then create a timeline and calendar.
The search process is more effective, Waltman said, if the public is involved in the decision.
The entire timeline and a public questionnaire can be found at the district’s Web site, www.nrheg.k12.mn.us.
On Wednesday, April 3, Waltman will confer with board members and staff, to help develop a profile of skills and abilities needed. Then SCSC will draw up a list of candidates and perform the screening. Applications and evaluations are confidential.
The position has been posted, and applications will be received until April 5.
“Is that enough time?” Schultz asked.
“Another week won’t help us,” Waltman replied.
Then he will come to the April 15 meeting with a candidate list, and on Thursday, April 18, Waltman, the board and community members will meet to examine four candidates and reduce them to two.
Another meeting will be held for one or two days beginning April 25, with the candidates explaining why they want to be superintendent.
“We don’t want two candidates on the same night,” said Waltman.
Kevin Wellen
Wellen was hired as Interim Superintendent of NRHEG Schools in January 2007, replacing departing superintendent Richard Lorenz. One month later, he was signed to a two-year contract, after the board decided to forego the search process.
Wellen did not intend to stay, but the struggling district needed some important changes in order to survive, and Wellen’s contract was renewed in 2009 and 2011 while they were being made.
During the six years Wellen has been in charge of NRHEG, he has overseen a drastic and challenging program of changes, reductions and reorganization, bringing the overspending district from a $200,000 annual deficit with a then-projected 2009 precipice, to a maintainable fund balance, enabling the district to make substantial capital improvements.
Some of the changes affected under Wellen’s administration were: passage of a 10-year operating referendum; reduction of one administrator; a comprehensive building upgrade of lighting, air handling, furnaces, floors and ceilings; consolidation of the elementary schools, elimination of the Ellendale Middle School and moving the sixth through eighth grades to New Richland; an integrated communications network; security cameras; switching to high technology with Smart Boards and iPads in classrooms; reorganizing the bus transportation system; implementing curriculum mapping and Response to Intervention; completing renovation of New Richland’s locker rooms, and initiating the long-needed renovation of the New Richland kitchen, cafeteria, and main entrance, as well as continuing the ongoing roofing project began by Lorenz. All this was during a period when public funding has been sparse and frequently late in coming.
Though it is doubtful NRHEG will be able to secure an experienced superintendent for the district this time, the good news is that NRHEG is in substantially better condition than it was six years ago.