Board chooses two finalists for superintendent job

 

After a round of interviews with school board and community members, the board chose Teri M. Preisler of Le Center and Dr. Virginia A. Dahlstrom of Wadena as its finalists.

 

The decision came after each candidate came to TCU High School and interviewed with the two groups for an hour each. John Grimm, one of the interviewers in the community group, had high praise for each of the four candidates.

 

“They were all strong choices for the TCU District,” he said. 

 

At the end of the night, Ed Waltman from the South Central Service Cooperative, the organization the district is using for the search, reviewed the community committee’s evaluation forms and tallied the total points for each candidate. The board then reviewed their notes and those from the committee before discussing their choice. 

 

Overall, the board liked the top two point-getters, Preisler and Dahlstrom, but several board members agreed they liked Michael T. Redmond and Dr. Joseph T. Libby too. 

 

Board member Amy Barnett said she felt Redmond was passionate and excited about the district. 

 

“That struck me more than some of the others, so I gave him more weight,” she said. 

 

Board member Kevin Krohn questioned how long the TCU District could expect to keep Dahlstrom if she were chosen as the next superintendent.

 

Board member Jody Baker said she liked Dr. Joseph A. Libby because of his high energy and his vision of where he wanted to take TCU and passion for what he does.

 

Board member Marsha Franek described Libby’s excitement and enthusiasm as a “kid in a candy store” and commented that TCU would probably get more longevity from him because of his wife’s connection to the area.

 

Waltman agreed with Grimm’s opinion and said he felt all four candidates were good for the district and for the job.

 

“I think what you have here is a different set of candidates. Once again, it’s about what you think is the right fit,” he said. “All these people could do the job.”

 

However, when asked if everyone agreed on the top two choices, all of the board members said yes.

 

Next up: 

Community Forums

Next up for the finalists are the community forums  on Monday, April 29 and Tuesday, April 30 where one candidate will be available each day to meet the community and answer questions. The community forums will be held in the Montgomery Middle School Auditorium from 4 to 5 p.m. each day.  

 

The Tri-City United School Board will make their final decision after interviews are completed on Tuesday, April 30. This meeting is scheduled to start at approximately 7:15 p.m. in the TCU High School Band Room.