Albert Lea Superintendent Michael Funk said he’ll be the man who helps paint the vision for improvement in Albert Lea schools, but first he’s adapting to a new school system as he replaces a superintendent who’d been with the district for 14 years.

Improving the district will not be solely in Funk’s hands, as he said he’ll lean on those around him.

“I am kind of a guy who paints the vision — paints the outline: OK, here’s where I want to go. Then we have smart people working around me that can fill in how we’re going to get there. I don’t have all the answers,” Funk said.

“If I don’t know something, I’ll be the first to tell you,” he added.

Over his first weeks, Funk, 43, has been working on an entry plan to get a feel for Albert Lea and the direction the school system is headed in.

“You’re coming new to a district, and you want to really have some sort of plan so you can get to meet people, and get to know the people, and get to know some of the issues that exist within the school system,” Funk said.

“I’m going to be doing a lot of listening and a lot of learning over the next couple of months,” he said said.

Funk said this is different than when he took over in the Bird Island, Olivia and Lake Lillian District because he said there had been a “revolving door of superintendents” there, so there was little stability when he took over. BOLD is about a hundred miles west of the Twin Cities and about 25 miles south of Wilmar.

“One of the nice things about here is there is a stable environment, and there are a lot of veteran people around here who can give me good insight into how things are run, what’s been effective and maybe some things we could do better,” Funk said.

Funk, whose salary in Albert Lea will be about $130,000 a year, said the Albert Lea school district attracted him because it was a medium-sized district that would be closer to his hometown of Rochester.

He also said the move presented good opportunities for his three daughters: Maddy 10, Katie 8 and Alex 2. His wife, Anne, is a stay-at-home mom. His daughters are involved with dance, Girl Scouts and softball, and Funk said they will continue to do these in Albert Lea. He and his family planned to move into their new home in the Shoreland Heights area of Albert Lea this week.

“The other thing that really appealed to me about Albert Lea is the fact that Dr. Prescott had been superintendent here for 14 years. And the average superintendent, I think their tenure in a district is right around three years,” Funk said. “So when he was able to be here for 14, that told me a lot of good things about the Albert Lea school system.”

Funk will face a number of challenges including 403(b) tax-sheltered annuities, teachers’ pay contract, fewer state-aid dollars, community relations and Albert Lea’s merit-pay system, but Funk said his biggest challenge will be replacing Prescott.

“My biggest challenge over this first year is going to be taking over for a guy who’s been doing things for a number of years — a very successful superintendent,” Funk said. “In some ways it’s easier to come into a system that’s not a good system, because you can come into a system that’s not doing so well and make a significant improvement, but when you’re coming into a good system like Albert Lea, it’s a bit more of a challenge because you’re taking over for a real good guy.”

Funk said it’s beneficial that he’s been a superintendent in Minnesota, because he’s familiar with some of the financial matters superintendents face, especially with the amount of paperwork involved with federal stimulus money.

Increasing the amount of opportunities for students is one of Funk’s goals for the district, and he said it’s important to run as effectively and efficiently as possible as a district.

Funk said he always talks about two things when talking about goals and expectations: expect the best and do what’s right. 

“I expect the best of myself and all the people who work with kids, because we want to do what’s best for them,” Funk said.

Before taking over as superintendent July 1, Funk trained for two weeks at Camp Ripley. Funk has been in the military about 21 years, and he’s an infantry battalion commander in the National Guard with a rank of lieutenant colonel. He was deployed to NATO peacekeeping missions in Bosnia from September of 2003 through April of 2004, and he was deployed to Kosovo from July of 2007 to July of 2008.

Funk said his experience in the National Guard has given him broad experiences and has allowed him to work with other nations and their militaries.

“It’s really diversified my perspective,” Funk said.

Funk grew up in Rochester and graduated from Rochester Lourdes High School. He received his bachelor’s degree in government from St. John’s University in St. Cloud in 1988. He then received his master’s degree in education from St. Thomas University in 1994, and he received his doctorate in education policy and administration from the University of Minnesota in 2004.

Funk began his career as a long-term social studies substitute for two years at Willow Creek Middle School in Rochester. After that he taught social studies at Dover-Eyota.

In 2000, Funk decided to move into administration and took a job as principal of Pepin High School in Pepin, Wis.

In 2005, Funk was hired as superintendent of BOLD schools.

Funk is currently enrolled in the United States Army War College — a task he described as time consuming as he seeks a master’s degree in strategic studies.

It’s a distance-learning course with readings and papers to write each month. There are then two two-week seminars, one in the summer of 2010 and one in 2011.

Funk’s hobbies include bike riding with his family and reading. The last book he read was “Eisenhower,” he said he read part of it for the War College, and then finished the rest because he found it fascinating. He often reads Robert Ludlum, John Sanford and Stephen King.

Funk plans to get involved in the community, and he said he’ll likely be involved with the American Legion and Kiwanis.