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The Albert Lea school board voted unanimously Monday to offer the job as the district’s next superintendent to current St. James Superintendent Steven Heil.

After stepping out into the hall to call Heil after the decision was made, Board Chairman Dave Klatt came back into the room and said Heil was excited to accept the board’s offer of negotiations and stated he planned to withdraw as a finalist from both the Byron and Kasson-Mantorville districts.

Heil had interviewed earlier in the day in Kasson-Mantorville and was slated to interview Tuesday in Byron.

Board member Gary Schindler motioned to extend the offer to Heil contingent on a mutually agreed upon employment contract and a criminal background check that is completed with results acceptable to the board. Board member Angie Hoffman seconded.

Heil was one of two finalists for the position, along with Blue Earth Superintendent Mandy Fletcher.

Schindler said the board’s job over the last week since the first round of interviews was to ascertain what is at the core of each of the candidates — about their nature and what drives them in their positions. He said he appreciated Heil’s use of “us,” “we” and “together” and said he appreciated his focus on learning.

Hoffman said while both candidates did well in their interviews, she got a sense of servant leadership from Heil and she liked his approach not to have “power over” others in the district but “power with” them as they all worked together.

Board member Davy Villarreal noted in one of Heil’s answers how he even said he would be willing to substitute teach in a classroom to give a teacher an opportunity. Villarreal said he appreciated Heil’s effort to be a team player and said he thinks Heil will be someone who wants to be involved in the community.

Board member Neal Skaar referenced Heil’s response to a hypothetical question of what would happen if he had made a mistake and how he would handle it. Skaar said he liked that Heil would admit to the mistake, apologize and move forward.

Board member Kim Nelson said the district was lucky to have both Fletcher and Heil as finalists, but in the end she felt like Heil would be a better fit.

“Collaborative leadership is something the community wants and we want,” she said.

Board member Mary Jo Dorman said she thought Heil would offer clear expectations, road maps, processes and communication. 

During his presentation about what his transition into the school district would look like, Heil said it would start out with what he described as “listen, learn and lead.”

He said if leaders don’t listen and make connections with the people they’re trying to lead, there’s not going to be anyone who stands behind them to be led. He said it was important to establish regular communication, clarify roles and responsibilities and develop a shared vision.

He has plans for getting out and meeting with people across the district and in the community and said this needed to be ongoing to keep transparent and have a trusting relationship with the community. He plans to give various presentations back to the board along the way with his findings from what he learns during his transition.

The board members thanked the community stakeholders who were at the interviews and who provided comments and feedback on strengths and areas for improvement for the candidates. Nelson said their feedback matched up well with the board’s comments. 

The board also credited the selection process that they said resulted in having two good candidates as finalists. 

The district started with 14 applicants, over half of which had previous in-school superintendent experience. A half dozen already held doctorates and two others were in the process of obtaining it, Klatt said. He also credited Heil’s passion for the job and interest in Albert Lea. 

Schindler said he knows there have been critics who have suggested the board moved too quickly in the process, but “to be here tonight with two strong candidates to me is the end result I think we wanted, so I’m happy for us.” 

The board has worked with the Minnesota School Boards Association on the selection after the district parted ways with former Superintendent Ron Wagner in December. He is on paid administrative leave through the end of the year. Retired Austin Superintendent David Krenz is helping in the interim until a new superintendent is in place.