Dear Monroe School District Community,

2023 is certainly off to a busy start! As we kick off the new year, we wanted to share some important school board updates with our community, including our next steps in the superintendent search process.

To start, it is with regret that we share that Director Sarah Johnson has resigned, effective immediately, as the School Board Director of District 4, which represents the Maltby area. Director Johnson was elected to the board in November of 2021 and we thank her for just over a year of service to the Monroe community. We know this decision did not come lightly and we wish Ms. Johnson and her family all the best.

With this resignation, we now have an open seat on the school board. Per board policy 1114, “In case of a board vacancy, the remaining board members will fill such vacancy by appointment. The board will receive applications from any qualified persons seeking to fill the position after suitable public notice. Interviews of candidates for vacant positions will take place in a meeting open to the public. The board will appoint one of the candidates to serve until the next regularly scheduled board election, at which time a director will be elected for the unexpired term, if any.”

The board must appoint a director to fill the vacancy within 90 days. Due to the time we have already committed to the superintendent search this month, we plan to begin the process of filling this vacancy next month, after our selection of a superintendent.

On a more positive note, applications for the superintendent position closed January 3rd and we are pleased to share that we had 21 applicants! You can view the superintendent search information & timeline here. Board directors have spent a significant amount of time over the last few days individually reviewing each candidate’s application materials, and we will be further reviewing them together in an executive session, closed to the public, this evening. We are very encouraged and honored that the applicant pool consists of many highly qualified candidates from very diverse backgrounds with a wide range of leadership experience. 

During our executive session this evening, we will also be providing our input to HYA Associates, the search firm leading the superintendent search, regarding our review of the candidate’s applications. HYA will use this input to extend invitations to candidates to participate in semi-finalist interviews. The semi-finalist interviews will take place on January 20th in an all-day closed session with the school board. We anticipate the announcement of the finalist candidates following the interviews that day.

Interviews for the finalist candidates will be held all day on Thursday, January 26th. The finalist interview process will include an opportunity for all community members to observe a community panel interview with the candidates. All community participants will be invited to share their input on the candidates via an online form that will be reviewed by the Board as part of their decision making process. The day will conclude with an executive session, in which the Board hopes to make their final selection of our next superintendent.

While the selection process to hire our next superintendent and the appointment process to fill the now vacant board position will be time-consuming in the next two months, our commitment to the students of Monroe remains strong and they will continue to be the focus of every decision we make. We are encouraged by the positive changes we have seen in the Monroe School District this year so far and are filled with optimism as we continue that positive trajectory.  

Sincerely,

Jennifer Bumpus
MSD Board President