March 13, 2013 at 5:18 p.m.
Jacobi named new superintendent
Jacobi named new superintendent
The board voted unanimously to hire Jacobi after finalizing the contract that evening. Ray Burgan was the only board member absent.
The board had been searching for a new superintendent since Dr. Roger Erdahl announced last October he would be retiring effective June 30.
Board President Ron Counter said Jacobi was picked over the other finalists - Tom Johansen, current principal at D.C. Everest High School; and Jean Broadwater, current superintendent of the Houston School District in Houston, Minn. - because of her experience as a teacher and administrator, as well as her knowledge of the inner-workings of the district.
After the final interviews Feb. 27, the board came out of a closed session with its top two candidates. Jacobi was number one and Broadwater was number two.
"We had a total of 19 great candidates, but I think Kelli ended up number one because of all her experience in the various aspects of education. She's been a teacher, principal, curriculum director. She knows the direction we're heading in. She was a big part of getting to this stage," Counter said. "We believe that while the other two were great candidates, they just did not have the technical experience to take over this school district."
After thanking the board for the opportunity, Jacobi took time Monday to talk about her first goal moving forward - a smooth transition upon Erdahl's departure - while also talking about how excited she is to hit the ground running.
"I want to thank the board for this opportunity. I look forward to working with Dr. Erdahl and the board to ensure a smooth transition. We know where we need to be going, so we'll be moving quickly on that as soon as Dr. Erdahl has retired and I take over," Jacobi said. "I'm very excited and, of course, a little bit nervous, but yes, I'm very excited. It will be wonderful."
As part of that smooth transition, Jacobi handed out her transition plan to the board Monday which highlights her goals moving forward, including a retreat with the board to create a positive working relationship while also reviewing the district's strategic plan and its goals moving forward.
Also included in the plan are meetings with community leaders to establish relationships and partnerships, as well as creating open lines of communication between the various business, governmental and community entities in the area.
Improved communication - with the community and within the district - was one of Jacobi's key talking points throughout the interview process.
"I've tried to include everything (in my transition plan) I could think of covering communication, the things that I can get going on right away this summer before teachers are back. I'll be bringing part two forward later this spring," Jacobi said. "My goal is to have a smooth transition. I don't want everything to stop because Roger is done. I don't want a loss of time and then, boom, here I am. We need a smooth transition so that it doesn't have a negative effect on the school district or the students for next fall."
She continued on to explain that she thinks her experience within the district will be a real boon to the transition.
"I think (my experience with the district is) a good thing. We have so many initiatives going on right now, that, if we had lost a year in transition - which is typical for someone coming in new to a district, it takes awhile to get on board with everything - it wouldn't have been a good thing for the district, to sort of stall for a year. So, I think I had an advantage there," Jacobi said.
Counter said the transition will begin immediately.
"Kelli gave us her 100-day plan and she'll begin working with Roger (Tuesday) on the transition. She's planning on approaching the board during our April meeting to give us her first suggestion regarding reorganization of administration and teacher support for the school district," Counter said.
As far as finding a new director of curriculum, Counter said the board will be holding off on a decision until Jacobi comes forward with her plans for possible administrative changes.
"We're leaving that up to Kelli. That's one of the reasons she's going to be coming forward in April," Counter said.
Jacobi said she will be developing her plans over the next month.
"I will be coming up with, kind of a step two of my transition plan that I'll have ready late next month. I need to look at the whole administrative structure and what changes we need to make before we make any decisions on hiring," Jacobi said.
The contract
Neither Counter nor Jacobi would elaborate on what the "snag" was the board discussed last week that delayed the superintendent announcement. Counter said the contract eventually agreed upon is about as standard as it can get.
"There's nothing special in the contract. It's our standard contract," Counter said.
The contract is set to run from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2015.
Jacobi will be paid a base salary of $122,000 for each year. She will receive the standard benefit package.
Erdahl received $125,767 with about $42,000 in benefits during his final contract.
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].
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