A special school board meeting was held last night at the Bemidji Area Schools district offices, where many board members gathered around the table to discuss some changes within the school district. One new item on the agenda was the search process in finding a new superintendent.

Current Superintendent Tim Lutz, who will be retiring this summer, stated that the search for the new superintendent will need to start immediately, as it’s a lengthy process. He also added this search will be sent throughout the state, which will then result in a nationwide search.

Bemidji Area School Board Member Carol Johnson says the way that they make this selection is through a workshop that the school board will be participating in, hopefully within the next few weeks. According to the Minnesota School Boards Association’s timeline, the process should begin sometime from February into early March to get the preliminary work complete.

Johnson had also shared that the criteria for an ideal candidate criteria will be coming, but for now, what they were able to tell Lakeland News is that they’re looking for someone with a passion in education, a diverse background, and most importantly, someone who wants to come work in Bemidji.

The school board hopes to have somebody named for this position by sometime in May, as the position will be vacant on June 30th.

By — Emma Hudziak