Updated: Brainerd School Board Continues Superintendent Interviews

Updated Feb. 4, 2026 after Brainerd Public Schools announced the finalists for the position.

The Brainerd School Board continued their interviews with candidates for the district’s superintendent role today.

The board interviewed the final two semifinalists for the position on Tuesday afternoon: Dr. James Wagner, superintendent of Le Sueur-Henderson School District, and Dr. Mike Neubeck, interim superintendent of Jackson County Central Public Schools. Both candidates cited their expansive backgrounds as superintendents in multiple school districts across the state as why they’re cut out for the job.

“With my background, working with districts that have been struggling financially, and it’s no secret that Brainerd is struggling financially, and just looking at trying to make decisions for them, bring information forward so that way, they can—they feel informed and make the best decisions for kids,” Wagner told Lakeland News.

“I really understand high-level education,” Neubeck stated. “I really understand also really hard decisions that [we] need to make because of financial situations and so forth. So I think there’s a lot of things that I bring to Brainerd that they’re facing.”

The board decided to move both Wagner and Neubeck to the second round of interviews next week along with Chip Rankin, current superintendent at Minnewaska Area Schools, who was interviewed on Monday. On Wednesday, Brainerd Public Schools announced that Wagner declined the board’s invitation for a second interview, leaving Neubeck and Rankin as the finalists for the position.