(l-r) Jeremy Olson, Donita Stepan, Jason Stanoch, Karsten Anderson

Four finalists currently remain in the running for the Bemidji Area Schools Superintendent position, as the Bemidji School Board announced today that one finalist has withdrawn due to other job arrangements.

Last night, the school board selected five finalists to interview for the school district’s superintendent vacancy, following current superintendent Tim Lutz’s retirement on June 30th. Now, four finalists remain:

• Jeremy Olson, current superintendent of Crookston Public Schools
• Donita Stepan, current superintendent of Thief River Falls Public Schools
• Jason Stanoch, current high school principal at Bemidji Area Schools
• Karsten Anderson, current superintendent of Red Wing Public Schools

Darrin Strosahl, the current vice president of academic affairs at Northwest Technical College in Bemidji, withdrew his name from consideration after accepting a different position.

The School Board has scheduled first round interviews for the finalists beginning at 4 PM on Monday, April 11th with continuation at 4 PM on Tuesday, April 12th. All interviews are open to the public and will be held at the main district office. The board hopes to make their final selection on April 21st.

By — Emma Hudziak