Wayne Whitwam, principal of Centerville Elementary School in the Centennial School District, located in the the northeast Twin Cities metro, was chosen to be the district's next superintendent.
The School Board also interviewed Duluth Public Schools’ Ordean East Middle School Principal Gina Kleive and Donita Stepan, intermediate principal at Prescott (Wisconsin) Public Schools, on Thursday night.
“All three candidates were excellent,” Mathew said.
Whitwam has been a principal at all levels, has served as an assistant principal and a high school counselor.
The School Board went around the table and members offered their opinion on the strengths of each candidate. Board member Aaron Salmela said he liked that Whitwam has counselor experience.
“I also thought he had the strongest ideas on how to get people who don’t have kids in the district involved,” Salmela said.
Whitwam said the best way to get them involved is to get them in the schools.
“Once they’ve been in the school and they see all the great stuff we're doing, it hooks them,” he said. “At other schools we’ve even offered free sporting passes to our senior citizens.”
Board member Gary Kneisl said he felt that Whitwam’s answers were really honest, which he appreciated.
“What I really appreciated was that he had more than one answer where he not only talked about the accomplishment but also what he learned from it or what he could have done better if he could go back in time,” board member Karly Madill said.
Board chair Dianne Mathew said she also appreciated how reflective he was on understanding his areas of growth.
One question the board asked all candidates was what trends they see in education that would have a significant impact. Whitwam was the only candidate who talked about a negative trend, which Kneisl said he really appreciated.
Whitwam said a trend he’s seeing in education is special education is not being fully funded.
“That causes us to pull from the general fund to fund special education and that needs to change,” he said.
Whitwam was interviewed by the School Board, a small community group and a small group of district staff members. The School Board asked each candidate 17 questions and then allowed time for candidates to ask the board questions.
The last question the School Board asked Whitwam was: “Why should we hire you as the next Hermantown Community Schools superintendent?”
Whitwam said his background would be a great addition. He said he's looking for the next step in his career and he believes Hermantown would be a great fit.
“I think my superintendent has been very good, giving me opportunities to experience many different parts of the superintendent's role,” Whitwam said. “I believe I'm ready to be the next superintendent.”
The School Board voted unanimously to extend an offer to Whitwam, contingent on a background check and a mutually agreed upon contract that must be accepted by the School Board. The board is expected to vote on the contract during its regular meeting Monday at 6 p.m.
