On Monday, the Superior School Board will vote on the appointment of Janna Stevens as the new Superior school district superintendent for the 2009-10 school year. The board voted unanimously this week to move the issue forward.
In 2005, Jay Mitchell, the current superintendent, announced his intention to retire. The school district hired a consulting firm to search for a replacement and interviewed five applicants for the position during March and April 2006.
"They were not a good fit," said Len Albrecht, School Board president.
With the search committee unable to find an acceptable replacement, Mitchell postponed his retirement and extended his contract for two years.
The lack of solid candidates in the first round of the search renewed the board's previous interest in choosing a new superintendent from its own district.
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Albrecht said Mitchell brought forward a list of about three district employees as prospective candidates. Albrecht said the board chose Stevens, then principal of Bryant Elementary, because she had the education, background and familiarity with the district. In summer of 2007, she began work toward an education specialist degree, which is required for work as a district administrator.
The Superior School Board appointed Stevens to fill the vacant assistant superintendent position effective July 1. The move served as a test period for Stevens, giving both her and the School Board a chance to see how she might operate as superintendent. Last summer, Stevens was reviewed on her performance. She then underwent a formal interview with the School Board on Dec. 8.
"She by far out-performed the five candidates we had in 2005," Albrecht said.
The board will vote on appointing Stevens the new superintendent during Monday night's regular School Board meeting.
Stevens is originally from Duluth but has lived in Superior since she graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
In 1995, Stevens began her career in Superior as a teacher at Blaine Elementary School. She moved on to work as a teacher and administrator in two district elementary schools and the middle school before taking over as principal of Bryant Elementary School.
