Hermantown school Superintendent Brad Johnson is heading to the Iron Range to take the same job in Hibbing.
The Hibbing School Board this week selected Johnson from a field of candidates and offered him the superintendent job.
Johnson told the News Tribune on Friday that he's verbally accepted the Hibbing post pending a signed contract.
Johnson will replace Hibbing Superintendent Robert Belluzzo, who initially retired last spring but agreed to come back on an interim contract through June after a previous candidate to replace him decided not to take the job.
If Johnson and the school board can hammer out a contract he's expected to take the Hibbing job starting July 1.
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Johnson, 55, has served as Hermantown superintendent since 2005. He previously was superintendent at Hill City. In April 2014, Johnson was a finalist for the superintendent job in the Grand Rapids/Bigfork school district.
"I'm originally from the Grand Rapids-Hill City area. I taught at Hibbing at the beginning of my career and I always thought I'd like to go back," Johnson said. "It's closer to my family and it's something I wanted to do, to get back."
The Hibbing district has about 2,800 students, to Hermantown's roughly 2,000.
Deanna Gronseth, chairwoman of the Hermantown School Board, said the board has been apprised of Johnson's situation but has taken no action toward finding a new superintendent.
"We'll wait until we get formal notice that Brad has accepted the Hibbing job and then, with his help, we'll see how we proceed with the search,'' Gronseth said. "If he does accept, he'll be here through June, and I think that gives us ample time to put together a good search process."
Gronseth praised Johnson's work for the district, especially helping usher the successful $48.9 million school levy referendum in 2013 that is paying for a new high school and other building upgrades.
