Forest Lake School Board Vacancy: Eleven Candidates to be Interviewed
Eleven people interested in filling the seat left vacant by the resignation of Forest Lake Area School Board member Luke Hagglund will be interviewed next week by the six remaining members of the school board. The applicants include Glen Berg, Andi Courneya, Scot Doboszenski, Princesa Hansen, Paul Pease, Jeff Peterson, Kenneth Rutford, Tom Schulzetenberg, Jim Smith, and Daniel Tuott. Another candidate who will be interviewed is Laura Ndirangu, who was a candidate during the 2024 school board election and received nearly 11.8% of the vote.
The school board will interview each candidate at a special board meeting on Wednesday, starting at 5 p.m. Each interview is scheduled to last 20 minutes. Following the interviews, the board will break into two sub-committees, each selecting up to two applicants for final consideration at Thursday’s board meeting. Once a candidate is selected, there is a 30-day waiting period prior to final appointment to the school board made on Jan. 3.
Selection Process and Timeline
The orientation of the appointed school board member will be from Dec. 5 to Jan. 5, with a ceremonial oath planned for the Jan. 8 board meeting. Hagglund resigned on Oct. 24, citing a move out of the district. The original plan for appointing Hagglund’s replacement, proposed by School Board Chairman Curt Rebelein, was controversial and involved immediately voting on a resolution appointing Doboszenski to fill the remainder of Hagglund’s term.
However, an attorney for Education Minnesota sent a letter to Rebelein on Oct. 22 stating that the vote would be illegal because Hagglund’s resignation did not take effect until after the meeting. The board decided against that plan and voted instead to hold a special meeting to determine a different process and timeline to fill the vacancy. The new board member will serve on the board for the 2026 calendar year.
Conclusion
The Forest Lake School Board is taking a thorough approach to selecting a new member, ensuring that the candidate is chosen through a fair and transparent process. The board’s decision to hold interviews and select a candidate through a sub-committee process demonstrates their commitment to finding the best candidate for the position. For more information on the Forest Lake School Board and the selection process, visit Here
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